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William J. Manon Jr. | all galleries >> Galleries >> Surviving Railroad Depots of America > Hoopphole, Yorktown & Tampico Depot at Hoopphole, Illinois.jpg
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September 03, 2005 William J. Manon Jr.

Hoopphole, Yorktown & Tampico Depot at Hoopphole, Illinois.jpg

Hoopphole, Illinois

Affectionately called "The Dummy" this railroad served Hooppole, Yorktown & Tampico From 1909 to 1953.
The Depot pictured here is the original Hooppole Station, it is an imposing edifice that served as depot, freight office and general business premises of the line, it has been completely restored and stands at the North end of Merchant Street.
From Hooppole, Illinois to Tampico by way of Yorktown and Aliceville stretched 12.7 miles of track that was almost always hidden by trees and tall grass, A connection was made with the Burlington's Mendota-Denrock-Clinton Branch at Tampico and the HY&T uses the Burlington depot at that end. Hooppole, Yorktown & Tampico Railroad paid taxes to three counties: Henry, in which Hooppole is Located, Bureau, and Whiteside. Yorktown is in Bureau County and Tampico is in Whiteside. In 1947 the total population of all towns on the HY&T was about 1000.


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R J Spears 13-Jan-2022 23:32
To whom it may concern:

What is the origin of the nickname "The Dummy", I am a Tampico boy. Please let me know if you know.

Thank you,
R J Spears
Eduardo Acevedo 14-Dec-2017 00:16
By pure chance, I just finished reading a Railroad Magazine article, dated July 1940, titled "The Pumpkin Vine", and giving a good history of this lovely railroad of yesteryear.

To the person who posted the first comment: the name of Mr. Groves, as given by the cited article, was C.W. Groves. Apparently, he was also the father of the only engineer employed by the line in 1941, Lee Groves. Mr. John Daley was named as the mayor of Hoopole at the time the railroad opened, and the person responsible for driving the "golden" spike on the track on that day. Perhaps the name of Will Druin will also bring memories. he was the "tallowpot" (fireman) for Lee Groves. Mr. Renner's first name was Guy and was generally the train's conductor.

On a side note, I find absolutely no references in the 1940 article to "The Dummy", as a colloquial name for this beautiful railroad, but I see that second commentator, Jeff Remy, refers to the old "Dummy" track, so the moniker must of been true.

Finally, I must add that I'd like to have lived in those days around Hooppole or Tampico, simply to experience the fascinating life that these men and women lived back in the days, around the good HY&T R.R., and the lovely 1315, that 0-6-0 steam locomotive that added so much charm to this real life story!

Eduardo Acevedo
Miami Shores, Florida.
Guest 25-Feb-2015 18:53
THIS PICTURE BRINGS BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES. GREW UP IN HOOPPOLE. NATURALLY KNEW THE CREW OF THE TRAIN (GUY RENNER, MR GROVES,AND MR URBAN DO NOT REMEMBER THEIR FIRST NAMES.
Jeff Remy 16-Nov-2007 08:25

Nice little station. My sister April & my brother in law Rick Hinton own the Yorktown Gen. Store. I still live in Los Angeles where April & I grew up. I am now a fireman on the Disneyland Railroad & have a real passion for trains. I lived in Tampico in the 1980s for a year. Once I walked what old "Dummy"track right of way I could find leading out of Tampico. My family really loved the folks we met back there. Jeff
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