The Spring Meet is May 2, 2026 at Ottawa,IL.

In its almost 47 years of existence the BRHS has never held a meet at Ottawa.
For those unfamiliar with Ottawa it is at M.P. 83 on the branch from Montgomery to Streator, IL. The crews referred to the line as the “Fox river branch” because for a large part of the route the line is alongside the river. While the branch was a typical agrarian branch with grain elevators, stock yards, etc it was also a heavy tonnage line.
Ottawa alone routinely handled 40,000 plus cars a year(loads and empty’s). It was home to Ottawa Sand and National Plate Glass. Streator was home to many glass plants and known as the bottle capital of the country. Wedron, besides being the site of a Lindbergh crash was home to Wedron Silica. All of this and much more will be covered by the afternoon clinics and the evening after dinner presentation. You’ll learn about railroading that involved hills with grades of 1.2 and 1.3 and all about doubling those hills. Extra trains of up to 160 cars, yes 160 cars in steam days with an O1. Those Q gravel pits at Sheridan and then Yagan were the impetus for those massive extras.
Here’s a little know operating fact that is found in the Aurora trainman’s union files. It was somewhat routine to stop an eastbound freight from Galesburg at Montgomery and have the crew run down all the way to Yagan pit and bring back a large block of gravel loads to add to their eastbound train. It was even done to an eastbound C&I crew upon occasion. Cut off west of the Aurora depot and run down to Yagan pit. There lots of penalty time claims for these side trips and the arguments involved in settling them made an old former “griever” smile.

Our meet facility will be the K of C hall in downtown Ottawa. It routinely hosts wedding receptions for up to 300 folks so let’s see if we cant fill the place. There is more than enough parking right outside the front door. There are no steps anywhere in the facility so don’t worry about accessibility.

The former Q branch mainline is at the edge of the parking lot,the Q Illinois river bridge is about one block south,the Q depot is about 2 blocks north,the former Q engine facility is less than 1/2 a mile away and still being utilized by Illinois Railway. Keep in mind that all the above is an active RR so do not trespass. There are public spaces close to each for photos and railfanning. The CSX operates during the day on the former Rock Island line. The Iowa Interstate operates at night on the same line.

If you think you might come to the meet, while its a one day event there are so many things to see and do in the Illinois river valley you should plan to spend a couple or more days . To list just a few, there’s Starved Rock State park (the most visited state park in Illinois), bring your hiking shoes. It was near Starve Rock that the first coal in Illinois was found. There are several other state parks nearby too. 

Utica,IL is just down IL Route 6 with its quaint downtown with shopping and dinning.
Downtown La Salle is very nice and has shopping and dining.

We haven't yet selected the meet hotel but we are working on it. There are several as there are numerous good restaurants around Ottawa, Naplatte, La Salle, Utica, etc.

There’s numerous Illinois & Michigan canal sites in the area. It was the I & M canal from La Salle to just west of Chicago that started that town on its path as a transportation hub. There also the Chicago, Ottawa and Peoria former ROW that at spots in Ottawa and La Salle parallels the former Q ROW. You could do some railfanning between La Salle and Zearing along the former Q line that started out as the Illinois Valley and Northern. It’s another Illinois railway operation. If you travel along the line and weren’t at the 2024 annual meet then stop for fried chicken at Rips in Ladd. There’s also the abandoned portion from La Salle to Streator along the Little Vermillion river. Oglesby with the former cement plants and limestone pits is very interesting as the Q, MILW and I.C all had spaghetti all over the place. The former I.C. Illinois river bridge is massive. It’s still in use as today cement is brought into Oglesby rather than shipped out.

As we get closer to the meeting date there will be further updates published in the Zephyr, on our web site and then the flier to members.