NS/PRR's Colehour Yard and Junction

Satellite

(Aerial photos of the Falstaff Malt Plant include this yard since it ran along the south side of the plant.)

It is easy to find this yard because Norfolk Southern has not completely torn it out. The issue was confirming it was PRR instead of NYC. Because Colehour Junction is one of the PRR's track plans and because of this yard track plan, I'm confidant it was a PRR yard.

Diagram from BLE&T Division 4, select "Maps"

I now understand why NS changes from former-NYC tracks across Indiana to former-Pennsy tracks between 117th and 116th Streets in Whiting, IN --- they wanted Colehour Yard and the industrial business that switches out of it. (Where NS joins the Pennsy RoW was called Lake Junction and is now called CP 506.)

Penn Central decided that the NYC route across Indiana was to be the main route and the Pennsy route was downgraded to a single-track local service route. This was because Pennsy management since the 1950s had been putting their money into real estate deals instead of track upgrades whereas the NYC management had invested in their track and yard infrastructure. Conrail connected the former Pennsy line to the former-NYC/Michigan Central line in 1997 at Tollestone Junction by adding a connector in the southwest quadrant. Conrail then abandoned the Pennsy line from Tollestone Junction to just north of the South Shore. Conrail added a connector just north of the B&OCT to NYC tracks. The point where the new connector first curves to the NYC tracks is called Buffington. Conrail abandoned the RoW between Buffington and CP 506. Pennsy's Clarke Yard ran along the segment that was retained and connected to the NYC.

CSX got Clarke Yard as part of obtaining the Pennsy assets across northern Indiana, but they choose to abandon it rather than add a connector where their B&OCT/B&O mainline crossed it.

It is easy to see where the abandoned Pennsy RoW between Tollstone and Bluffinton was because it has not been developed. In fact, you can still find track along parts of it. Although some of the track is hidden by a lot of weeds.

Satellite

The part between Bluffinton and CP 506 has been redeveloped, but it is easy to determine where it was by drawing a straight line between the two. It is not quite right because the line should have gone over the old bridge abutments.

Zoomed

Satellite

In this photo of the Standard Oil (now BP) refinery the tracks on the right are NYC and the tracks that are in the middle of the picture are Pennsy. I'm sure the refinery was willing to pay a pretty penny to get the land of that Pennsy 4-track RoW.

Excerpt from Panoramic Photo from LoC

Update:

From Indianapolis Blvd c1912
[Pennsy on the left and NYC on the right. Colehour Yard would be behind the photographer. Look at all of the smoke on the right closer to downtown Chicago! This area is now grass and trees.]

Satellite

Arturo Gross posted his Flickr photo of the S-curve between the NYC and Pennsy RoWs. It was labelled Lake Junction by Penn Central and CR. It was CP 506 for NYC and CP 451 for PRR. Another view of the junction.

This is the link suggested in a comment below made hot of two steam locomotives pulling a passenger train.

Update: I added Colehour Junction to this posting because some of the photos of this junction also include the Falstaff Malt plant in the background.

John DeWit Woodlock II posted
CR 7657,21216 @ Colehour Yard-Hammond,IN 25 APR 97.
Dennis DeBruler Colehour Yard is a former Pennsy yard that is easy to find today because NS still uses it. https://www.google.com/.../@41.6990251,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3

John DeWit Woodlock II posted
CR 6253,6745 @ Colehour Jct-Chicago,IL 16 SEP 95.
Dennis DeBruler Is this Falstaff, or was there yet another big grain processing plant by the State Line?
John DeWit Woodlock II Part of Falstaff. I remember the Falstaff "beer cans", when Dad would drive past on the Skyway. Pretty cool!
[It seems later it was Schlitz because they buoght Falstaff.]

John DeWitt Woodlock II posted two photos with the comment: "CR 6511,6466 @ Colehour Jct-Chicago,IL 24 SEP 95."

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Colehour Junction is west of Colehour Yard. It is the northern terminus of the South Chicago & Southern and is where it joined the Pennsy mainline. The SC&S is now the Burnham Greenway. Again, the Falstaff malt plant was in the background.

John DeWit Woodlock II posted
UP 9203,5979;WC 6497,6634 @ Colehour Yard-Hammond,IN 20 JAN 99.

John DeWitt Woodlock II posted two photos with the comment: "CR 1667 @ Colehour Jct-Chicago,IL 24 SEP 95."

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Wayne Koch posted
PC ex-NYC EMDs on the PRR at Colehour South Chicago ILL 3-1970 Jim Burd.
Dennis DeBruler I've never seen a photo that included the whole Falstaff facility before.

Karen Brozynski posted
The photo taken by C. Stricker that I posted the bottom only last week.
[A photo of the State Line Generating Station, the malting plant, and Colehour Yard.]

Marty Gatton shared

Aerial shot of Colehour yard and surrounding area as seen at Southeast Chicago Historical Society...

Unknown photographers or year
Dwain Jerantowski I worked Conrail N S, had to say overtime when they imploded the silos in case debris landed on the tracks.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Marty's share
Karen states the photographer is C. Stricker. There is no Skyway, so it was taken before 1958. In fact, the white label on the photo indicates circa 1940.

Rod commented on his post
Answer: Photo from Albert Schwill Malthouse later Falstaff Malthouse (as of 1961) view toward Indianapolis Avenue Most noticeable landmark is St. Francis De Sales (dedicated 1912) near center of photograph. Bethlehem Lutheran Church (which burned down in 1918) at 103rd and Avenue H is partially visible at extreme left. Attached photo gives clear view of Bethlehem Lutheran Church 1917.

William Shapotkin posted
William Shapotkin posted
We are on Chicago's Southeast side near 103rd St/Indianapolis Blvd (street to left of tracks). At right is the PRR's Pittsburgh Ft Wayne & Chicago Mainline. Veering off to left is the PRR's South Chicago & Southern line (now abandoned north of approx 130th St) over which such trains as the SOUTH WIND used to enter Chicago off the PRR's "Panhandle" at Bernice Jct. The junction here was known as "Colehour." View looks S/W in 1929. From the facebook page "Chicagoland Before We Were Born."
Ean Kahn-Treras oh man this is stupidly neat! The SC&S is indeed all ripped up from this location to about 130th as you noted. It is still in place from 130th, across the CSS and NKP diamonds at Burnham and feeds into the B&O at Calumet Park. South of there it regains its forlorn status.
The IHB uses the SC&S south of the Burnham diamonds quite frequently to service Great Lakes Reloading. You can usually see the back in there midday from the CSS Hegewisch station. The portion between the switch into Great Lakes and the switch to the former PRR Hammond Branch at 135th St is inactive. The Hammond Branch feeds into the north end of the Harbor's Burnham Yard and sees a couple moves a day as well. Petcoke trains run out of Burnham up to the Koch Bros facility on the river up by 110th St on the Cal River Line. The Harbor also has an evening local that serves the handful of industries that still exist on the Cal River Line and Calumet & Western dead end.
[Some more comments discuss catching the IHB job.]
Bob Lalich The SC&S line from Bernice to Colehour was completed in 1887.
Jon Roma I got to ride the SC&S when Amtrak's "Cardinal" still ran that way.