47th Street Tower: C&WI vs. IHB + GTW

(Satellite)
NorthAmericanInterlockings:  exterior      interior
Chicago and Northern Indiana Railroad Interlocking Towers, click the icon to get more information

(Update: an explanation of the 1908 signalling system  900 trains a day!)

John DeWit Woodlock II posted
CR 5022,5050 @ 47th Street Tower-Chicago,IL 00 JUN 88.
Dennis DeBruler After four years of following Facebook groups, this is the first photo I have seen of this tower. Was it along one of these tracks south of 47th? https://www.google.com/.../@41.8087023,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3
John DeWit Woodlock II You have the location.

Bob Lalich commented on Bill Molony's posting concerning C&WI's 47th Depot

Bob Lalich's text:

This station was located next to a very impressive interlocking plant at the junction of the GT, IHB Stockyards line, and leads from C&WI's coach yard and engine terminal. Here is a 1953 photo from the tower, which was located on the south side of 47th St. The trackwork includes a crossing through a switch!

Stan Stanovich ...Bob Lalich, I've seen this general area more days of my working life over the last 20+ years than not! The tower stood until 1999. I'm having a little bit of a problem orienting myself with this photograph! We're looking as the bird flies south here, the Stockyards line (49th line) is off to the right! To the left is the C&WI main toward 74th St and the Pennsy, completely out of sight to the left?!!!
Bob Lalich I'd say it's a bit SSW but you got it Stan Stanovich.
Phil Schmidt About when did the GTW and IHB stop using the 49st line from Elsdon? And is it still useable? I seem to remember something about it being restored by the CREATE project.
Stan Stanovich ...when I moved to Chicago in 1995 and started to work in the area as an engineer for what was then Conrail, the GTW/IHB connection just southwest of 47th St tower was basically all still in place. It appeared as if it hadn't been used in MANY years. It was all taken out in 1999 when the C&WI/Metra southwest route was relocated west of C&WI's former 51st St yard. Prior to this, the C&WI mains sat in between former PRR 55th St yard and 51st St yard. With the line relocation they became intermodal strip tracks 40 and 41 sort of effectively combining 55th St and 51st St into one yard, instead of dividing the two! It is collectively known today as the NS 47th St intermodal yard. I understand that earlier in time they were originally located where they were moved to in '99!!!

IHB stopped using the east/west route when the stockyards closed and GTW stopped using it when it quit running passenger trains to Dearborn Station via the Chicago & Western Illinois. Norfolk Southern must have bought the Metra/UP land along the Metra former C&WI mainline to expand its 47th Street Intermodal Yard.

In the upper-right corner, I noticed the long, narrow shadow on 47th Street. That is probably cast by the tower. You can also see the really long shadow over the tracks of the smokestack in the photo.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

chicago and western indiana railroad posted
47th street tower where the dispatcher was located and the c.t.c. computer for 4 towers
Paul Jevert: Erie 4-8-4 Northern
Eric Reinert: The Erie didn't have any 4-8-4's. This looks like a Grand Trunk Western train, probably The Maple Leaf.
Dale Windhorst: Did Dearborn station have its own dispatcher or was it also controlled from here?
chicago and western indiana railroad: all typical operations were carried out of dearborn until the 1976-1977 era, then they relocated to 51st street and the santa fe building. the dispatchers office may have been located at a different location maybe...because the c.t.c. system was installed around 1973-74 era for 40th street and 47th street..
Paul Jevert shared
C&WI 47th St. Tower

William Shapotkin posted
This is the one-time 47th St Tower of the C&WI in Chicago. Operations on the C&WI (23rd-74th St) were already under control of a Dispatcher at Metra's Consolidated Control Facility and the tower did not have long for this world when I took this photo in the Summer of 1999. View looks N/W.

William posted again
Bob Lalich I spend a fair amount of time in the trailer on the right, when the Metra dispatcher was located there. John Vaisvil was the weekday dispatcher, who had hired on with the C&WI in the early 50s. He had been a signal maintainer, tower operator, and a dispatcher. John was always patient and gracious with my unending questions, and I learned a lot from him. RIP!

Chuck Roth posted
William Shapotkin Looks as if 47th St Tower has already been decommissioned and that operations are being run out of the trailer (at left).

Bob Lalich commented on Chuck's post
47th St interlocking was the junction of the GTW with the C&WI. The tower also controlled the leads to Wabash's 47th St Yard, the C&WI coach yard and engine terminal, the leads to Erie/EL 51st St Yard and IHB's stockyards branch. Here is a diagram reflecting the layout after a new route control interlocking machine was installed in 1953. At that time, there were 250 moves through the plant daily, according to an article in Railway Signaling magazine.

William Shapotkin commented on his posting

Jon Roma commented on William Shapotkin's posting
47th Street Tower controlled quite a complex plant. From the diagram, which has north on the right, the tower controlled a lead to the Erie Yard, the junction between C&WI's freight and passenger mains, as well as the connection to the GT and CJ. This diagram dates to 1942 and comes from a C&WI interlocking diagram book in my collection.
Bob Lalich The plant included leads to the C&WI engine terminal and coach yard as well.

John Uhlich commented on Chuck's post
I remember at one time that the 47th St. and 40th St. interlockings were electro-pneumatic plants where they employed compressed air to actuate the switches. I believe Hayford used the same type of switches too. I strongly doubt that type of switch is still used. https://3.bp.blogspot.com/.../43195757_2662827147076470...