(Duplicate Alert: my first notes are easier to read.)
NorthAmericanInterlockings: photo photo (these are the same photos as those posted by William below)
Chicago and Northern Indiana Railroad Interlocking Towers (click the marker for more information)
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.
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| 1 Comments from another posting: Bob Lalich 40th St Tower on the C&WI. The CJ tracks are underneath the girder bridges.Dennis DeBruler Bob Lalich Thanks. I presume the photographer is looking south. https://www.google.com/.../@41.8219158,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3 Bob Lalich Yes, the SB signals protect crossovers, wye tracks to the CJ, and the leads to the Wabash's 47th St Yard. William Shapotkin Yes, the photographer (Dr Robert Breese) took this pic, looking S/W off the back end of Amtrak's E/B BROADWAY LIMITED. |
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| 2 Rod Truszkowski I 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.
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| RailfanGuides |
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| Bob Lalich commented on a posting |
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| 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 Roma See http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/stockyards.html and http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/kenwood.html. Dennis DeBruler  I 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 Moffat And 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. |
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| 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 Stanovich David 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!!! |
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| 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 |
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| 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… |
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| 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. |
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| 3D Satellite |
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| Digitized by Google, Page 72 |
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