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.
Rob Keith posted Construction of the Dellwood Viaduct of the Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern RR in 1907. The double track in the foreground was the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh RR. This view looks northbound toward the Broad St crossing - you can see the old "diamond" crossing sign in the distance. Ken Heitzenrater shared Don't know if I shared this before. The setting of the first piece of the Pittsburg Shawful viaduct. At least the first successful as the first try toppled the crane over the concrete abutment blocking the BR&P tracks below. This is somewhere between 1900 and 1910....
This crossing is unusual because it has two connections in the southwest quadrant. It is also unusual because most of the tracks that were in the crossing in 1938 are still here. The notable exception is the Pennsy Panhandle tracks that used to be on the west side of the Western Avenue Corridor.
A track has been added to crossover the former Panhandle RoW and connect to the B&OCT tracks. There is also a track going south that is part of BNSF's Horseshoe Project.
Getting photos of the "bridge" that provides a pier for the flyover when it crosses the tracks was an agenda item of a field trip. I got photos from several vantage points starting with a view of the east side of the "bridge."
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While still on the east side of the CB&Q branch, I got some views a couple of blocks south of the "bridge."
Working my way further south.
Now I'm taking photos on the west side of the tracks in the Western Avenue corridor.
This is a reminder that steel is strong in tension. That is why the center member that holds up the west girders of the flyover can be so small.
[Now I wish I had taken a step or two to the left before I snapped this photo. Maybe my unconscious mind was trying to get all of the graffiti.]
This was a deliberate attempt to incorporate the two water towers and the smokestack that I took photos of on the east of the connections.
I also grabbed some shots of the crossing from a commuter train.
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You can see the regular connection on the right and the beginning of the flyover connection in the foreground. In the middle background is the "aerial pier." (The green hue is because the windows on the train are tinted green.)
In this topo map it is clear that Manufaturers' Junction used to have a connection to the east end of CB&Q's Clyde (Cicero) Yard. Since MJ connected to BRC, there were connections between CB&Q and BRC in three of the four possible quadrants.
Dennis DeBruler commented on a post
There used to be (1929 Englewood Quadrant) a lot of industry and spurs in that area. The upper-left corner was Western Electrics Hawthorne Works. https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../western...
During a commuter trip into town on Oct 21, 2016, I took photos to the south as I went through this crossing.
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Given the power lines in the photo below, this derailment happened on the far end of the outside curved connector in the above photo.
David Milior posted Oops! Looks like a severe run-in. Engineer slammed the jammer and the rear car weight popped the cars off the track. East hole, BNSF Cicero yard. This leads up to the Belt Railway of Chicago.
Joseph Teixeira: How do you know it was the engineer’s fault?
Keith Huff: Joseph Teixeira it was. He admitted to what he did. He had the signal to enter the main line but the switch operator did have the right line up. The engineer slammed the independent brakes on. These were mt cars are within 10 cars of the locomotives. The train was 9000 feet long. When they come off the Belt Railway of Chicago, there is a significant decline of about 2500 feet to the crossing. This has happened before. I work the Chicago division. The three covered hoppers were pulled over onto their trucks all at the same time. A Trainmaster had a video of it.
[This is an example of the "Swiss cheese" model of accidents. In this case the holes lined up in two slices. The first slice is that a turnout and signal disagreed. The second slice is that the engineer used his independent (locomotive) brake rather than the train (air) brake. One could argue that a 9,000' long train, which is way over a mile, is a third slice. Most junctions have interlocks so that the signals and turnouts can't disagree. Even junctions built in the 19th Century had interlocks. So a fourth slice would be a brain-dead junction.]
Here is a better view of the location of the above accident. The tower in the distant center background is the clock tower from the former Western Electric Hawthorne Works.
Back to the commuter train ride through the junction.
Nick Hart posted BNSF train S LACNSA didn't quite meet the requirements of the height restriction at the BRC bridge in Cicero. 40 cars suffered significant damage and the bridge also suffered structural damage. Cargo is littered on and around the tracks, ranging from paper towels to boxes of cereal. A WSOR grain train is tied down on the BRC main above and likely won't be going anywhere until the bridge is inspected. 02-14-21 Stan Stanovich: ...got word of it this morning John, train destined for Ashland Avenue!!! [It is nice to see that at least BNSF and NS do a steel-wheel interchange of containers.]
Matt Hovey commented on Nick's post Wasn't the first time, won't be the last. You see how much lower m4 m5 are at this angle
The are more photos in the comments on Matthew Linhart's post.
Walt Del Calle: This was a through train that normally runs on the Santa Fe.
[I had seen a comment that the crew was unfamiliar with this route. This explains why. It doesn't explain why there wasn't a pilot. But some Facebook comments indicate that the crew had paper work that would explain which tracks to use for double stacks. You would think if they were on a new route they would have been more diligent about reading their paperwork, not less.]
In the comments on this post the opinion is that if a crew gets orders to do something stupid, the crew should push back using a medium (e.g. radio) that will be recorded and if they are still told to do something stupid, they do something stupid. But I doubt if the crew pushed back in this case. If they knew there was a problem, then they would not have pulled 3/4 of a mile of train under the bridge.
3, cropped Keith Huff: It is in our subdivision general notices not to have high wides go under this bridge. We are to take them down main 4 or 5. This was main 3. I was going west bound yesterday with my train and saw this train waiting at an opposing signal about noon. This location is BNSF Chicago subdivision and the bridge is the Belt Railway of Chicago. This is just east of Cicero Blvd. 3/4 mile of train went under and 64 containers destroyed. Dylan Fadda: Keith Huff so, this would be a dispatching error? Keith Huff: Dylan Fadda yes, but also the crew's as it is in the written directives not to go under the bridge with high cars. There is also a huge sign 1/4 mike away above the tracks saying this. Kevin James Cox: Dylan Fadda whether you hit one or 25 the penalty is still the same. Keith Huff: Terrence Owen about an half mile ahead is a large sign on a pedestrian bridge warning that high car trains not to use main1,2,3. Also, it is in our directive paperwork. The dispatcher is supposed to know and line the train for either main 4 or 5. The crew, if they did their job correctly, would of not took the signal that directed them straight ahead on main 3. They should call the dispatcher to line them for the correct track. Pettigrew Arriel: I'm just glad the crew wasn't hurt. Not their fault, it's the dispatcher. Timothy Leppert: Pettigrew Arriel no, the crews fault. Timothy Leppert: The Belt owns the bridge. The BN lowered some of the tracks and put up warning signs, as well as put it in the Special Instructions. The Crew obviously missed those things.
The BNSF/CB&Q Racetrack does not have a single grade crossing with another railroad. The IHB goes under it. I spent some time along Hazel Ave railfanning because I could see BNSF action as well as IHB. However, when BNSF trains come through at 70mph, it is hard to frame a shot of subsequent locomotives in that little window between trees. You can see 20161017 for all of the photos I took. I selected this photo because it shows how the tracks dip down so that double-stack container trains can fit under the bridge.
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A railfan would pick this one because the nose of the locomotive is not in a shadow.
Actually, maybe this one is better for showing the IHB dip under the BNSF.
Looking at a satellite image, we can see there are connections in the northeast and southeast quadrants. Nick's post was my motivation for checking the connections. That autorack train would use the southeast connection from IHB to BNSF.
A KCS Southern Belle GE approaches East Avenue in La Grange, headed for the BNSF connection less than a mile up the line. This is train GP1 (Nick Justice, or is it GP2?), which runs from IHB's Gibson Yard to BNSF's Clyde Yard in Cicero. Thanks to a little birdie for the heads up.
IHB Mainline
La Grange, IL
07-03-19 Nick Justice GP1 9/10 times lol, GP2 only if the 1pm crew is new guys and not qualified to Cicero lol. Nick Hart Thanks for the info. I thought I recalled hearing it as GP2 a time or two in the past, so I was curious. lol Ean Kahn-Treras The ever present coal loads for Argo in the distance as well. Ean Kahn-TrerasNick Hart Too short of a distance. A tease! Nick Hart Yep...quite the sound when a pair of SW1500's take 'em in. Nick Justice Burnt out signal aspect too lol
(new window) It is on the IHB going under the BNSF/CB&Q Racetrack. At 1:58, note the worker down by the track looking under the car to make sure they don't lower it so much that it hits the track. At 8:09 it creaks, literally around the sharp connector in the northeast quadrant. The first two parts are in Schnabel Car.
The comments on the above video provides links to several Flickr photos. This one shows the dip of the IHB tracks under the bridge quite well.
John David posted One of the few times I witnessed an IHB move on the track that connects the "Racetrack" of the BN with the north/south Harbor main at La Grange. I would also bet this is the only time I saw an extended vision IHB crummy. The year is 1994, we are looking north, the BN main is behind me at this vantage point. Rob Olewinski Cmraseye: got video of the MILW 261 on the south connector....shot lots of transfers on that one, only a handful on the north side. Steve Bayorgeon: Don’t think I have ever seen a move on this track. Only seen maybe two moves on the connector south of the racetrack.
John David posted When hunting trains on the IHB at La Grange, it was always a drag to miss something interesting up on the BN that passed above. And vice versa. So here is a Conrail westbound in 1996, in a shot that leaves much to be desired as I fired off the frame a little late and the exposure is so-so. Even so, a nice catch of Conrail blue in the land of cascade green (although I wish the "quality" paint scheme had never displace the original one). I am standing beneath the Ogden Avenue overpass. Stan Stanovich: …you shot it just right John David, granted the conditions are not what one would call optimal it’s a wonderfully recorded moment in time. Though Conrail Quality was initially a corporate “program” when it was first applied, I’m with you in wishing it didn’t trickle down to the entire locomotive fleet!!! Ken Rehor: I love this shot! I think the framing is perfect. It’s an angle I never would have thought to shoot.
Marc Malnekoff posted several photos of CB&Q and IHB taken in 1986 from the advantage point of the overpass abutment. The IHB tracks had several different railroads doing transfer runs. Stan Stanovich Though not the most scenic location it worked well for me also until perhaps in 1993 when I was confronted by a BN special agent who very respectfully requested that I did not photograph trains at this location, so be it!!!
John DeWit Woodlock II posted
IC 9527,CC2007 @ 95th Street-Chicago,IL 24 NOV 96. Please forgive the soft focus. NS`s finest was actually nice enough to let me have a couple of shots before giving me assistance down to ground level from the ex-RI ROW where I had been camped out waiting for this train. Dennis DeBruler Wow, there are three railroads still using that bridge. NS uses it because the Wabash branch across Indiana (4th District?) used the C&WI branch through here. CRL uses it because it got this Rock Island route. BRC still uses it. This crossing appears to be named Burnside. Connections in the northeast and southeast quadrants still exist. The connectors extend a ways to the east because they have to climb the grade separation. John DeWit Woodlock II I have never heard the name used on the radio (not say that it hasn`t been, just that I have never heard it used), instead I have heard "the Belt connection", referring to the connecting track on the north side of the bridge, connecting the IC to the BRC, still used quite frequently by the CSS.
From some comments on a post, I learned that the northeast connector is called Fordham and the southeast connector is called 95th Street. Trains between CSS (South Shore) and UP/C&NW use the BRC and are shoved (backed) around the Fordham connector.
For the north/south routes, CN/EJ&E is on the right (east) side and the original UP/C&NW/G&CU Belvidere line to Freeport is on the left side. The Chicago Great Western was the east/west route that went over C&NW and EJ&E.
The interchange track between CGW and EJ&E still exists to serve an industry. Evidently the spur is still used because a couple of cars are sited at the building. This building was at the west end of Ingalton Yard.
Bill Latimer posted
Westbound 121 prepares to cross the bridges west of Ingalton Yard as it heads out to St. Charles. Too bad this wasn't taken at the actual bridge site. I Love this shot from a collection of Mark Llanuza I believe.
[On the right is the interchange track wtih the EJ&E. Note that it remains at grade level while the CGW train is climbing an embankment.]
John P. Kohlberg commented on Bill's posting
CNW (CGW) - EJE Interchange at Ingalton, October 1971.
A fixed version of a photo posted by Bill Latimer
We're west of Ingalton. The bridgework over the EJ&E and C&NW.
[Given the power lines, we are looking east and at a timecard westbound EJ&E train.]
Bill Latimer posted
Another view of the bridges west of Ingalton yard.
