C&IW = Chicago & Illinois Western
I'm having to guess that Hawthorne Junction is ICwest vs. BRC because it is not on my Chicago Map and not in Chicago Rail Junctions (CRJ). (Update: Doug confirms that this is Hawthorn Junction.) The name "Hawthorne" is consistent with being in the Cicero area because of WE's Hawthorne Works. The junction is double track for both railroads, but I see only one track in one direction. But then I realized that the second track may be to the left out of frame.
David said it is a transfer run, so that would imply it is on BRC tracks. But then I realized that it may be on its home tracks. By analyzing the power poles in this and other pictures (e.g. looking West along CN/IC and looking North along BRC) as well as satellite images, I believe the view is looking south and the CN train is a road train leaving town. Transfer runs normally don't have at least three engines.
Edward Jarolin posted some pictures from Google concerning the BWAY Corporation. Since it is a closed group, I include his comments:
That explains the enclosure in a picture looking west from the end of South Kilbourn Avenue. Note there is a train on the BRC tracks.
Update: Edward has a 2007 Flickr photo of "Manufacturer's Junction Railway EMD model SW-1 switcher and short freight train," and a 1987 Flickr photo of a southbound BRC switcher.
Robert Daly posted three photos with the comment:
This confirms that it was in the southeast quadrant.
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| Dave Arganbright posted Banging across the Belt at Hawthorne in 1987. I remember that one day Mike Mathieu was switching loaded tank cars without air and their sloshing got away from him. All I remember hearing on the radio was "Lordy, lordy, Belt tower - give me the signal, I can't stop!" |
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| David M Laz posted in Facebook (Unfortunately, I can no longer find the link) Railroad transfer train. Hawthorne Junction. Chicago/Cicero Illinois |
David said it is a transfer run, so that would imply it is on BRC tracks. But then I realized that it may be on its home tracks. By analyzing the power poles in this and other pictures (e.g. looking West along CN/IC and looking North along BRC) as well as satellite images, I believe the view is looking south and the CN train is a road train leaving town. Transfer runs normally don't have at least three engines.
Edward Jarolin posted some pictures from Google concerning the BWAY Corporation. Since it is a closed group, I include his comments:
That's one long bridge [over the eastern connector tracks], probably enclosing a conveyor, connecting two buildings of BWAY Corp., a manufacturer of steel and plastic containers. Note the covered hoppers and metal silos likely holding plastic pellets. Located at approximately 33rd St. and S. Kilbourn Ave., Chicago, IL, along the former Chicago & Illinois Western.
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Update: Edward has a 2007 Flickr photo of "Manufacturer's Junction Railway EMD model SW-1 switcher and short freight train," and a 1987 Flickr photo of a southbound BRC switcher.
Robert Daly posted three photos with the comment:
Hawthorne Tower at the crossing of IC's Iowa Division with the Belt Railway, March 9 75. Back in the 70s, when railroads were at their low point, nosy railfans could usually talk their way into towers and other locations that would get you arrested today.
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| Photo from Steve Rosen Here's what "Belt" Tower looked like. It was dilapidated, dirty, cold in the winter and hot in the summer and had a coat of yuck on the inside that just wouldn't go away. It was the social center of the west end of the IC Chicago terminal. The "sign" on the side was painted by me...there were no markers on the tower to indicate what it was. This tower sat at the junction of the I.C., the BRC, and the C.&.I.W. (known as the "wobbley"), and later, the Chicago, Central and Pacific. It was closed, with remote control going to the Belt Railway dispatcher. The tower burned down shortly after. |
This confirms that it was in the southeast quadrant.
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| 1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
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| Chuck Sperlak posted The CCP... The Chicago Central and Pacific is a mere six months old when I snapped this photo at Hawthorne Tower. This is where the BRC crosses the IC and C&IW. In its haste they painted out the former road's identity but didn't bother to put their own! That's okay---we all know it's the CCP and eventually they'll start to add their version of the green diamond. Photo taken in June 1986. Damion Joseph: Wow lotsa TOFC. That didn’t last long. Richard Fiedler shared |
Craig Holmberg posted three photos with the comment:
Chuck SperlakHawthorne TowerIn April 1987 the BN Galesburg crews were bypassing Cicero Yard and taking trains directly to BRC Clearing. Because many weren't qualified BRC had a pilot (qualified Locomotive Engineer) to guide them over the route. On this day, when the pilot left the tower to board his train I followed him to get this photograph.Therefore, here's BN GP50 3106 headed south on the BRC. Note the second unit has a unique larger cab than the standard design.Speaking of Hawthorne, here's two interior views. However, Kodachrome 64 (or whatever film I had) doesn't work quite well in a dark dingy tower. Oh well...Interior photos taken on 12-26-89
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| Chuck Sperlak posted CCP---again... Another summer and another opportunity to visit Hawthorne Tower. This time it's a typical freight train headed west with a pair of GP20's (upgraded GP9's). Eventually these would receive the green diamond logo---in the meantime there are no CCP markings! Note the rusty bungalow placed on the west side of the tower. No doubt it'll soon contain the electronics to replace the tower and the people who worked there 24/7. Photo taken in April 1987 Joseph Tuch Santucci: There were eighteen Milwaukee Road units the CCP only leased from the Soo. They would go back to the Soo in latter 1987. One of them, the 958, actually wound up on Wisconsin Central in their early days. |
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