Monday, January 7, 2019

Tower A-20 (Techny): UP/C&NW crosses over Metra+CP/Milwaukee

(Bridge Hunter; Historic BridgesFlickr Photo of Tower; RailPictures of Bridge3D Satellite)
NorthAmericanInterlockings Photos:   Killinger    Allen
Chicago and Northern Indiana Railroad Interlocking Towers (click the marker for the correct information)

Steven J. Brown posted
Metra F40C 614 northbound at Techny Road in Northbrook, Illinois - June 29, 1998.
Dennis DeBruler I see that double lattice truss bridge still exists. I really need to make a field trip to the north side of Chicagoland sometime.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4...

John Andrew Long posted
Railroad tower...Techny, Illinois
Bill Johnson: There is a very old truss bridge at the location as well. You can see it from the Willow road bridge to the north.
Tim Shanahan shared

Cruz Martinez posted
Where the C&M and the new line split, and further down the old CNW route near northbrook illinois... Taken with permission from a good metra employee.
Glen Warmann Tower A20
Stuart B. Slaymaker Site of Tower A-20, to us oldsters. Armstrong tower. Some of the longer levers required the tower man to leap on them, and ride them down, to lock. True story. Circa 1967.

I assume the C&M was the Chicago & Milwaukee. The "new line" would be the line that goes southwest across the northern suburbs, then south along the west side of O'Hare, then back east to the Proviso Yard to take freight trains more directly to UP/C&NW's freight yard. Milwaukee used the new line to take their freight trains to the Bensenville Yard.

In the background, you can see the lattice truss bridge that takes the new line over the Milwaukee line.

Keith Pokorny posted
BNSF 284 leads CP train #281 at Tower A-20 in northbrook, IL. 1/6/2019

I added a red rectangle (near the top) where I think the tower was. The connecting track is so long because road freights have to climb the grade separation to get to the Bensenville Yard.
1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP
Screenshot @ -3:48

safe_image for A unique look at an important, historic railroad junction
Tower A-20 is where Milwaukee freights would take the connector to join C&NW's "New Line" to bypass Chicago on their way to Bensenville Yard.
 
Matt Clumac posted
wo Milwaukee Road DL-109s #14A and #14B pulling the Afternoon Hiawatha in Techny, IL in the winter in 1944. Built by Alco in 1941, #14A and #14B were the only two DL-109s owned by the Milwaukee Road. (C) Tom Harley.
Justin Nelson: 5th car back is 1942 coach 477, painted in the unique “buy war bonds” paint scheme.
Pauly Zee: Techny overpass still looks like this too.
Andy Hughes: Keith Kopecky There we’re several (or more) Publicity shots with that great bridge. One is the 2nd edition of the Hi. Framed with the girders. A really nice shot. Using our competitor’s bridge! This CNW line was put in in 1911 & in service 1912. When USRA took over American RRs during WW 1 They forced the Milwaukee to trackage rights on this CNW ‘New Line’ from Bryn Mawr to here. Shermer is just east of this bridge. Controlled by A-20. Of course a tower was here at first.
Andy Hughes: Lordy that’s a big train. Shermer interlocking is just to the left on the CNW. A-20 just to the rear which controlled Shermer.
Fred Strandberg: The End of Alco was all the electrical components where made by GE and could not get parts. Milwaukee railroad sucked money off by the owners to put it out of business.

Steven J. Brown posted
Six Milwaukee Road SD40-2's southbound at A20 - Techny Road in Northbrook, Illinois - September 1980.

Nick Jenkins posted
From the operators window at Tower A20 on the Milwaukee Road, the almost new (May 1974) F40C "Village of Round Lake" passes by on its journey to Fox Lake, IL.
Justin Sobeck: What is the single level car on the head end?
Nick Jenkins: Justin Sobeck LW 90-seat commuter coach rblt. from 68-seat coach.
Mike Schattl: Techny Junction......The complimentary "other" junction to Bryn Mawr Jct at least to MILW/Soo/CP Rail fans......
 
Steven J. Brown posted
Amtrak Hiawatha Service #323 is northbound approaching Tower A20/Techny Junction in Northbrook, Illinois - June 9, 1977.
I describe this whole day in this slideshow: A Teen Explores Chicago's Railroads - The Sequel 1975-78
https://youtu.be/Gz-SUeVdnik
Dennis DeBruler: I wondered what caused that hill on the left. The answer is simple: a landfille.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5...
It looks like they "capped" the landfill with a golf course.
Matt McClure: Dennis DeBruler Yes. Quite fun and well-sculpted. This is where CP wanted to add a third main and NIMBYS came out of the woodwork.

Carl Venzke caught a Milwaukee commuter in March 1959 with a signal in the foreground and the tower in the background.

Metra posted a video of "Metra and Union Pacific crews replacing the final switch at Tower A2 in August 2016." What I find amazing is that UP used two rail-mounted cranes. Since they used their own cranes, I assume they used their own crews. When BNSF replaced crossover switches in Downers Grove, they hired multiple contractors. Cranemasters provided the crane service with three crawler cranes. (Their pre-assembled crossover was a lot longer than this one.)




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