1890 B&OCT Polk Street Tower

1890: (Satellite, Taylor Street used to have a bridge and go further East.)

New (1902 and/or 1949): (Satellite)

 

This would have been the tower built in 1890.

MWRD posted
A view to the east showing a bucket dredge in operation on the South Branch of the Chicago River near Taylor Street [Bridge] on March 22, 1917.

Dennis DeBruler shared with the comment: "That is obviously a railroad interlocking tower behind the cables of the shovel. According to the topo map that I added as a comment, it is a B&OCT tower. What would be the name of that tower?"

Jon Roma: At various times in the past, if I am deciphering the timeline properly, the CTT/B&OCT had a Polk St. tower, then a Harrison St. tower, and again a Polk St. tower.

Jacob Metzger: I believe this would be ‘Polk Street Tower.’

https://www.chicagorailfan.com/towerbob.html

From that webpage:

"POLK STREET

Electric pneumatic interlocking installed 1890

New electric pneumatic interlocking installed 1902

New tower constructed/electric interlocking installed 1949

Tower controlled movements at Grand Central Station, closed 1969. Also controlled Chicago River bridge immediately southwest from 1902 until 1930, when river was straightened and new drawbridge built at 16th Street. New tower constructed in 1949 was closer to Roosevelt Road."

Clifton Linton: I don't think that's a B&OCT tower. Based on the date of the photograph (March 22, 1917), the B&OCT by this time had built an elevated tower that controlled the trackage for Grand Central Station and the twin-leaf Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge.

Dennis DeBruler: Clifton Linton From Jacob's reference, we have:

POLK STREET

Electric pneumatic interlocking installed 1890

New electric pneumatic interlocking installed 1902

New tower constructed/electric interlocking installed 1949

So the 1902 "new electric pneumatic interlocking installed" must have also been a new tower, and the MWRD photo is of the 1890 tower. That would explain why the 1890 tower is labeled a "repair shop" in the 1906 map that Jon provided.

Dennis DeBruler commented on his post
1929/29 Englewood Quad @ 24,000

Jon Roma commented on Dennis' post
Here's a snippet from a 1906 Sanborn fire insurance atlas showing the area between Polk on the north, Fifth Ave. (Wells St.) on the east, Taylor St. on the south, and the river on the west.

Dennis DeBruler: Jon Roma In 1906, this must have been a regular interlocking as well as a "repair shop" because Jacob's reference indicates that the new tower about a block south of here wasn't built until 1949.

The upper yellow pin is labelled "B&O Polk Street (old)," and the white pin is labelled "B&O Polk Street (new)."

Map

Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad (later B&OCT) Overview

A history of the B&OCT

See also B&OCT.

1906 The Official Railway Guide: Freight Service, Page 82

 

1898 LeventhalMap-system
Credit: “Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library”

1898 LeventhalMap-connections
Credit: “Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library”

1898 LeventhalMap-loop
Credit: “Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library”

Dave Arganbright posted
Found this cool loop area map of the CTT from ca. 1898 on the internets recently...
Bruce Corzine: Wow did not realize how much rail was located just east of the river.
This is a very cool map, cannot tell from the map, did the rail yard extend north of Madison, or is this all at the south end ending around LaSalle st. And Jackson?
Dennis DeBruler: You can download the full 10546 x 6883 resolution from here:
https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:3f463620g
Credit: “Map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library”
Let's see how much of that resolution Facebook retains.
Update: it is 2048 x 1337 and the key is easy to read.
[This comment also had a copy of the map attached.]

1929 Englewood and 1953 Chicago Loop Quads @ 1:24,000

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bruce's comment
On the east side of the river, it did not go north of Van Buren.
https://arcg.is/0qivW9

 and some mouse clicks

safe_image (source) for American-Rails
A brief history of the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal.  In this scene, 0-8-0 #1704 appears to be carrying out switching chores at the Lincoln Street Coach Yard on March 25, 1956.

Brian A Morgan posted five images with the comment:

Wisconsin Central formed the Chicago & Great Western Railroad (C&GW) by 1886 to build a connection from its end-of-line in Forest Park into the city and to construct the Grand Central Station, which opened in Dec 1890. In June 1887, the Chicago & Calumet Terminal (C&CT) was formed by Northern Pacific Railroad to consolidate several terminal railroads in the Chicago area. In March 1890 NP bought the C&GW and other WC lines in Chicago to form the Chicago & Northern Pacific (C&NP). Since NP owned both C&CT and C&NP, it connected them with new construction and trackage rights. The 1893 Panic bankrupted the C&NP. In July, 1897, the new company Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad (CTT) bought C&NP from Wisconsin Central. In May 1897, the CTT merged the C&CT. The B&O began using Grand Central in 1892 when a connection was made between the CTT and B&O at South Chicago. When the Pere Marquette was completed to Porter, IN in 1903, it also used the CTT into Grand Central. "On January 6, 1910 the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad was created to purchase the CTT at foreclosure, giving B&O control of the both the terminal railway system, as well as Grand Central Station." But CTT must have been split and the eastern end was bought by someone else because a modern B&OCT map does not show a line running to South Chicago. This section of line was severed at the Illinois Central Chicago Division trackage prior to 1892 Barksdale Junction when the Illinois Central elevated the mainline prior to the opening of the 1893 Columbian Exposition and in 1881 when an access dispute erupted between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad whom prior to access to Grand Central station used a temporary station where today the Art Institute of Chicago now stands but the South Chicago Branch remained in service terminating at the Illinois Central Tracks. The access for B&OCT trains was via South Chicago Junction.

Ronald Helms: Make a great photo book

Brian A Morgan: Ronald Helms. Not to many Baltimore and Ohio effectiandos cover the Western end of the system in detail neither the Chicago Terminal District or the Saint Louis Terminal District in detail. Both districts were very important districts because they were both gateways to Western Trunk lines and Southern Trunk Lines. Prior to 1946. The Baltimore and Ohio owned the Chicago and Alton Railroad providing B&O a onetime access and a direct link to the Western Trunk Line Association lines in the Kansas City area and a direct connection to the Kansas Pacific [ Union Pacific. ] Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe and the Kansas City Southern, Rock Island, Missouri Pacific via Roodhouse, Illinois.

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Cook County Farm (Dunning Asylum), the "Crazy Train" and the B&OCT Mayfair Extension

(Satellite, between Montrose & Irving and Mormandy & Naragansett)

Eric Sibul posted two photos with the comment:

"Patients were sent by a special streetcar as well as a...[Milwaukee Road] railroad car from the Cook County Detention Hospital to Dunning. It was a hospital car with a doctor and a couple of nurses aboard. The train car was called the ‘crazy train’ and had a security guard at each exit so inmates couldn’t escape." Photos Inmate car and Dunning Asylum (Illinois Digital History Library)

Maria Klein: Where was Dunning?

Eric Sibul: North of Irving Park - Jefferson Park/Harwood Heights - Wilbur Wright College is built on the site. The last two remaining buildings of facility are now the Chicago Latvian Lutheran Church and School. [I could not find these buildings.]

Jon Roma: Here's a description of the Dunning neighborhood of Chicago's northwest side, along with mention of the asylum there: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/395.html.

Paul Musselman: In the Mount Olive cemetery, you can see the right of way for the tracks that went thru going toward Dunning..there is still a "8 miles per hour" speed limit sign from WAY BACK, at the old ROW.....

Doug Kaniuk: Notes: the Milwaukee branch (from the south) to Dunning ended before Montrose Ave., The two lines were never connected. The line was never connected at Irving Park. The line was built as a rate disput between railroads. Only service on the line were work trains to maintain the tracks. All service on the line ended in 1905, tracks removed 1910. Land that the track was on disposed by the B&OCT 1910 to 1940.

http://boctbook.dhke.com/

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Dennis DeBruler commented on Marie's comment
I include the Mt. Olive Cemetery because that would have been an important source of revenue for the Milwaukee Road back at the interesting turn of the century.
1953 River Forest Quadrangle @ 1:24,000

The "crazy train" topic first came up in this post:

Charles Shallcross posted
This 1908 map shows a branch line connecting with the Milwaukee Road just south of Mayfair Station in Chicago. The branch appears to run west out toward the old County Farm grounds.
Does anyone have any information on this branch line?
Eric Sibul: Perhaps the line to the the Dunning Asylum "After a single three-mile track was extended to the facilities in 1882, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul “crazy train” brought patients, supplies, and medicines. The county built a station, naming it for Dunning"
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/395.html
Edward Moran: My mom grew up near the area now known as Hiawatha Park at Forest Preserve Drive. She said she never saw a train on the line except when they tore up the tracks, I think after WWII. This line is the present day Forest Preserve Drive between Montrose and Belmont. You can still see a bride abutment over the Des Plaines River when you are driving east on Belmont. It is on the SE side of the bridge.

Jon Roma commented on Charles' post
Hopefully this snippet from a Rand McNally map dated 1901 will be more legible. This branch line has always been something of a mystery.

Charles Lablanc commented on Charles' post
Here is a detailed map of the branch

Daniel Christen commented on Charles' post: "Sunnyside is extra wide where it used to run."

It appears they rebuilt the street on the east side to get more housing lots. But we can still see that extra width on the west side.

Satellite

Dennis DeBruler commented on Edward's comment

It is visible on the right side even though the river is running high. Sep 2019

https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4...

Dennis DeBruler commented on Charles post
Given that the route shows up on a 1901 Rand McNally Map, I'm disappointed that this topo map doesn't show it.
1901 Riverside Quadrangle @ 1:62,500

Neil Gale posted

Opened in 1854 as the Cook County Infirmary, a "poor farm" and almshouse. The account of events will send chills down your spine. An eye-opening article... but, after all, it is a part of Chicago's history. How can 38,000+ people be buried in mass graves and then forgotten?

CLICK TO READ ─► https://drloihjournal.blogspot.com/.../the-story-of...

Maps of Railroads in Southeast Chicago

I know enough about the railroads in Southeast Chicago to know that it was a spaghetti bowl of tracks. Because there was a lot of industry in the area, one railroad would build tracks along side another railroad just to access a large industry. These maps help untangle the noodles.

Michael Mora posted seven images with the comment:

U.S. government maps of just some of the railways that ran through Southeast Side, 1916-1919: Chicago & Calumet River Railroad; Chicago & Western Indiana Railway; Calumet Western Railway; Chicago Short Line Railway; Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway; Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad; Pennsylvania Railroad. Interstate Commerce Commission, U.S. National Archives, catalog.archives.gov

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Daniel Bovino posted

Here’s a late 1880’s view of Roseland, Pullman, and the Calumet region. It shows a Lake Calumet in its original state and other lakes that have since been filled in. Hyde Lake is almost completely gone. Wolf Lake and Lake George have also been altered by the industrial push into this region over the last 150 years. Thankfully, some of our remaining area wetlands are under restoration. 

I received this wonderful map from Mendel Alumni, John Ormsby.

John Ormsby: Map taken from Library of Congress. Map Room in Jefferson Building

Paul Jevert shared

1880's topographical map of the southside at that time unincorporated into the City!

Back in 1916-19, the C&WI still owned the BRC tracks. BRC was created for the freight operations so that C&WI could concentrate on passenger service to the Dearborn Station.  

B&O, B&OCT, CGW and Pere Marquette freight houses along the south branch

(no Satellite because these railroad facilities are long gone. These facilities were on the east side of the South Branch between Harrison and Roosevelt.)

The straightening of the river in the 1930s had a big impact on the B&O facilities in downtown Chicago.

I start with after the straightening because I have just one photo of that. And because this material was moved from the Roosevelt Road Bridge post.

I used the bridge in the background of this photo to determine where this B&OCT locomotive was running. Once I identified the bascule bridge as the Roosevelt Road Bridge, I remembered that the B&OCT was the terminal railroad for the Grand Central Station, and B&OCT had tracks on the east side of the South Branch from their bridge to the station. This freight house was built after the river was straightened and did not yet exist in the 1938 aerial photo. B&OCT had several small freight houses that fed LCL freight to B&OCT's main classification freight house. It has the classical design for a freight house --- a multi-story building with lots of windows at one end for the office workers that is attached to a one-story freight handling building. In the days of LCL freight, there were no computers, so it took a lot of office workers to help process the paper work. Each boxcar had a folder that contained the waybills of the containers that were in that boxcar. After the LCL freight was sorted in Chicago to a destination train, the conductor on that road train would get these folders along with the waybills for the carload traffic. They would have to determine from the waybills in the folders which containers were to be dropped at which depot along the route. These containers could range from a refrigerator sent by a mail-order house such as Sears to a plow. Remember, in the 1800s everything came to town on the railroad. That is why depots had a passenger weighting room on one side and a freight handling room on the other side. The depot was the life blood of the town.

Scott Griffith posted
Les Wuollett Waiting at dwarf signal for line up to GCS. Probably to pull passenger train to Lincoln St coach yard.

Now back to the early 1900s.

MWRD posted
The South Branch of the Chicago River looking north from an area near Taylor Street in Chicago, Illinois, on November 8, 1908.
MWRD posted
The South Branch of the Chicago River looking north from an area near Taylor Street on November 8, 1908.
Ralph Leoni: Polk / Dearborn station noted in background right!

Dennis DeBruler commented on MWRD's first post
The building along the right was one of the B&O freight houses.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104cm.g01790190601S/?sp=80

Jeff Nichols posted
Chicago River, view from Taylor, 1909. Pitt.
Victor StLawrence: Looking north. The warehouse on the left is where the newer post office is.
Marshall Field warehouse on the left.
Paul Jevert shared
[Note the trainshed and tower of Grand Central Station on the right side of this photo. And of course the freight houses along the river.]

 Note the freight house between the Grand Central Station and the river in the right background.

Raymond Kunst posted via Dennis DeBruler

Since I'm learning how to use the LoC's collection of Sanborn Maps, I checked out the map to the north, 71. The GTW freight house is along the river and Pere Marquette has one sandwiched between the GTW freight house and the train shed of Grand Central Station.

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104cm.g01790190601S/?sp=72

I shared the MWRD post with another group, but Facebook won't give me a link to it. :-(

North is to the right.

Alice Niu posted

History's Mirror posted
[I'm not copying the description because it is an example of AI gone wrong. Basically, if a statement is not a platitude, it is wrong. The dredge is in the old channel, not the new one. And "Polk and Taylor Streets" implies an intersection, but they are parallel streets. The photo below shows that the photo was taken from Taylor and we are looking at Polk Street Bridge.
But it is a great photo of the freight houses and Polk Street Bridge.]
Franklin Campbell shared

Dennis DeBruler: The dredge is digging in the old channel, not creating the new one. But this is a terrific photo of Polk Street Bridge.

This photo confirms that the train shed that we see in the above photo was for the Grand Central Terminal. And because it includes the Pennsy freight house, I could confirm the streets as Taylor looking at Polk.

B&O C&O Grand Central, Chicago Terminal 1890-1971. posted via Dennis DeBruler

B&O Chicago Terminal, (Grand Central Station).

Lower left, old Pennsylvania Freight House - (1918-1974). 

323 Polk Street, Chgo.

Center of photo, Grand central and Train shed - (1890-1972) 

201 W. Harrison St. Chgo.

To the right was LaSalle Street Headhouse - (1903-1981). 

414 So. LaSalle St. Chgo.

[The date was probably c1924 because the new CUS is still being built. The tall building in the northwest quadrant of Polk Street and the river was the Marshal Field River Warehouse.]

Andrew Roth shared with the comment: "Forwarding this photo of Grand Central station and LaSalle Street Station when both station had large multi- track canopy roofs."

Thomas Manz commented on Andrew's share
Rand McNally view looking W from1893

CSX Bedford Park Intermodal Yard

(Satellite)

I added red lines to this photo of the BRC Clearing Yard to show where the CSX intermodal yard is. Max is in an airplane that has just taken off from Midway Airport and the photo is looking East.

Max Anderson posted

 This must be a popular flight path into Midway.

Cean Graham-White posted
BRC Clearing Yard & CSXT Bedford Park Intermodal 11/13/23

Federal Railroad Administration posted
Tuesday Trivia: Which U.S. city is the busiest rail hub, where six Class I railroads and passenger rail operate?   
A-Atlanta  B-Baltimore  C-Chicago  D-Denver

Dennis DeBruler commented on the FRA post
That photo is of the CSX Bedford Park Intermodal Yard and the BRC Clearing Yard in Chicago, so I'd say Chicago, https://maps.app.goo.gl/VrBsDXbqNX6dXhgA8.

This yard is isolated from the trunk lines that became part of CSX such as B&O, C&O, PM, Pennsy, L&N, etc. So I assume CSX got this land because of B&OCT.

Thomas Bonner commented on a post
I worked at CSX Bedford Park...

Kevin Michnius commented on a post, cropped
Csx intermodal Bedford park IL
[I learned about Konecranes just this week because Broadwind in Manitowoc, WI, is helping them build some shipyard cranes. I see that container cranes is another product line.]
Thomas C Stathis Jr.: I was there when that overhead crane collapsed back around 2003-04. I was first on call for all track issues and derailments for a looooong time there, and 59th St. I was even around when CSX leased Park Manor from NS over around 63rd and Michigan.
Kevin Micknius: I started in 06. I did hear about the crane that collapsed on the triples.
Andrea Lemick: It was scary seeing that crane down on the ground

John Clegg commented on a post, cropped
[I don't know if this is Bedford Park. If not, it is certainly similar.]

Mitch Bell commented on a post, rotated
CSX Bedford Park

Evidently CSX did not convert a railyard but purpose built this yard for intermodal work because the land was vacant until after 1980.

1980 Berwyn Quad @ 24,000

Sean Graham-White posted two photos with the comment: "CSX Forest Hill Intermodal (top) and Bedford Park Intermodal (bottom) facilities on 9/1/95. You could fit a couple of Forest Hills in Bedford!"

Ronnie Scalf: When CSX opened Bedford Park, intermodal facility. They assigned the departure train air brake testing to the trailer/container loading contractors. Thier goal was to load equipment up to the last minute and expedite on time train departure This action placed the fox in charge of the hen house resulting in unqualified personnel going thru the motion of air brake testing. This endangered the train crews and public! It took a couple of years to finally award the air brake testing to qualified Carmen. It should never be a struggle to do what is safe and right?

Joseph Tuch Santucci: Ronnie Scalf when profits come first all safety is overlooked until something goes wrong. Then management looks for someone within the rank and file to blame.

One note, this was actually Seaboard System that opened this ramp, not CSX. They moved their operations from the facility they shared with MoPac at 37th/Canal Street in Chicago to here in 84 if memory serves correct. They couldn’t expand 37th Street plus MoPac wanted to move out of there as well so CNW bound handle UP trains in and out of there.

Forest Hill was actually a B&O facility and remained as such until well after the component roads of the Chessie and Seaboard were actually merged into one railroad. Forest Hill was in the same situation, no room to expand. Bedford Park has been expanded at least twice since it opened. I believe SP leased Forest Hill for a time after the B&O trains moved to Bedford Park.

Larry Graham: I recall issues of bad communication with the lift contractor at times. The ramp yardmaster was trying to do 15 things at once, constantly switching radio channels, while also driving crews around. Even with a blue flag being taken down, you still double checked to make sure a LaTeurno or MiJack crane wasn't still fiddling with your cut. Name from the past just hit me: Billy Martin. Former C&O Rockwell guy who landed at Bedford. Want to say he was an Alabama transplant on top of that.

Larry Graham: Bedford was switched by Belt lease crews. Up until around 2000 when Shurstad ditched those jobs. Couldn't stand the idea of us working for CSX officers who, by and large, treated us better. All the BRC had to do was sit back and collect the lease crew payments. Couldn't have that, it was all about control.

Forest Hill leased to the SP during this period. With BRC lease crews handling the trains in and out of there.

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