CB&Q Old Diesel Engine Terminal and Power Plant (Zephyr Pit)

(Satellite, replaced by a bigger commuter engine terminal further to the north)

North of the old engine service facilities and adjacent to the current engine service facilities is the BNSF/CB&Q commuter coach yard. Commuter trains is one aspect of Chicagoland railroading that has not shrunk since the advent of Interstate highways. In fact, I-290 is now so congested, the trains are more important than ever. I've read that some BNSF trains are standing room only.

Robert Daly posted
Engine terminal, 14th and Canal, October 1987.
Robert Daly posted again
Engine house and coach yard, 14th and Canal, Oct. 6 1985.
Timothy Leppert: Actually, this was just for Coaches and storing the business car. The Zephyr pit for locomotives is out of view behind it. See that short post between the sidewalk and the Lead. You could stop there and cycle test your cab signals in the E's.

Bill Howes caught this building with the doors open.

Marty Bernard shared
The Zephyr Pit

In the CB&Q days the engine facility just south of Chicago Union Station was affectionately known at the Zephyr Pit. Now that it serves only Metra diesels, is that name still used?

Bill Howes took this photo of the Zephyr Pit on July 22, 1966.

David Daruszka I never heard it called that all the years I worked at Metra.
Marty Bernard What was it called?
David Daruszka BN Coach Yard.
Clayton Hartford Only being a railfan I've heard it referred to that alot.
Jack Steen TRAINS mag is responsible for a lot of silly, infantilized language still used by some silly people. Railroad men referred to it as "the Ramp," or "the House," and never by the silly David Ingles' coined nonsense.

Ron Conway commented on William' Brown's post
Your cover photo is not the "Zephyr Pit". It is the 14th St Coach Yard. The "Zephyr Pit" is the engine facility at the yard. Here is a shot of it in 1978.

Union Station had a big powerhouse because coach cars built during the steam locomotive period were steam heated. The powerplant provided steam for those coaches parked at the station. But I guess it didn't supply CB&Q's coach yard because according to the photo below, CB&Q had their own powerhouse. In fact, the big pipe near the right side of the photo above probably carried the steam from the powerhouse to the coaches.

Robert Daly posted
Passenger yard powerhouse, 14th and Canal, October 1987.
Robert Daly posted again
Power house, 15th and Canal, May 10 1987. Amtrak's new facility is in the distance.

But where is the smokestack in Robert's photo??? The background in this 1964 photo shows that the powerhouse had a single, tall stack that was torn down by the time Robert took his photo in 1987.

Third photo of six photos shared by Marty Bernard
Looking south, the CB&Q Coach Yard is to the right, PRR's is to left, and the main tracks are between. In the distance the upper portion of the bridge over the South Branch of the Chicago River is visible. Bill Howes took this on October 4, 1964.

This photo has been moved to "BNSF/CB&Q Chicago Commuter Train (14th Street) Yard"

This photo has been moved to "BNSF/CB&Q Chicago Commuter Train (14th Street) Yard"

We can see from the long, slender shadow in the left-middle of this aerial that the stack used to be on the south side of the powerhouse. We can also see that the engine house was northeast of the powerhouse and that there was a turntable a little further north. At the bottom of the aerial, I included the Crooks Terminal Warehouse to help show where this area was.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

This topo map is consistent with the aerial photo.

1963 Englewood Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

RailPictures has a photo of the turntable.

RailPictures also has a 1981 photo that shows the engine terminal peaking out behind an RTA locomotive. And the photo shows that the smokestack was gone by 1981.

Another Januza Mrozek RailPictures photo taken a little further north shows that they built a second engine house.

This would be the second engine house.

William Brown posted
September 1981 at the BN's Zephyr Pit Maintenance Facility adjacent to the Chicago Union Station. E9Ms everywhere, even looking in the windows. Has sheet metal every been prettier?
Timothy Leppert Started there when I was 18 - Hostling those E's when they were still Silver and the dinkies still had Firemen.
Milt Leppert All railroaders remember the late night breakfast at a real greasy spoon - White Palace Grill. PRR/PC employees from the Coach Yard at 12th St. "Q" employees from 14th St. Coach Yard and the Soo Line crews switching the freight house on the corner of Roosevelt and Canal. The neighborhood was hopping all night long.

William Brown posted

William Brown posted
Jeff Kline Help me understand, what does the “M” stand for in E9M?
William Brown Jeff Kline The E9s were upgraded at Morrison Knutson in Boise, Idaho. The 567C engines were repowered with 645E assemblies. They were rewired and had HEP Sets installed.

The second photo posted by Marty Bernard

The Burlington Northern's Far East End

Detailed captions are with the photos.

2. Shot from the Sears Building looking south on March 19, 1975. At the left is the Amtrak (ex-PRR) coach yard. To the right of it are the mainlines that head south (mainly PRR and GM&O) and west (CB&Q). At the right is the BN (ex-CB&Q) coach yard. Across the bottom is the Roosevelt Road Viaduct also known as the greatest place in the world to take train pictures. To the right is Canal Street. About 1/3 of the way down the photo you can see the elevated St. Charles Airline and the abandoned connection to Grand Central Station (B&O). At the far end of the BN coach yard you can just make out the wye and the BN mainline tracks turning west. Less that a mile north (bottom of the photo) is Chicago Union Station. 

Steve Pahl

The big building in the upper right corner is Crooks Terminal, an old freight warehouse. The suburban enginemen bunk house was on the 3rd floor, I think. Also, just below Crooks, the power house sits with a whisper of steam escaping. There was a “banchee” whistle on a standpipe on the roof. I wonder what ever happened to that

The third photo posted by Marty Bernard

Norfolk & Western Chicago Passenger Trains

Note, all photos are from the Roosevelt Road Viaduct. Captions with photos.

3. N&W GP40 1372 with the inbound Orland Park Commuter Train headed for Chicago Union Station on August 25, 1977. Note, the Burlington Northern Commuter Train Yard is empty, as it should be during the morning rush.

Dennis DeBruler: A nice overview of the CB&Q Commissary & Crooks Terminal Warehouse, power plant, and engine service buildings.

John David posted
In 1983, visiting Chicago with friends, we found the engine facility where the BN E's were serviced.
We visited the office, asked for permission to walk around, and they simply filled out a release form, had us sign it, and let us roam around at will.