Western Railroad Discussion > Trains Magazine No. 48

The June 12, 2003 edition of the Chicago Tribune ranks the top 50 magazines in its Tempo section. As I started reading the article during my train ride downtown, I thought, "They won't have Trains in the top 50." Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Trains placed 48th. See:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-0306120068jun12,1,4125273.story?coll=chi-leisuretempo-hed

But you have to register in and eat their cookies to read the article.

Chicago is probably the only city in the US that would even be interested in a railroad magazine catagory. Maybe Milwaukee would show some support for the home team.

It probably had something to do with the Chicago issue this month. I don't see how they would have passed it up. The Chicago issue is great (both Trains and TRP came out with Chicago issues this month). The best part of the issue is the maps showing the development of the chicago mainlines over time. I first saw this in the book Southern Pacific in Oregon by Ed Austin and Tom Dill. It really goes a long way from a historical standpoint.

Ted Curphey
funnelfan@icehouse.net

funnelfan wrote:

> It probably had something to do with the Chicago issue this month.

I was thinking the same thing. In addition to the route evolution maps, I really like the track schematic which may seem a little funky at first but it sure gives a good overview of the Chicago terminal area.

There are two photos that really show the changes along the lakeshore. The first shows the IC yards at about 26th Street back in the early 1900's and the other shows a similar view in the 1980's. It's really amazing that the first photo shows the IC mainline as being the lakefront while the latter photo shows the extend of the landfill upon which Soldier Field, Lake Shore Drive and Grant Park were constructed. Even the view shown in the latter photo has changed with the Soldier Field renovation being the most obvious. The boxcars in the small yard next to the St. Charles Air Line are delivering paper the the R.R. Donnelly printing plant which has been replaced by the ever-expanding McCormick Place convention center. Even though that rickety pedestrian bridge spanning both the Air Line and the IC tracks still stands, its days are numbered. The engineering firm I work for is currently designing its replacment as part of the Soldier Field renovation work.