Wednesday, September 18, 2019

BRC 83rd and 87th Street Yards

83rd: (Satellite, now just "brown land")
87th: (Satellite, now just "brown land")

Because the BRC was a belt railway, it served a lot of industries before trucks took the "boxcar" business starting in the 1960s. In addition to a big classification yard, Clearing Yard, it had several small yards around Chicago such as 100th, Commercial (South Chicago), West 12th Street, and Hawthorne to serve local trains.

I had noticed that there were a lot of tracks next to the BRC mainline in this neighborhood:
USGS 1929 Blue Island Topo Excerpt
But I did not know the names of the yards until I saw this diagram.

Jon Roma commented on a post
Finally, I'll throw in this map produced by the C&WI in 1973 (well after the railroad's peak) that shows the C&WI and Belt tracks between 63rd and 99th Streets, and as far east as the overpass above the IC.

This was an amazingly complicated web of tracks, nearly none of which resembles what's there today.Ean Kahn-Treras The biggest takeaway is that out of the 6 CWI tracks running north-south at 74th street, there is only one left nowadays. This is the track used by amtrak.
Lawrence Smith here is cab ride video of MEtra inbound on old Wabash and C+WI to CUS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD-2REcupp0
83rd Street Yard:
090948 from ILHAP
87th Street Yard:
05062 from ILHAP

Glen Koshiol posted
Here's a shot of a BRC southbound coke train headed for Commercial Ave. and the EJ&E at the USS South Works Plant. Photo was taken at 87th. ST. where the CWI main to Pullman Jct. crosses over the Belt. The line on the left is the CWI Dolton Branch used by the L&N/ MP. I presume the yard was the CWI freight yard as the Belt dropped off cars for them up until about 1980. There is also a small engine house visible. My picture, 11/9/ 79.
Ean Kahn-Treras: Off the CWI overpass I assume? So much history in this area. Not too much to see nowadays, but I still enjoy poking around between 80th and 87th.
Glen Koshiol: Ean Kahn-Treras That whole yard area was sold to the city and filled with dirt and gravel from many highway asphalt resurfacing, mostly the Dan Ryan.
Bob Lalich: Nice shot! The structure near the end of the train was a shop building that supported C&WI's RIP tracks.

Paul Jervert posted a Marty Bernard photo
I.C.Terrible Tommy Mangan at the throttle at 83rd St. Stop board with the B&OCT R.R. (1966)


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