Nostalgia & History > Grand Trunk Tuesday - Westbound at Harvey in 1976

A westbound at Harvey, Illinois taken from the IC overpass in July, 1976
I believe the brick building on the right was used to house a crew room when
an engine was assigned to work the IC transfer business.
Ken Lanovich photo

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What is tall structure in the backround? Looks to be a elevator/mill of some sort, although it is unusual design. 

mopacrr Wrote:
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> What is tall structure in the backround? Looks to
> be a elevator/mill of some sort, although it is
> unusual design. 

  It's known as Bum's Castle and was some sort of grain silo at one time......

The GTW brick structure was the freight house before becoming a hangout for crewmen.

Thanks for the great view!

What a great photo, taken from the Illinois Central overhead, a very difficult place to climb up to.  Note the train order staff to the left of the freight house and crossing gate.  We had one just like it at North Harvey on the B&OCT.  Lost back in the smoke is a crossing watchman's shanty at Halsted Street; he could see if westward Trunks were lined up at Harvey Tower, and would call the tower if they needed the board.  Since the small yard is along the westward main, circuits would often be on at the tower, and due to the IC overhead we could not see what was coming, if anything, on the Trunk.

I think I may have climbed up there only once, and didn't again as it was too steep and then too dangerous with all the IC tracks hopping up there.  So, many thanks to Ken for the shot, and to the Englewood Tower operator for showing it here.

Rich

Noticed another train order staff in the photo along the westward main, just to the left of the 5900 and right of the battery box.  Time to look for my old GTW timetables and see if their freight house was ever a train order station as well.  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/15 11:10 by Seventyfive.

I would guess the B&OCT's Chicago Heights Line is to the right of the freight house???

CSX_ENG Wrote:
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> I would guess the B&OCT's Chicago Heights Line is
> to the right of the freight house???

Right.

TAW

I am thinking the train order staffs were probably there to facilitate handing up "bills" and other paperwork.
I don't think Harvey was an actual train order office.

Interesting story about the watchman calling for the signals.
That is real teamwork.  Of course he probably wanted the
train off his crossing too.

Much more efficient than today's "toning" the DS and waiting 10" for an answer.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/15 08:26 by Englewood.

Englewood Wrote:
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> I am thinking the train order staffs were probably
> there to facilitate handing up "bills" and other
> paperwork.
> I don't think Harvey was an actual train order
> office.
>

You would be right about that.  Besides, there's no train order signal or board there.  Harvey tower itself was just signals, no switches, manned by B&OCT personnel.

WrongMain Wrote:
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> Englewood Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I am thinking the train order staffs were
> probably
> > there to facilitate handing up "bills" and
> other
> > paperwork.
> > I don't think Harvey was an actual train order
> > office.
> >
>
> You would be right about that.  Besides, there's
> no train order signal or board there.  Harvey
> tower itself was just signals, no switches, manned
> by B&OCT personnel.

One day, Tony Franicich was chief. He called me and asked if I could work Harvey Tower 2d trick. I was on my day off from 2d 75th Street, my regular job. I told Tony I had never been there. He said that he didn't ask me if I had ever been there, just if I could work 2d trick. Just go in a few minutes minutes early and learn the phone work.

I worked Harvey on one 2d trick on overtime and...it happened again after I had the regular 3rd trick trick job and got paid overtime at train dispatcher rate to spend 8 hours running two trains on the Trunk.

TAW

As with all towers, interesting stories abound in their histories.  The incredible Harvey Tower is no exception.  Within the next day or two I hope to post a little story about the day a bank robber worked Harvey Tower.  I haven't thought about it in over 40 years so it may take a bit of time to remember the highlights before I post on the Railroaders Nostalgia discussion.

Rich



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/15 11:04 by Seventyfive.

Harvey tower was the tower where you got qualified in about an hour or two.  In its last days, the North Harvey operator would drive down to Harvey to line up traffic on the B&OCT Chicago Heights sub after lining up the train at North Harvey.  You had to let the IHB dispatcher know you'd be gone for about 10 minutes and call the Grand Trunk dispatcher to see if he had any traffic to run before you dropped the signals, which were repeaters.

WrongMain Wrote:
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> Harvey tower was the tower where you got qualified
> in about an hour or two.  In its last days, the
> North Harvey operator would drive down to Harvey
> to line up traffic on the B&OCT Chicago Heights
> sub after lining up the train at North Harvey.
>  You had to let the IHB dispatcher know you'd be
> gone for about 10 minutes and call the Grand Trunk
> dispatcher to see if he had any traffic to run
> before you dropped the signals, which were
> repeaters.

When I was sent there the first time, I got a lot of static from the day man about coming in there without breaking in like I knew something, which I obviously didn't. He went on about it was an important and busy tower and I would need at least several days of break in.

I told him it wasn't me, it was ARF and he didn't think so.

TAW

Harvey Tower-----is this the two story building that was on Park Ave. and protected the GTW-BOCT Chgo. Heights line? If so, I always thought it was a GTW gate crossing tower! Please elaborate..........

CSX_ENG Wrote:
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> Harvey Tower-----is this the two story building
> that was on Park Ave. and protected the GTW-BOCT
> Chgo. Heights line? If so, I always thought it was
> a GTW gate crossing tower! Please
> elaborate..........

Quoting Ray Rutkowski, Roundhouse foreman at Lncoln Street and at Barr when Lincoln Street closed:

There ain' no place like this here place, so this here must be the place

Harvey Tower 1968

TAW

 

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Pretty sparse looking lever frame.  Was this tower like Riverdale in that it pre-dated the IC elevation.

Also curious as to how the GTW was handled.  Did you just line up when something hit the bell or
did you take directions from someone (Thornton Jct. op, GTW DS, B.I. Yardmaster) ?

As they come they go. There was a Trunk spatch wire but the only reason to use it would be the very extremely rare case of spatch ringing.

There was a Blue Island Jct - Harvey - Thornton Jct intercom. Thornton Jct and Blue Island Jct would announce through trains. If a train had work ar Blue Island or Harvey, they would call on the block phone when ready to go. Blue Island Jct and Thornton Jct would announce the passenger trains PEOPLE TRAIN PEOPLE TRAIN. If you didn,t get oit of the chair and pull off for them right away, they were already on yellow.

TAW

Posted from Android

Frank Rhode worked there in the 20s. He told me that the crossing was movable point frog and there were derails.That would fill out the machine. I'm sore the tower came after the IC elevation.

TAW

Posted from Android

My grandpa worked out of the building in the 1940's and 50's.  Right after he retired from the GTW in 1968, he took a young and impressionable 4 year old to that building and I got some of his former workers.  I've been a GTW fan ever since.

Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories of my time hanging out with my grandpa and being introduced to the Grand Trunk Western.

Steve

Englewood Wrote:
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> Pretty sparse looking lever frame.  Was this
> tower like Riverdale in that it pre-dated the IC
> elevation.
>
> Also curious as to how the GTW was handled.  Did
> you just line up when something hit the bell or
> did you take directions from someone (Thornton
> Jct. op, GTW DS, B.I. Yardmaster) ?

When I started working at Harvey in 1972 the Trunk dispatcher's line was gone.  Day operator Norm Minas had the tower rehabbed to something modern and pleasant to work in, and had an annunciator installed that was a buzzer loud enough to hear even where Ken took his photo.  When eastward Trunks hit the bell you lined them up immediately.  Occasionally lite power would drop down from Blue against the current of traffic and you'd just have to notice them out the window.  I never got a call from Blue Is. Jct. about impending trains.  As for westward Trunks, when they hit the bell we would line 'em up.  If they were working their Harvey Yard, we would not know it unless the gateman at Halsted Street shanty (a tall one like the famous one near Blue Is. Jct.) would let us know on the block line.  Or, if they were asleep, we would see the gates at Park avenue time out and raise, and then we would drop the signal.  It was a gift to work Harvey Tower.  Of course, those were the days.

Rich