These are notes that I am writing to help me learn our industrial history. They are my best understanding, but that does not mean they are a correct understanding.
Arturo Gross Flickr Photo (source), this photo used with specific permission
Got out for some first day of 2018 train photography, sunny but never got above 3 degrees! Here we have Norfolk Southern ES44DC 7601 leading a steel coil train off the Indiana Harbor Belt onto home rails eastbound at CP 502, E Chicago IN, Jan 1 2018. Dennis DeBrulerThe left track in the foreground shows how a turnout heater keeps the points free of snow.
NS must have slightly changed the origin of the mileage markers because my reference map for the Chicago area shows this as CP 447. But Arturo caught the signal box clearly showing CP 502. Can you imagine how complicated this junction was back when all five bridges in the background were still being used? But I have not found any information on a tower for this junction.
One of 19 photos in the area posted by Matt McClure including a bottle car
With BNSF and CP GE units chugging, a manifest freight moves toward Robert Young Yards in Elkhart.
The Indiana Harbor Belt Lakefront Yard is the northern terminus of the IHB Kankakee Line after it crosses the NS Chicago Line. The line has to cross the triple track main line at NS CP502, which makes for a complex piece of trackwork. The Lakefront Yard is near the waterfront Ameristar Casino in East Chicago, Indiana. This stretch of the Norfolk Southern mainline serves as the primary conduit for NS traffic to Chicago, CP trains using trackage rights and also carries a large number of Amtrak trains.
Andre Kristopans: A bit of history - the line crossing the old B&O and NYC was originally the Chicago & Illinois Southern and continued along the lakefront to the sand mines near what is now Ogden Dunes. Around 1900 when what is now US Steel Gary Works was being built, an arrangement was worked out with NYC and B&O to relocate their lines further south to release more lakefront acreage for the mill. The CI&S between Indiana Harbor and the mill site was sold to the Chicago Lake Shore & Eastern, an Elgin Joliet & Eastern subsidiary. The EJ&E then built the Gary & Western between Gibson and east of the new mill so the CI&S could access the sand mines east of there, and sold it to CI&S upon completion. The old CI&S then became part of the CLS&E line connecting Gary Works and South Works, with CI&S only keeping the line as far as the Lakefront Yard. At some point (1930s?) CI&S became part of IHB, with line south of Osborne (CI&S extended to Danville) becoming NYC.
IHB gave up on the Gary & Western in stages, first building a connection to NYC east of Miller in 1960s and using the rest for dead car storage, then after the sand mines were replaced by Midwest Steel and Bethlehem Steel gave up the line entirely in lieu of trackage rights on NYC from Indiana Harbor.
Another Arturo Gross Flickr Photo, this one showing Conrail engines pulling a steel coil train in 1988.
Chicago Junction, the railroad that went under NS/(C&WI+Pennsy), called this connection Butler Junction.
William Shapotkin posted two photos with the comment:
Here are two undated pix of C&WI's 40th St Tower in Chicago. The tower is long-gone, the tracks have all been re-arranged and the junction here (known as "CP 518") is controlled by an NS Dispatcher.
2 Rod TruszkowskiI was still working at canal st. when they tore it down
William Shapotkin also posted the above two photos with the comment: "Here are two undated pix of C&WI's 40th St Tower in Chicago. The tower is long-gone, the tracks have all been re-arranged and the junction here (known as "CP 518") is controlled by an NS Dispatcher." Nhat Quan V. Do Is this near the Root st. wye? William Shapotkin Now that is an interesting question. If you are referring to "Root St" on the one-time NYC/ROCK, it is west of that location by maybe 1/4-1/3 mile. However, the Pennsy (in its tracks diagrams) referred to 40th St AS "Root St." (Not every railroad referred to the same place by the same name. Perhaps the most vivid example (in Chicago, anyway) is 21st St Interlocking -- also known as "Alton Jct" (by the Pennsy), "Ft Wayne Jct" (by Alton (later GM&O)) and "Santa Fe Jct" by the IC. Although the C&WI controlled the interlocking (and called it "21st St"), each of these other railroads had a different name for the place.
This tower controlled access to the route that goes west from here. That route used to be how the Pennsy and C&WI owners accessed the stockyards. This connection must still be important because this is how the Norfolk Southern trains using the former NYC/LS&MS mainline across Indiana access their Ashland yard and interchange with UP.
Bruce Moffat commented on a posting Apparently the black & white views supplied by William Shapotkin date from after 1958 because prior to that time this location was a rather rare triple level crossing! The top level was the elevated structure for the Stock Yards "L" which ran directlyabove the CJ tracks in this area. The elevated structure was actually owned by a sister company of the Chicago Junction/Union Stock Yards & Transit Company but operated by the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and successor CTA until October 7, 1957 when CTA discontinued operations. The USY&T demolished it the following year. Attached is a photo that was credited to the C&WI that was printed in some magazine (Maybe Railroad?) in the early to mid-1950's. William Shapotkin commented on this photo That's the C&WI's "40th St Tower" at right. Today, the railroad junction (known as "CP 518") is controlled by an NS Dispatcher -- believe from Dearborn, MI. Jon RomaSee http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/stockyards.html and http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/kenwood.html. Dennis DeBrulerI just read the Chicago L posts. It turns out that 1957 was the end of a 50-year lease between the CTA and Chicago Junction. Bruce MoffatAnd they wasted no time getting out. The two companies had an acrimonious relationship since the 1930s. Have a thick file on that for a future article.
Kevin Piper posted
You're looking east at Conrail's busy Butler Junction (40th Street) from the cab of a Chicago Rail Link GP18. The track on the far left leads to UP's Canal Street terminal, or you could go straight there and duck under Conrail's ex-PRR main and join Metra's line along the Dan Ryan Expressway. This was the old Chicago Stockyards area, and buildings on the left are what remains of a huge meatpacking industry once there. Railroading always brings you along the hard to reach back alleys in big cities! 3-31-91. KEVIN PIPER PHOTO Fred Mohr Going left up the Boomer track to Canal Port and 38th Street switch to get on the Metra main or straight ahead to go over the Dan Ryan Expressway to get on the Rock at the Root Street Wye.
Awsome shot Kevin! Paul Tincher One of the conductors I used to work with got hit in the head with a pair of bolt cutters from some thugs breaking into trailers at the Butler switch one night. Lucky he was wearing a ball cap or it would have turned out worse than it did. After that Canal Street security would come down and wait with trainmen to line the switch back!
Kevin Piper also posted Bill Boldman You would be shocked at how much the CJ’s have changed. It’s all signaled and 25 mph now. Larry Graham CP 518. Connection for Ashland from the CWI. Daniel Kopack This is CP Halsted now. Larry Graham It's been awhile. We stopped going up there around '99. Larry Graham Yard office on the north side of the yard. Damen runs on an overhead. The 49 Line took off to the southwest past Railport and eventually down to the Belt at 55th. Had the Inbound and Outbound leads down from Railport. If you went straight to the north from Railport, believe this was the Damen runner? Or wye? You could turn power but was like going around the world lol Larry Graham Had to call Brighton at the west end if you were spinning.
Kevin Piper posted Paul Tincher Is that the “back way” to Canal Street in the left rear? Ean Kahn-Treras the track diverging to the left, yes. David Daruszka I had to take headroom going east when I delivered a train to the CJ. I had not idea where I was headed and the tracks were dodgy at best.
Stan StanovichDavid Daruszka ...the CJ’s are all powered up, fully signaled, continuous welded rail and a 25 MPH speed limit!!! Dispatched from Atlanta by the Chicago Terminal Dispatcher!!! David Daruszka All I know I was sent into a desolate place from which I feared there was no return. It looked like the remnants of the Stockyards and it wasn't 25 mph track. In the direction of Racine Ave. Paul Schlichting Running est on CJ 2 up the hill to CP518. Stan StanovichPaul Schlichting ...recently re-designated as UW 1 and 2 instead of CJ 2 and 3!!! Stan StanovichKevin Piper ...a view I presently still experience quite regularly!!!
Dennis DeBruler tried to comment, but Facebook declared it to be a violation of community standards because it was spam!
CP518 was the clue I needed. It is really embarrassing when you do a Google search and your own notes turn up as the third result. This crossing is an example of where each railroad had a different name for it:
NYC/CJ: Butler
C&WI: 40th
Pennsy: Root Tower
Now NS owns everything and calls it CP518.
The crossing in the photo between the middle and left tracks is now removed, but there are no steel girders beside the tracks, so the arrow is my guess as to where Kevin's locomotive was. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.821913,-87.6393582,693m/data=!3m1!1e3
Andrew Urbanski posted I came across this photo from a friend, but I have no idea where this CRL photo was taken, I see a tower to the right of the bridge. Anyone recognize this location? Bob Lalich: The photographer is D.W.Davidson. The tower was known as 40th St, manned by C&WI, and was out of service at the time of the photo, 1994. Jacob Diorio: This is between CP Halsted (behind photographer) and CP 518 (out of frame on right). I believe at one time the CTA ran overhead on a branch to the Stockyards but that’s LONG gone. [There are some comments as to whether or not this track is still in service.] Franklin Campbell: I was digging for photos of CRL at this location a few weeks ago(probably these photos) and came across a Tribune article about them having an accident in the area. Apparently a CRL train and a Conrail locomotive collided in Ashland Avenue Yard in 93 or 94. I don't know how bad of an accident it was, but it made the paper and someone apparently got hurt. Stan Stanovich: Franklin Campbell …don’t have the details and this took place prior to my relocating in Chicago in January ‘95. To my knowledge the collision was not in Ashland Avenue yard. I believe it was in the curve around Halsted Street where visibility is limited… …prior to signals being implemented in the early 2000’s and the CJ Dispatcher position created, the Ashland Avenue yardmaster had verbal control of the CJ mains. The person who told me about this incident believe it or not was the actual yardmaster who erroneously gave permission to the two opposing movements on the same track…
Bob Lalich commented on Jacob's comment Here is a John W. Barriger III photo showing the Stockyards L overhead. There was a switchtender on the CJ located at Normal Ave to handle the maze of crossovers and connections to the C&WI and PRR.
Jim Browne commented on Steven's posting
From what I've seen wrecking balls are more productive than excavators, just less controlled.
Jeremy Bellois posted
What’s the going price for balls five ton and three ton Jeremy Dunn That big one looks like a 5k lbs and the little one looks like a 3k lbs. Not tons. Huge difference.
[The consensus of the comments is 50-100 cents per pound depending on the condition of the ball.]
Instead of swinging the boom to swing the "ball," this crane uses a second cable between the house and the ball to swing the ball. Or in the case of the beginning of the video, the second cable pulls the ball that is inside the silo.
(new window) Around 4:10, the part that fell down hit the crane and rocked the boom. Around 4:30 the crane does the sideways swinging of the ball that I'm more used to seeing. At 5:39, judging by the sound, the chain hit the boom! It is a good thing it didn't wreck that. He hit the boom again at 7:17 and 8:07. When he is working at those high angles, most of the force of the second cable is adding additional downward force on the boom.
Reminders of growing up in Chicagoland posted
[Edgewater Beach Hotel. Torn down for the Breakers.]
I think this crane is using a wrecking ball, but I couldn't find it in any of the photos.
Robert Daly posted three photos with the comment: "More photos to depress y'all--demolition of the North Western Station headhouse, October 1984."
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James Vaughn commented on a Ben Stalvey share
During the demo
James Vaughn commented on a Ben Stalvey share
Almost done
Two of four photos posted by Kevin Conrad with the comment: "Old Northern Pacific Grain Growers mill being demolished, Spokane, WA 5-25-19"
The east side of that elevator had some rather modern bins. Looking at a satellite image, it looks like it could receive and ship by rail. But the sidings were short.
The elevator in the background of the first photo is ADM Milling. It not only has a yellow fall protector, it has a roof over part of the fall protector.
Mario Torres posted four photos and a video with the comment:
The Manitowoc 3900W has started demolition work. Although a high-reach demolition excavator with shear might have been better for demolition of this steel-framed building, it was nevertheless fun to watch this vintage 1988 3900W work. Nice to see an older friction machine still at work in the age of hydraulic, joystick machines.
Gareth Wood There's still many advantages using a ball, providing a good operator can be found. Jaime ChierGareth Wood 100% agree. Have both a high reach and crane and ball. Just set our crane up yesterday. On the operator thing. I only have 5 years left that I want to work. Been looking for someone to train. Have a good Oiler now but he has a long way to go. Gareth WoodJaime Chier nobody runs balls on demolition here in England now, I'm probably one of the last owner operators about, mostly breaking rocks in quarries now though. Jaime ChierGareth Wood well on a 15 story I don’t want to even think about what it would cost to buy a high reach to effectively work that high. Jim Browne High reaches have their place, but they are remarkably slow. A good ball operator will out-produce them all the time. Obviously you can't use them everywhere and high reach machines can be surgical but its amazing how fast a drop ball machine will take a building down.
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I thought wrecking balls were swung into the building. But the above post and the following show that the ball is sometimes just dropped.
It seems that Link-Belt cranes (at least for Potts & Callahan) were the best cranes around for demolition work. In 1993, when I photographed their LS-218, it was balling a parking garage. Another time, it found itself doing the same thing to a brewery complex. I wonder if that crane is still around, doing its thing with the ball.
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Steve Robinson posted four photos with the comment: "I would assume some of you here have operated a wrecking ball or two in your time." Christoph Menzitowoc Interesting to see the lattice-boom truckcranes in wrecking mode with ball or heavy clamshell in the old times. From time to time there are also pictures with truckcranes working with a dragline bucket in those days. Obviously the outriggers of these old truckcranes were strong enough to withstand the horizonal forces during excavator work. Jason KeillorChristoph Menzitowoc I still use a truck crane as a dragline. I have never used out riggers, that would destroy the frame. Steve Coughlin Always wrecked with a truck Crane . Much better chart. Albert Bailer I used a 55 gallon drum full of concrete , dried of course . When I swung it toward the building , I kept checking the swing right before it hit . Jim Sharp Yep with lattice truck crane. A hard days work for machine and driver. Did clamshell work and pile driving and concrete pouring with the same machine. Layne Wylie Looks very tedious. Just recently there was a failed building implosion in Dallas, TX. The only safe option I guess was to attack it with a wrecking ball. The local news must have thought this would be exciting, so they sent the helicopter for a live video feed. After 6 hours you couldn't tell anything had happened to it. I assume they did eventually get it down, but the news had lost interest by then. Steven Camp My knee ran one a few to many times. [Back before hydraulics and joysticks, the clutches were controlled directly by muscle power.]
John Harker posted Coming down a lot harder than it went up 73 yrs ago. [The slow progress is why so many abandoned grain silos and coaling towers still stand.]
David Kalena: Put a truck tire in that. Takes the shock out of the boom.
Joseph McDaniel: David Kalena we had a tire on ours i never new why until now 😆
A video of an excavator using a wrecking ball. (source) Sometimes when he whipped that ball, he would lift the rear end of the crawlers off the ground. He has already knocked the surface concrete off the other columns. That would allow the outer layer of rebar to bend.
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