Nostalgia & History > A Little Taste of N&W

As my car battery kept me in today I decided to go through a rather significantly large number of pictures and came across these three from Frank Tribbey's days in Chicago. Don't know much about the area and much less about the area 50 years ago, so someone may be able to help with exact locations. Meanwhile, enjoy.

1) A N&W freight makes its way across led by a high hood GP40. The extra gate sure look better than a modern four-quad set up

2) This time a GP35 leads a large string of boxcars as a storm rolls into Chicago

3) Somewhere in the country, a 5 car passenger train moves on likely at a high rate of speed

No dates or locations available, photos from Frank Tribbey
PQM

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What a great colllection of photos!  The first was taken at the Burnham Ave. crossing in, appropriately, Burnham, Illinois.  
Note the gateman's shanty on the right which handled the manual gates, and further to the right on a concrete pole
is a large bell that the gateman would ring a few times before lowering the gates.
 
The CSS&SB catenary is visible behind the shanty.  The yellow building further back was the Cape Cod nightclub.  
The high tension line towers indicate where the SC&S/PRR crossed the NKP/N&W at Burnham tower.

The second photo is quite a show-stopper for me.  The N&W appears to be coming off the St. Charles Air Line bridge
at 16th Street, and around the connection to the joint CRI&P/NYC mains at Clark Street Tower.  
If he is in fact on that main, then possibly is headed for JN Tower at 71st Street, where the NKP/N&W veers off
onto it's own double-track mains to Calumet Yard. This is the first photo I have ever seen of an N&W on the Air LIne.

The third photo is stunning but so far I have not come up with the location.

Thanks many times over for showing these gems!

Seventyfive Wrote:

> The second photo is quite a show-stopper for me.

For me too!  Also the first photo I have seen of a N&W on the
Rock Island - NYC Joint Tracks. Given the track that it is on there
is nowhere to go by south towards 61st and JN.  Also interesting to see the
tank cars spotted on the industry tracks.  Another long forgotten way to get
freight through Chicago in less than 24 hours (provided some hero does not
try to do it with 10,000' feet of train).

Too bad the passenger train picture is so dark. 
It is difficult to make out if it is on double track or not.
If so that would put it north of Palos Park if in the Chicago area.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/17 09:11 by Englewood.

Looking up the build dates of the units in pic #1, it would have to be fall 1966 at the earliest. Judging by the paint, maybe 1970 at the latest. More N&W would be great!
Pic #2, IIRC, PC abandoned the former NYC into Chicago from the east in Sept. 1972. That would mean the JN Tower NKP connection would be gone after that.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/17 17:29 by halfmoonharold.

Thanks for all the information, as for the passenger train, I was a little upset for the darkness as the scanner was a little low quality. However it appears there is a second main on the photographers side of the train, so I shall label it there.

PQM

rantoul Wrote:
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> Maybe Orland Park or Frankfort area; Palos Park
> trackage via a deep cut or high fill, not at grade
> like in the photo.

Everything south of Palos Park was single track.
That is why I thought  it was somewhere north of Palos Park.
There is still an undeveloped area north of Chicago Ridge.