Western Railroad Discussion > CN spotting a steep urban spur with ES44AC's/Geeps

On CN's Joliet Sub in Chicago, there is a spur just west of the interlocking at Bridgeport. It is for a Bimbo bakery, and gets PD covered hoppers. The track arrangement would be neat to model. The spur leaves the elevated main on a grade, and there is a little siding with a switch at each end, also on that grade. Only the single track at the end of the spur might be at ground level. I've wondered what local works it, and finally spotted it - it's a local that goes between Hawthorne Yard and Glenn Yard, which requires a reverse move at Bridgeport siding. Does anyone know the symbol? It often seems to leave Glenn at around 8pm; right now at 9:15pm it has done the reverse move at Bridgeport to head to Hawthorne.

Anyway, like all the CN locals near by, it usually has a duo of GP38-2's or GP40-2's. So I was surprised to see them lugging a pair of ES44AC's for the whole switching manuever. This was the day where the connection to the Chicago Sub was under construction, so it might have had to do with that.

1. Pulling to a stop to cut away the two loads.
2. Reversing back down the spur.
3. Spotting the cars.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/21 20:45 by inCHI.

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4. There aren't a lot of great angles here, but I was trying to capture how steep the spur is. It was a weird look to see those big engines on it.
5. A side view, showing the short two track part of the spur, which itself is on the grade.
6. CN has some really ragged zebra striped geeps, with maroon primer and white/grey showing through, but only when I edited did I notice one more color: green. Looks like this is one of the ex-GO Transit GP40-2WL's.

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Neat stuff here!

 - Jeff Carlson

InChi
Very interesting. Is there a street address or other info to spot this location in Google Maps? Not quite enough posted there for map and areal junkies to find this spot. It looks really interesting.
Thank you.
Go
 

Gonut1 Wrote:
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> InChi
> Very interesting. Is there a street address or
> other info to spot this location in Google Maps?
> Not quite enough posted there for map and areal
> junkies to find this spot. It looks really
> interesting.
> Thank you.
> Go
>  

31st Place and Wood Street Chicago

Gonut1 Wrote:
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> Is there a street address or
> other info to spot this location in Google Maps?

1801 W 31st PL Chicago

TAW

#6 is just an awesome pic.

Thanks for the info on the interesting Hawthorne-Glenn local with the end swap at Bridgeport. Does that same local work industry spurs along the ex-GM&O? I think I've ssen one working along there riding an Orange Line L between Ashland and 35/Archer...

Pretty big local, is mostly a transfer I'd guess?.  ES's along for the ride?  Any idea on other switching.

Bob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/21 08:31 by robj.

pbouzide Wrote:
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> #6 is just an awesome pic.
>
> Thanks for the info on the interesting
> Hawthorne-Glenn local with the end swap at
> Bridgeport. Does that same local work industry
> spurs along the ex-GM&O? I think I've ssen one
> working along there riding an Orange Line L
> between Ashland and 35/Archer...

The industry in the picture is the only one between Bridgeport and Brighton Park.

TAW

Always good to see photos of what few rail-served industries still remain in Chicago.

TAW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> pbouzide Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > #6 is just an awesome pic.
> >
> > Thanks for the info on the interesting
> > Hawthorne-Glenn local with the end swap at
> > Bridgeport. Does that same local work industry
> > spurs along the ex-GM&O? I think I've ssen one
> > working along there riding an Orange Line L
> > between Ashland and 35/Archer...
>
> The industry in the picture is the only one
> between Bridgeport and Brighton Park.
>
> TAW

Thanks, yeah as far as I know this is the only active spur between Glenn Yard and the end of the Joliet Sub at Bridgeport.

To answer the other part of the question, there are two locals I know of that would pass by here. One is this one between Hawthorne and Glenn that does the reverse move. Maybe it does some switching on the Freeport Sub too, but I don't know what the symbol of it is. The other possible local is R967 that runs Homewood to Glenn. A comment I saw elsewhere says that it is extraboard now, and while I used to see it head north in the mornings, the timing seems random now. Something that confuses me is that it always has a lot of empty centerbeams from Cook County Lumber that head to Glenn Yard, but then it also seems like L536 from Glenn-Kirk then brings them all the way back. I guess that is how traffic from just north of Homewood could get to Kirk yard...

You correctly call the GP40-2LW out as a former GO Transit unit.  She was their 706.