A few days ago, a listing in the Bloomington Pantagraph announced that the McLean Depot Train Shop had opened at 200 E. Dixie Road (aka Route 66) in the old railroad depot building in McLean, Ill.
If another old railroad depot on Route 66 had been converted to a business of selling model trains, I’m not aware of it.
According to the McLean Depot Train Shop’s website, the business marked its first anniversary on Nov. 15. But apparently the depot has seen a number of improvements since it reopened:
According to the site:
McLean Depot was built in 1853 as the Chicago & Mississippi railroad built north from Springfield to Bloomington. One of the oldest wood depots in Illinois, it has withstood the ravages of time and weather to now house a model trainshop. The former GM&O Alton Route depot overlooks old Route 66 across from the Dixie Truckers Home in McLean, Illinois.
Renovations began in late summer 2010. The main site also is asking for old photos of the depot.
Hours at McLean Depot Train Shop are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. The phone number is 309-244-5900.
Your link to the train station web site above Does not work. You linked to site/index.html. Apparently they changed it. You need to remove everything after the / and it works.