Not long after we crossed the state line into Illinois we saw some signs for what we thought said "The World's Largest Wind Chime Shop.'' Who can resist the draw of a store devoted to wind chimes? Well, probably lots of people, but we aren't among them. So we got off the interstate in
Casey, Illinois to check this place out.
It didn't take long to realize we had made a mistake. The sign actually said World's Largest Wind Chime. Okay, so our friends and family wouldn't be getting wind chimes for Christmas presents after all, but we were still up for seeing it. Instead we stopped at the
Whitling Whimsy, a coffee shop ``with an awesome view of the World's Largest Wind Chime!" It did, indeed, have an awesome view of the wind chime. The WW also has some great things to eat to go along with the view and the coffee.
The air was pretty still, so the chime was ringing but the city has provided a rope so you can hear the music anyway. The wind chime has a deep gong that would have made the Addam's Family's butler Lurch happy. Wifey, My Little Helper and I took turns making it gong. As we were getting ready to leave I heard the blast of an oncoming train. Long, long, short and long, or Q in Morse Code. I am told this warning signal was developed in the era of Queen Victoria by British ships. If a ship was carrying her majesty, it would blast out Q to let other ships know they needed to get out of the way. It soon became a way of letting people know they had to move and it was adopted by American railroads to warn people to stay away from grade crossings. I am not sure how accurate that is, but I like the story.
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| A westbound CSX intermodal roaring through Casey, Illinois. |
It turned out the train that roared through Casey was the one I missed earlier that morning coming into Avon Yard in Indiana. The second unit in the consist was a Union Pacific 5146, an SD-70M with a flag logo on its flank. A paint scheme I think is pretty handsome even when dusty.
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| Casey, Illinois |
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When the train passed we got into the car, took a quick tour around downtown Casey and then headed back to the Interstate and St. Louis. We stayed in St. Louis for five days at the home of some friends and saw the various sights, including the City Museum, the Transportation Museum, the Zoo, and the Magic House. I already had Missouri from earlier in the year, but I will post some of the highlights from St. Louis in a later post. The Transportation Museum has a great collection and some of the friendliest staffers I have met.
On the way out of St. Louis we were paced by a freight crossing the Mississippi. I managed to take a shot of it as it was coming down the trestle in East St. Louis, which gave me another Illinois shot.
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| East St. Louis, Illinois |
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