Milw's Tower B-35: Milw vs C&NW

(no CRJ; see below for satellite)
no Chicago and Northern Indiana Railroad Interlocking Towers

This tower not only controlled the crossing of the C&NW Lake Geneva Line (now abandoned), it controlled the turnout just to the south, Fox River Switch, where the Lake Geneva Line left the C&NW mainline through Elgin. The telegraph code, FORIS, for this tower was motivated by the Fox River Switch name. [Comment by David Schnell on a share]

Mark Llanuza posted
its 1989 with Metra F-40 -c crossing Jct B-35 with a CNW southbound waiting to cross on the old Lake Geneva line
[I believe the modern signal control box is in the foot print of the tower. This C&NW branch line, and thus the diamond, is now gone.]

Photo via William Shapotkin's contribution to NorthAmericanInterlockings

Satellite

I disagree with the Abandoned Railroad Map, so I made my own trace of the abandoned C&NW route. The branch through here was basically a straight line. One point for the line is that it went over an interurban (CA&E?) track at the Abandoned Chicago & Northwesteren Bridge. This topo map gives us a second point for the line. It joined the C&NW mainline behind what is now The Alphabet Shop. That turnout was called Fox River Switch.

USGS, 1962 Elgin, 1:24,000

Jon Roma posted
Reminiscing about B&OCT's 75th Street Tower, and the shot posted by Mark Hinsdale, I thought I'd share an image of a tower that none of us saw in real life, but whose name lives on in 2016 as a railroad control point.
This is Milwaukee Road's Tower B-35 in Elgin. Note the bypass US 20 bridge under construction in the background.
Fred Van Dorpe I thought Spaulding is B35?
Jon Roma Spaulding is Spaulding – the location where the Milwaukee crossed the EJ&E.

B-35 is where the two-track Milwaukee main crossed the C&NW's West Chicago to Crystal Lake line, and where the Milwaukee went to single track to cross the Fox River. You can see that switch in the foreground of this picture.

Had Spaulding been numbered after its mileage from Union Station like all the rest of the towers on that line, it would have been B-32, not B-35.

Mark Llanuza posted
were at Jct B-35 at Elgin where the Milwaukee Rd Metra tracks cross over the CNW Lake Geneva line 1989
Steven Kakoczki Now that's a shot I always wanted...but too late in life for me...
Mark Llanuza thanks Steve .It was all in the planing for years .On Sundays this train would run into Elgin and north of town to lumber company ..we were just preying that he would have to wait for the 1:55pm Metra train
Ken Macko CNW track looks awful rough !!
[In all of the photos facing north, you can see the girders of the bridge over the interurban tracks.]

Mark Llanuza posted
Its 1989 with CNW Jct B-35 at Elgin crossing the former Milwaukee Rd tracks .This is the former Lake Geneva line that went to Crystal Lake -Ringwood and Williams Bay Wis
Mark Llanuza Ray Carl this line went north side of Elgin to a few lumber companies till 1997 .The line was cut back from Elgin to Crystal Lake in late 1983 but from Crystal Lake to Lake Geneva to line stayed intact till 1984 .The very last Frt pushed almost 40 plus cabooses up to Lake Geneva Wis in 1983 from Crystal Lake
Robert Owings There was also a scrap metal yard that was one of the major customers on that line. Could only use a small engine spotting a couple of the industries due to the sharp curvature if the track. Thanks
Ray Carl Ahh yes, the line of caboose hotels! I'll have to see if they are still open next time I'm up there.
Lance Renshaw Is that a connecting track I see to the right? Was it ever used?
Mark Llanuza Lance Renshaw during the Milwaukee Rd days that interchange track was used all the time.