Western Railroad Discussion > A brief visit to West Chicago

Last Friday, 1-23 I took Metra west from downtown Chicago CNW station to West Chicago. It was cold and dreary, so my stay was short. Metra built a new station about 1/2 mile east of Turner Tower. Walking west I passed the former CNW passenger station, shown in 2nd pic. Then past the library, for a warm pit stop. On to the tower on West Washington St. It is still a manned tower.

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The trackage in W. Chicago once included a CB&Q line, abandoned ?? The EJ&E (CN) crosses on a north-south axis, shown in 4th pic. Because of the streets, this crossing is wide open for photography. The first train arrived at 11:40 a.m. was an eb coal train. It stopped east of the tower-5th pic. Then a wb auto racks hit the diamond - pic 6

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MEKoch Wrote:
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> The trackage in W. Chicago once included a CB&Q
> line, abandoned ??

Yes, it was taken up about 15 years ago. It was CBO's route to downtown Chicago via trackage rights befote the Racetrack was built. It fed into what is now UP just south of Washington St.

Nice photos.

The coal train then reversed itself westbound into the yard on the northside of the UP mainline - pic 7. Traffic piled up on this slow reverse move - pic 8. By then I was cold, so I retreated to El Coco Loco for lunch in downtown W. Chicago, two blocks north.
Back at 1:20 p.m., a SB CN train appeared led by BNSF 1097 - pic 9

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Ten minutes later another eb UP coal train headed towards Chicago - pic 10 & 11. Metra operates hourly on the CNW line, and they almost pass at the tower - pic 12.

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At 1:59 p.m. a wb UP train with all the empty "salad bowl" reefers - pic 13. Metra viewed from the northside of the tower - pic 14.
Metra wb at the W. Chicago Station - pic 15.

If you want your own railroad viewing house, the home immediately northeast of the tower is for sale!! It is a two story frame house. I imagine a nice deck could be built over the driveway, so that six months of the year you could take in the constant action at Turner Junction. Wife approval needed........



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/15 15:15 by MEKoch.

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Was the CN quiet the whole time you were there?

You will note that the 8th pic or so is a sb CN train, with BNSF power.

BNSF is still in town, serving General Mills and possibly other industries. It's just the last few city blocks of the old track that were taken up, including the UP connection and the diamond crossing of the EJ&E. There was a time when we'd send BN cars for interchange to West Chicago rather than via one of the switching/terminal lines.

Carl Shaver
Lombard, IL

It can't be a CN train because foreign power can't lead in Canada.

All southbound CN Intermodal trains on that part of the J originate in Canada.

MEKoch Wrote:
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> You will note that the 8th pic or so is a sb CN
> train, with BNSF power.

usa4624 Wrote:
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> It can't be a CN train because foreign power can't
> lead in Canada.
>
> All southbound CN Intermodal trains on that part
> of the J originate in Canada.
>
> MEKoch Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > You will note that the 8th pic or so is a sb CN
> > train, with BNSF power.

I imagine a LOT can happen to a locomotive consist between Canada and Chicago.

...Unless BNSF is detouring intermodal trains on the CN, or that's not actually an intermodal train, just some stacks that were picked up somewhere along the way (repaired bad orders?).

The now-abandoned-and-removed track into West Chicago was built as the Aurora Branch RR, around 1856, which line ultimately became the CB&Q. That makes it the oldest (now non-existent) piece of the BNSF. The CB&Q ran local trains between Aurora and West Chicago (where interchange was also made with the ex-CNW and ex-EJ&E); no such trains ever operated to the east of West Chicago on the ex-CNW (even when it was still the original Galena & Chicago Union Railway).

Regarding the comment about "foreign units cannot lead in Canada" ... Not true. If units are "Canadian equipped" (stretcher, hot plate) they can lead.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/15 04:27 by Labiche.

MEKoch Wrote:
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> You will note that the 8th pic or so is a sb CN
> train, with BNSF power.

Oops. I figured it was off the UP connection because of the UP engine. Just can't tell based on that anymore...

Not really - It's only 600 miles from the Canadian border at Ranier MN to Chicago.

I've been dispatching the former Wisconsin Central for 7 years and I have never had foreign power on a stack train. Heck, until 2013 we never had foreign power go north of Fond du Lac. Nowadays it occasionally runs thru to Canada - but it cannot lead.


zchcsse Wrote:
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>
> I imagine a LOT can happen to a locomotive consist
> between Canada and Chicago.
>
> ...Unless BNSF is detouring intermodal trains on
> the CN, or that's not actually an intermodal
> train, just some stacks that were picked up
> somewhere along the way (repaired bad orders?).

Labiche Wrote:
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> The now-abandoned-and-removed track into West
> Chicago was built as the Aurora Branch RR, around
> 1856, which line ultimately became the CB&Q. That
> makes it the oldest (now non-existent) piece of
> the BNSF. The CB&Q ran local trains between Aurora
> and West Chicago (where interchange was also made
> with the ex-CNW and ex-EJ&E); no such trains ever
> operated to the east of West Chicago on the ex-CNW
> (even when it was still the original Galena &
> Chicago Union Railway).
>
> Regarding the comment about "foreign units cannot
> lead in Canada" ... Not true. If units are
> "Canadian equipped" (stretcher, hot plate) they
> can lead.

The BN used to send long interchange trains over from Eola to West Chicago very late at night. These included auto racks, tank cars and boxcars.

The UP-SP merger allowed the UP to interchange directly at Eola yard thus the BN-BNSF connection became redundant.

Mid to late 1990's, the BN branch was truncated back to the General Mills facility.