Central Park Avenue Junction in Little Village Chicago: IC vs. IN vs. C&IW

(Satellite, it was in the northwest quadrant of the IN vs IC crossing.)

IC is now owned by CN

C&IW = Chicago & Illinois Western 

IN was absorbed by Santa Fe, and thus BNSF. Central Illinois Railroad (CIRY) operated the route until 2010. The route is now abandoned.

Satellite

1916

I had to find an old railroad map with enough detail to show the crossing of all three railroads --- ICwest, BNSF/Santa Fe/Illinois Northern, and CN/IC/Chicago & Illinois Western (CIW).

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

A 1938 photo shows that the CIW crossed the IN south of the the IC/IN crossing and then crossed the IC. The junction tower was in the northwest quadrant of the IC/IN crossing.

I made a copy of the satellite image because you can see a little bit of the IN track still left south of the IC tracks. Since the IN was allowed to be abandoned just a few years ago (when it still had two customers and two others who wanted the option of going back to rail service), it occurred to me that the "Bird's Eye View time machine" might still show the IN tracks. It does, but you can see by the access road built over the tracks that it was not used very often.

Bird's Eye View

iaisrailfan Flickr, thanks to Franklin Campbell's comment below

Getting flagged across... 05-21-07

The CIRY's little SW1200 1209 thumps across the CN's Freeport Sub to check on their storage cars parked just to the south...

Tagging is a big problem around here and sure enough, the tanks weren't there for more then 48 hrs and they were filthy with graffiti...

For the most part the BNSF brought tanks all the way across the diamonds and to the cross-overs before 31st St on their own so there really wasn't any need for the CIRY guys to go across the IC... except maybe me being here :-)

The former-IN route is what Shorelines calls "Operation #2." This junction was at 33rd extended East and Central Park Avenue extended South.

Shortlines via Dennis DeBruler