EJ&E East Bridge Junction: CN/EJ&E over BNSF/Santa Fe

(3D Satellite)

(Update: Kevin Piper posted a history and some images concerning this junction.)

I don't normally do railfan videos, but I have studied satellite images for several years looking for a legal way to get closer photos of the lift bridge. I'm going to settle for this video that was made before 9/11. As he indicates, even before 9/11, such obvious trespassing was gutsy. The other reason I use this railfan video is because of his extensive comments. I annotated them with some satellite links.

(new window)  Kevin Piper shared
Gregg Wolfersheim About a year after this video was made, the Woodward avenue crossing depicted near the beginning was closed. Also, the overhead gantry signals south of the liftbridge were changed to mast type when the switch was moved south. Near the end is a set of UP light engines going to Romeoville branch to pickup an empty coal train.


East Bridge Junction is where the former EJ&E Western Sub (CN Leithien Sub) crosses the BNSF Chillicothe Subdivision via flyover. There is simply no way to go there without major trespassing, or a bike on the I&M trail near by. Bridge 198, the huge lift bridge you see in the video, carries the CN tracks across the river and is often seen as the gateway to East Joliet Yard. It still operates remotely by a dispatcher at Desk 11. There are a few other locations I went to before and after spending time at East Bridge, including CP Stateville, Woodruff Road, and Joliet Union Station. 7:09AM- [Satellite] At CP Stateville, along the CN/IC Joliet Subdivision, we see the last Heritage Corridor train of the morning pass by behind the Old Joliet Prison which is now a museum. F40PH-2 #121 7:13AM- [Satellite, the crossing was removed after this video was made] Next up at Woodruff Road, a long manifest arrives at East Joliet Yard. You can see Bridge 198 in the distance. CN C44-9W #2635 CN C44-9W #2599 BNSF ES44AC #6417 7:28AM- [Satellite, the view of the bridge at 1:49 shows that he is south of the tracks and west of the turnout.] I now started making my way up the embankment (trying hard to keep ballest out of my shoes) towards East Bridge when the former EJ&E job to Aux Sable passes by. I am the first railfan that I know of to catch this train here in recent years. EJ&E SD38-2 #670 7:36AM- [Satellite, this would be the power-line tower that is in his view.] I am now at East Bridge, standing on the edge of the CN/EJ&E tracks getting a new perspective of the BNSF Chillicothe Subdivision. You can also see BNSF's Joliet Yard, which is nearly impossible to get to (see a map). An Eastbound Z-train goes by in no time. BNSF C44-9W #4146 NS SD70M-2 #2742 BNSF C44-9W #5429 7:50AM- A huge 12 unit light engine consist of 11 orange units and a Warbonnet passes below. BNSF ES44DC #7785 BNSF C44-9W #690 (ex. ATSF) BNSF C44-9W #4924 BNSF C44-9W #5096 BNSF C44-9W #5338 BNSF ES44DC #7538 BNSF C44-9W #5389 BNSF C44-9W #4395 BNSF C44-9W #4089 BNSF C44-9W #4594 BNSF ES44DC #7432 BNSF ES44DC #7524 7:56AM- [4:12 is a view of the bridge and the top of its tower. He has moved to the north side of the tower.] Here's the shot everyone wanted. EJ&E power crossing bridge 198 in good light. I'm the only one with the balls to do it obviously. EJ&E SD38-2 #657 8:07AM- Back at my level, a BNSF coal train heads West up the CN Leithen Sub. That little girder bridge spans the I&M trail. [Satellite, actually, because of the canal, trail, and access road, the bridge is not that little. I wish he panned around and got the engines going over the bridge.] BNSF ES44AC #6321 BNSF SD70MAC #9854 8:35AM- [Satellite, It looks like a bunch of international (40' and 20') containers. Some are stuffed in domestic (53') wells.] Down on the BNSF level, we get an awesome perspective of the fly over with a BNSF stack train passing below. BNSF C44-9W #5235 BNSF C44-9W #4895 9:09AM- [7:25 + 7:43 after turning to see the other side of the lift bridge]
A Northbound CN manifest crawls through East Bridge Junction over the massive lift bridge. CN SD75I #5782 IC SD70 #1037
9:22AM- [8:02] There's now CN track workers on the bridge as a set of UP light units pass them slowly. Then a couple of workers spotted me down there and began pointing and talking on their radios. Screw this, Time to jet!!! UP AC4400CW #6081 UP AC6000 #7332 UP AC4400CW #7134 10:22AM- [Satellite, he is next to the turnout for the southeast quadrant connector. This location is also incredibly illegal.] Now far away from the East Bridge, I went to Joliet Union Station to see what I could. Amtrak Lincoln Service 302 arrives and departs when I got there. P42DC #28 10:27AM- [They built a new station east of the junction so that Metra trains now don't interfere with Amtrak, BNSF, and UP trains.] Metra 510 departs for Chicago when Amtrak clears.

Tower A-20 (Techny): UP/C&NW crosses over Metra+CP/Milwaukee

(Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Flickr Photo of Tower; RailPictures of Bridge; 3D Satellite)
NorthAmericanInterlockings Photos:   Killinger    Allen
Chicago and Northern Indiana Railroad Interlocking Towers (click the marker for the correct information)

Steven J. Brown posted
Metra F40C 614 northbound at Techny Road in Northbrook, Illinois - June 29, 1998.
Dennis DeBruler I see that double lattice truss bridge still exists. I really need to make a field trip to the north side of Chicagoland sometime.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4...

John Andrew Long posted
Railroad tower...Techny, Illinois
Bill Johnson: There is a very old truss bridge at the location as well. You can see it from the Willow road bridge to the north.
Tim Shanahan shared

Ken Jamin posted two photos with the comment:

I hired out on the Milwaukee Road as a tower operator 55 years ago today, 5-19-70. My first job was on second trick at Tower A20, twenty miles north of Chicago on the C&M subdivision. I had posted on second trick for two weeks, but I was assigned to work first trick on my very first day on a busy main line (long haul passenger, commuter and freight trains) and I was scared to death.

The photo of me in the tower in 1971 was taken by Mel Patrick.

The following is an excerpt from my book, "Train Wreck: Inside the Federal Railroad Administration" available on Amazon. It's a bit long but interesting for those who wonder what railroading was like in the 1970s.

I cannot, even in my earliest memory, recall a time when I did not want to be a railroader but complicating my desire to become a railroader was my eyesight. Since childhood, I wore thick “Coke™-bottle” glasses that were the subject of much teasing by my schoolmates. In those days, railroads demanded perfect or near-perfect vision of their employees. When I was 18 I tried to hire out on the C&NW as a switchman. However, the railroad doctor, or “Company Surgeon,” as they were known in those days, took one look at my glasses and sent me home. I was heartbroken.

After a three-year stint in the Army in the mid-sixties, I settled down in a factory job that paid well but made me miserable. I had all but given up on my dream of becoming a railroader, when I was laid off in early 1970. Through a chance meeting with a railroad employee just a week later, I learned that the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (“The Milwaukee Road”) was looking to hire someone to work at Tower A20 near Northbrook, Illinois where he worked. (They had just fired an operator for showing porn movies on a screen in the tower in view of passing commuter trains, causing an engineer to accidentally put his train into emergency!)

I applied for the job, and they sent me for a physical. By now, however, I was wearing contact lenses and the railroads had relaxed their vision standards somewhat. I passed the physical, and I was in! Well, almost. I was then “allowed” to break in on the job for two weeks, without pay, to see if I could, “cut it!” The two weeks went by quickly, as I trained to be a tower operator on “second trick” (the 3pm - 11pm shift.)

When the appointed day came, I rode the train to Milwaukee to take my rules test. On the way, the conductor saw me reading my rule book and asked what I was doing. “I’m going to be a tower operator at Tower A-20,” I told him. “Who’s giving you the test?” he asked. “Mr. Martin, the Chief Dispatcher,” I replied. “Relax and enjoy the ride, Kid,” he said, “You’ll pass.” “No!” I retorted, “I really need this job and I’ve got to study for the test!” as I buried my nose back in the rule book. It was all or nothing and I could not afford to fail!

I read that book as I was walking through the station and even going up in the elevator to the third floor, where the chief dispatcher’s office was located within the division superintendent's office suite. It was with no small trepidation that I turned the glass knob on that wood door that said "Division Superintendent" on the frosted glass. (If you're old enough to be a retired rail, I'm sure you remember the feeling. In those days, division superintendents were like God with a lower case 'g'.)

Mr. Martin gestured for me to take a seat at a vacant desk. Hiking one trouser leg up, he sat on a corner of the desk and picked up the rule book he had loaned me to study. Thumbing through it, seemingly at random, the barrage of questions began.

“Well, you’ve been breaking in with Joe on second trick at Tower A-20 for two weeks now. Do you know how to run the 'plant’?” (The interlocking machine that controlled the switches and signals.) “Yes, Sir,” I replied.

“Do you know how to copy train orders and clearances and track car line-ups and such?” he went on. “Yes, Sir,” I replied again.

“Safety First,” he thundered. “That’s very important. Do you understand that, young man?” “Yes, Sir.”

“And Rule ‘G’ (The universal railroad rule against alcohol and drugs), “That’s important, too! Come to work sober and go home sober, after that, it’s your own damn business! Do you understand me?” “Yes, Sir,” I replied once more.

Mr. Martin slowly closed the rule book and handed it back to me. Turning to Eve, his secretary, he said, “This young man is qualified. Type up his (rules examination) card.” That was it! I was finally a railroader! (I later learned that this was Mr. Martin’s standard rules test for new operators, and that all one had to do to pass was to reply, “Yes, Sir,” to every question.) No wonder the conductor told me to, “Relax and enjoy the ride, Kid!”

However, just as Mr. Martin handed me a rules card and a switch key, which I still carry, the phone rang.

"Mr. Martin, said Eve, it's Henry Thigpen, the first trick operator at Tower A20. He wants to lay off tomorrow. Do we have anyone who can cover?" Mr. Martin thought about it for just a moment, then replied, "Why, yes! This young man here is rules qualified now. He can protect first trick tomorrow. Tell Mr. Thigpen he can lay off tomorrow."

"Bu-bu-but Sir," I stammered, "I-I-I've never been there on first trick. I don't know what trains there are or where they go!" "I'll arrange for the signal maintainer to sit in with you. You'll do fine," he said, ending the conversation. The following day, Tuesday, May 19, 1970, I reported to Tower A20 at the appointed time. I was scared to death.

I was greeted by Roger, the signal maintainer and Merlin, the third trick operator who I was relieving. I signed the transfer, taking responsibility for the tower for the next eight hours, and the third trick operator departed.

Roger seemed friendly enough, and I clung to his every word like a drowning man clings to a life preserver. When the annunciator bell rang, signifying a train was approaching, Roger would say something like, "That's a scoot (commuter train). Keep him going straight to Chicago," and I would reach for the appropriate signal lever.

When Rondout tower would call to advise me of a freight train, Roger would remind me to hang the orders in the train order crane next to the freight line and tell me to line him toward the C&NW, which our freights used to get to the Milwaukee Road's Bensenville yard. And then there was the Deerfield "Patrol" (Milwaukee Road term for a local way freight) which was subject to showing up unannounced throughout the day as it went back and forth, serving industries along the line.

Things went well for the first couple hours until Roger suddenly stood up and casually announced, "I'm going to paint the mast on that signal over there," pointing to the train order signal for freight trains going to/from the C&NW. "If you need me just push that button over there," gesturing to a button mounted on the wall next to the desk. "It will blow the maintainers call horn outside and I'll come in and see what you need."

"But I don't know what trains are coming or where they're supposed to go or..." I protested in vain.

He repeated, "If you need me push that button" and, just like that he was gone, and I was on my own.

To this day, I'm not sure how I got through that first day without sending a freight train to Chicago Union Station or vice versa but that day was the start of my railroad career which lasted 44 years.

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2

Cruz Martinez posted
Where the C&M and the new line split, and further down the old CNW route near northbrook illinois... Taken with permission from a good metra employee.
Glen Warmann Tower A20
Stuart B. Slaymaker Site of Tower A-20, to us oldsters. Armstrong tower. Some of the longer levers required the tower man to leap on them, and ride them down, to lock. True story. Circa 1967.

I assume the C&M was the Chicago & Milwaukee. The "new line" would be the line that goes southwest across the northern suburbs, then south along the west side of O'Hare, then back east to the Proviso Yard to take freight trains more directly to UP/C&NW's freight yard. Milwaukee used the new line to take their freight trains to the Bensenville Yard.

In the background, you can see the lattice truss bridge that takes the new line over the Milwaukee line.

Keith Pokorny posted
BNSF 284 leads CP train #281 at Tower A-20 in northbrook, IL. 1/6/2019

I added a red rectangle (near the top) where I think the tower was. The connecting track is so long because road freights have to climb the grade separation to get to the Bensenville Yard.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Screenshot @ -3:48

safe_image for A unique look at an important, historic railroad junction

Dennis DeBruler

Tower A-20 is where Milwaukee freights would take the connector to join C&NW's "New Line" to bypass Chicago on their way to Bensenville Yard.

http://northamericaninterlockings.com/.../a20ILallen.jpg...

 

Matt Clumac posted
wo Milwaukee Road DL-109s #14A and #14B pulling the Afternoon Hiawatha in Techny, IL in the winter in 1944. Built by Alco in 1941, #14A and #14B were the only two DL-109s owned by the Milwaukee Road. (C) Tom Harley.
Justin Nelson: 5th car back is 1942 coach 477, painted in the unique “buy war bonds” paint scheme.
Pauly Zee: Techny overpass still looks like this too.
Andy Hughes: Keith Kopecky There we’re several (or more) Publicity shots with that great bridge. One is the 2nd edition of the Hi. Framed with the girders. A really nice shot. Using our competitor’s bridge! This CNW line was put in in 1911 & in service 1912. When USRA took over American RRs during WW 1 They forced the Milwaukee to trackage rights on this CNW ‘New Line’ from Bryn Mawr to here. Shermer is just east of this bridge. Controlled by A-20. Of course a tower was here at first.
Andy Hughes: Lordy that’s a big train. Shermer interlocking is just to the left on the CNW. A-20 just to the rear which controlled Shermer.
Fred Strandberg: The End of Alco was all the electrical components where made by GE and could not get parts. Milwaukee railroad sucked money off by the owners to put it out of business.

Steven J. Brown posted
Six Milwaukee Road SD40-2's southbound at A20 - Techny Road in Northbrook, Illinois - September 1980.

Nick Jenkins posted
From the operators window at Tower A20 on the Milwaukee Road, the almost new (May 1974) F40C "Village of Round Lake" passes by on its journey to Fox Lake, IL.
Justin Sobeck: What is the single level car on the head end?
Nick Jenkins: Justin Sobeck LW 90-seat commuter coach rblt. from 68-seat coach.
Mike Schattl: Techny Junction......The complimentary "other" junction to Bryn Mawr Jct at least to MILW/Soo/CP Rail fans......

 

Steven J. Brown posted
Amtrak Hiawatha Service #323 is northbound approaching Tower A20/Techny Junction in Northbrook, Illinois - June 9, 1977.
I describe this whole day in this slideshow: A Teen Explores Chicago's Railroads - The Sequel 1975-78
https://youtu.be/Gz-SUeVdnik
Dennis DeBruler: I wondered what caused that hill on the left. The answer is simple: a landfille.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5...
It looks like they "capped" the landfill with a golf course.
Matt McClure: Dennis DeBruler Yes. Quite fun and well-sculpted. This is where CP wanted to add a third main and NIMBYS came out of the woodwork.

Carl Venzke caught a Milwaukee commuter in March 1959 with a signal in the foreground and the tower in the background.

Metra posted a video of "Metra and Union Pacific crews replacing the final switch at Tower A2 in August 2016." What I find amazing is that UP used two rail-mounted cranes. Since they used their own cranes, I assume they used their own crews. When BNSF replaced crossover switches in Downers Grove, they hired multiple contractors. Cranemasters provided the crane service with three crawler cranes. (Their pre-assembled crossover was a lot longer than this one.)

Burnside Crossing: BRC+CRL/Rock+NS/C&WI(Wabash) over IC

(Satellite)

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.

Harbor Hill or CP Hill Junction: C&NW vs IHB

(Satellite) C&NW called it Harbor Hill whereas  B&OCT called it CP Hill.
NorthAmericanInterlockings: None
Chicago and Northern Indiana Railroad Interlocking Towers (NA)

Sam Carlson posted
By June 2, 1995, when I copped this shot, the B&O had long since been absorbed into CSX. Yet they still referred to this train as "B&O 89" as it tops Harbor Hill, as the C&NW called it, on the IHB (IHB calls it CP Hill) in a southward direction while a C&NW train passes below. B&O 89 ran from C&NW's Proviso Yard to CSX's Barr Yard, both within the Chicago Switching District.

This was the original connection between the C&NW and IHB. Since then two more connections have been added: B3 in 2009 and B2 in 2013. (FMI: CREATE: B2, B3, B4 and B5)

IC 43rd Street Tower: IC vs. NYC/Chicago Junction

(Satellite)
NorthAmericanInterlockings:  none
Chicago and Northern Indiana Railroad Interlocking Towers (click the marker for the correct information)

A photo with lots of signalling pipelines.  An overview

1915 Smoke Abatement Report, p497

Since the purpose of the 1915 Smoke Abatement Report was to argue for the electrification of the railroads in Chicago, this tower existed before electrification.

Bob Lalich commented on a David Daruszka posting
Note the double slip switch. This location was an interlocking plant controlling the connection to the Chicago Junction RR.

The NYC/Chicago Junction/Union Stock Yard and Transit Company provided access to the Union Stock Yards.

David Daruszka commented on a share
This was the original tower that controlled the CJ. I'm not sure when it was abandoned.
Bob Lalich David Daruszka - I believe the tower in your photo was replaced as part of the electrification project in the 1920s.
Michael Brandt posted
Looking Northeast at the IC 43rd Street interlocking tower from 1896.

David Daruszka commented on ashare

 The view looking north. The 43rd Street Station is on the left.

[So as part of the electrification they replaced all of the double slip switches to Chicago Junction with a flyover. That evidently simplified the junction enough that they were able to remote the control of the junction to the 51st/47th Street Tower.]

The Chicago Junction came over from the west at 41st Street, but the ramp to the south did not connect with the IC until 43rd Street.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

This connection became obsolete when the Union Stock Yards closed. Part of the CJ route is used by the Green and Red lines. And part of the CJ route is still visible as a treeline.

Satellite

Percy Sloan 1925 Aerial, cropped ,via Newberry
[We can see the Chicago Junction start in the lower-right and go east until it starts it jog to the north.]

Jack Ferry commented on a post
ICRR Track Profile (1964) at 43rd Street showing connection with the Chicago Junction Railway to the Stockyards.

William Shapotkin posted
You may recall that in an earlier post of mine (Nov 28, 2018) [below] there were pix of the IC's 43rd St suburban station which included view of the 42nd Pl Kenwood 'L' station and the IC-CJ connection. Well darn it if another view of the area has surfaced. From the facebook page "Hyde Park Classics" come this view -- looking north from 47th St. Dated 1961, the IC-CJ connection can be seen in its entirety. Also note that the Kenwood 'L' has been (at least partially) demolished. A closer look appears to reveal that the IC's 43rd St Station has not yet been demolished.
Paul Jaenicke Torn out in early 80's
[The connector from the IC to the CJ would be the curved flyover that is near the center of the photo.]

William Shapotkin posted
In order to gain access to the Stock Yards, a connection betw the IC and the CJ (Chicago Junction) existed near 41st St in Chicago. The connection can be seen in this view (circa 1961 (?)) looking north from 47th St of the one-time connection.
Sam Yacono Nice picture of the past shoreline.
[I was surprised to see so much sand by the lakeshore.]]

William Shapotkin posted five photos with the comment:

Many of us are aware that the IC once had a "suburban" stop at 43rd St (in Chicago) -- where, if one was so inclined (no pun intended), could walk over and catch a train on the Kenwood 'L.' What many do not remember (although it lasted later) was the bridge connecting the IC and CJ (allowing the IC to serve the Stock Yards). All pix from the Wm Shapotkin Collection.

William also posted in the Chicago Railroad Historians (CRH) group. I include comments from that posting as well. Brandon McShane commented that the CJ-IC connection was removed in 1975.
Bob Lalich Nice views of a very interesting feature! Before electrification, the CJ connection crossed all the IC tracks at grade. The grade separation was incorporated into the electrification project and relocated the junction to a new interlocking at 51st St. Does anyone have a diagram of that interlocking?

1
View of an E/B CSS train passing 43rd St IC station (right) and the Kenwood 'L' (left). View looks north on May 11, 1958. (Service on the Kenwood 'L' ended December 1, 1957.)
John Morris Great shot and you can see the still standing Kenwood “L” on the left. Below appears to be the 43rd St. IC platform.Tim Senesac Back when there was 6 electric tracks between 11th Street and Hyde Park....Interesting

2
An E/B CSS train passes IC's 43rd St Station. View looks N/E in the 1950s.

3
A S/B IC train has just x/o under the IC/CJ connection and approaches 43rd St Station. View looks north on July 24, 1957.
(CRH) Ean Kahn-Treras yup an excellent view of th CJ ramp at 43rd St. Great photo!

4
View of the IC/CJ connection -- this time looks south (from either CSS or IC train) on May 4, 1974.

5
Another pic of the IC's 43rd St station (and Kenwood 'L') has surfaced. View looks N/W on May 11, 1958 (same date as photo #1).

92.  OH connection to Chicago Junction RR at 43rd St.
[OH must mean "overhead." He is referring to the girder viaduct in the background. I wonder what station had the platform in the foreground.]

124.  "Jump-over"  IC to CR&I at 40th St.

151.  IC freight tracks near 43rd St.

152.  IC "Jump-over" connection to Chicago Jct. RR at 43rd St.

153.  IC inclined approach (left) to Chicago Jct. RR at 45th St.

156.  IC lead to Chicago Jct. RR connection at 51st St.
[157.  IC lead to Chicago Junction RR leaving freight tracks at 51st St.
158.  IC lead to CJ RR at East 47th St. (looking south)]

159.  IC inclined lead to Chicago Junction RR at  43rd St.
[160.  IC approach to CJ RR at East 41st St.
161.  Junction IC and Chicago Jct. RR tracks on "Jump-over" at E. 41st St.
162.  Chicago Jct. RR track leaving 42rd St. "Jump-over" looking east.
Photos continue along the CJ past the stockyards to the CJ roundhouse. Last number is 183.]

A little to the east of the flyover was a coal yard and a terminal yard for the Kenwood "L".

John Smatiak posted
[162]
Andre Kristopans The tracks going right going to the coal yard I assume?

John commented on his post
Correct- here is the map

John commented on his post
And also a photo illustrating the interesting aspect of the 42nd St. CJ yard trackage- it passed underneath the L tracks. Note the coal piles under the L- no fire hazard there! B&W print in my collection, photographer unknown, date 11/12/28.
Andre Kristopans John Smatlak photo looks like 1930s? After 1943 no more steel cars on Kenwood. Also, by 1943? All Wilson-Kenwood equipment apparently based at Wilson end as the Kenwood area had become really bad and dangerous and CRT was afraid to use the yard for fear of vandalism.
John Smatlak Thanks for the reminder, I forgot to put the date- November 12, 1928.
Andre Kristopans John Smatlak I was pretty close. That area I understand was very uppity in the early 20s and went totally to pot during the Depression. Now it is VERY fancy again.
Scott Greig Andre Kristopans First I'd heard of that (basing all service out of Wilson)...though it makes some sense. Plus, the number of cars on the roster had shrunk by then (all of the early South Side Spragues gone) so I'm sure there was more storage available around the system. Though that would have made for some serious service issues (either a LOT of deadheading or the service began/ended in only one direction!)

Kenwood strikes me as the sort of area dominated by big Victorian/Edwardian mansions, that were dependent on servants and gradually became unworkable as "cheap" labor faded after World War I. Similar to what happened to Prairie Avenue at the same time.
Andre Kristopans Scott Greig by the 30s Kenwood Yard only had two tracks, maybe 20 cars total could be laid up there. Wilson-Kenwood was 24 hours until 1948. Possible some runs might have come out of 61st, but seems unlikely. After 1949 Indiana was made a reporting location and turn in location, though seems a bit of a waste to have a clerk there. Maybe ticket agent took in the shuttle crew receipts?

Daniel Bovino posted

Ok, so I ask my railroad go to expert, Paul Jevert if he would know about where this photo was taken on the IC's Suburban District. Here's the answer Paul gave me.

"Hi Danny,

That photo is at 43rd Street Suburban Station, probably taken in the late 20's after the Electric Suburban Electrification of 1926. The building on the west side of Suburban #1 is the Old 43rd Street Steam Suburban and through Passenger Station. It was now connected by a tunnel and stairway to the new Suburban Hi-level platform between Suburban #3 & 4 (Local tracks). The Through trains (KKK- Champaign- Memphis- Jackson, MS- New Orleans) still used the ticket office and waiting room in that building at the foot of 43rd Street.

The surfacing-ballast-crossties-weed control of the Right Of Way all indicate this was pristine conditions shortly after the Electrification Roll-out ! At that time Suburban had 6 rails between 11th Place and 51st Hyde Park Interlocking with "wire" over them ! It was quite a system with very high capacity, 380 trains a day, 10 minute service on the So. Chicago Dist., 20 minute on the BI District, 30 minute on the Mainline to Matteson ! Wow ! 70 engineer assignments, 70 Suburban conductor assignments, 150 Suburban collectors and flagmen assignments ! A lot of WORK and a "Hell of a Schedule offered for the public!"

Hope this helps!

Paul Jeveret

Paul Jevert shared