. Annual report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission of the State of Illinois . crushed stone, gravel and cinders and is in good condi-tion. Switches on the main line are equipped with split points and stiff orspring rail frogs. Considerable work has been done on this branch in theway of widening out banks and cuts. Pontiac Branch, to Minonk Junction, miles.—This line is verymuch similar to tne Bloomington Branch and is also in good condition. Effingham ,{■ Sirits City Line, Effingham to Wahash River, 56 miles.—Thisis the old Indiana & Illinois Southern R. R., recently acquire
. Annual report of the Railroad and Warehouse Commission of the State of Illinois . crushed stone, gravel and cinders and is in good condi-tion. Switches on the main line are equipped with split points and stiff orspring rail frogs. Considerable work has been done on this branch in theway of widening out banks and cuts. Pontiac Branch, to Minonk Junction, miles.—This line is verymuch similar to tne Bloomington Branch and is also in good condition. Effingham ,{■ Sirits City Line, Effingham to Wahash River, 56 miles.—Thisis the old Indiana & Illinois Southern R. R., recently acquired by the IllinoisCentral Railroad Co., and taking everything into consideration, I feel confi-dent in saying there is not another road in the State that needed an overhaul-ing worse than this one did. The track was laid with 60-pound steel which isthe only part about the road that is in fairlv good condition. A great manyof the ties were all narrow guage ties that had been in use before the roadwas changed from narrow to standard guage. In all, about 75 per cent of the. ties will have to be renewed. With the exception of about seven miles of fravel and cinder ballast, the track may truly be called a mud banks and cuts are narrow, and when the roadway was originally builtvery little grading was done, in consequence of which there are any number ofshort, steep grades. The right of way was also in a very unclean state and thatpart of it which was fenced was in bad condition. Not a sign of anykind was in existence. With the exception of one depot, which is in fairlygood shape, there was not one that could even be patched. During the short time the Illinois Central Railroad Co., has had control ofit, nearly every bridge has been rebuilt, and a great many new ties have beeninserted. They also had a large force of men and teams at work wideningout the embankments cutting down grades, etc., and others rebuilding fencesand setting signs. The next inspection no doubt will
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