Coal City, IL

[BPIII125V]

I remember hearing about outboard races in Coal City, IL back in the day. Does anyone know what body of water the races were held on?

thanks,
Bill

[TomAprilsSwitzers]

Back in the 60's there was a place on Lorenzo/PineBluff Rd called the AQUAPLADIUM.
It was a strip mine about 1/4 mile east of Will Road (Covered Bridges) on the south side of Lorenzo Road. Up until about 10 years ago the old mono-rail that was used to launch the boats was still there next to the ramp. The old Rest Rooms are still there but the mono-rail is gone, not sure about the ramp.
There's a few homes built on the lake now and the old barn is gone too (it stood up until about 5 years ago).
Jack Lewis who Lives in Minooka or Morris Illinois on North Tabler Road, has a bunch of pictures from those days as well as I.
I have a picture of a bunch of Wooden Shoorting Stars lined up waiting to get into the water along with some real different hydros of the day too.
Hope this helps, Tom Arambasich

[BPIII125V]

I sure would like to see some pics. We stopped by there on the way home from K3 and boy is it narrow. Could not race there today even if we wanted. We met a guy who is the caretaker for the land and he confirmed that the lake was used for racing back in the day.

Bill

[TomAprilsSwitzers]

I will try to find some..