Sure enough !  The old 'Mike and Ike' had a crossing from 'Thomue,' Mo. to 'Kellogg.' Il.

Here's the SS Ste. Genevieve pulling out of Thomure.  .



The photo was taken in the spring of 1958.  You can see that the Mississippi is up.

You need this book if you don't have it already. It's pricey, but really worth it, I have to say.  It took me a couple of weeks to really get down deep into it, it is so detailed along with countless great photographs.

https://mopac.org/product/the-missouri-illinois-railroad-2nd-printing/

It really operated like a short line divided in half by the river.  I liked their consolidations hauling two car passenger  trains. Perfect for a layout. Even though they had a couple of really neat light Pacifics.

Thanks for the MoPac book info.  I showed it to my wife (she's a retired librarian) and she said it's
been on her "Book It" (no pun intended) list for some time.  The author gave a lecture quite a while
but I missed it.

Anyway, here's another little update on my 'whistle stop'.

I had this large 'rock pile' taking up space and decided to replace it.



This is the new space



I started to fit things together





...then my usual landscaping method





...then the buildings







...and people







...more to follow.

Ken

I like the water tank without a roof. That was a very deep south thing, the Missouri Pacific tank in my hometown was like that.

It appears that the tank is a petticoat junction reference.

Awesome work Ken i like the look of your layout. I love the addition of people, it really changes the look of the layout.

Love progress photographs...nice job

I'm back to doing this:





More to follow.

Ken