Nostalgia & History > The former NKP passenger main in Chicago

First, I should say I think this is the former NKP passenger main, crossing through Pullman Junction. On a 1974 Chicago switching district map it is listed as "N&W" and is a stub that doesn't connect to the former IC main. Even today there are "No Trepassing - N&W" signs.

I got a kick out of seeing the signal at the diamond. The strange thing, to me, is that I think the stub track north of Pullman Junction was recently rebuilt. That is Finkl & Sons steel in the background, which relocated to this location recently with city incentives. Their former site was near Goose Island in Chicago, in an area that has rapidly gentrified. So here they are at a new south side location, with far more land, and what seems like newly rebuilt rail to serve them, but then the diamond is gone.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/17 08:18 by inCHI.

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Wow, didn't know they took the diamond on there. Did that happen recently? And yes, this is the NKP passenger line.

Ex NKP main to connection with the NYC at JN tower.
In recent years known as the Verson Lead account the
industry on the north side of the BRC. I have been out
of touch for 3+ years but the only traffic on the NS across
the diamonds then was a Calumet yard job "once in a blue moon".

Did you notice any work on the BRC over Stony Island? There had been
plans for the state to renew the overpasses which would have required
relocation of the BRC mains. Perhaps that is the reason for the perhaps
temporary diamond removal. Adding to that thought is that the diamond
has only been removed on one of the BRC mains.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/17 11:12 by Englewood.

Englewood Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Did you notice any work on the BRC over Stony
> Island? There had been
> plans for the state to renew the overpasses which
> would have required
> relocation of the BRC mains. Perhaps that is the
> reason for the perhaps
> temporary diamond removal. Adding to that thought
> is that the diamond
> has only been removed on one of the BRC mains.

I did, possibly. There was more than one work truck driving around. I didn't see any heavy MOW equipment but there did seem to be more going on than just a hi-rail patrol or something.

Speaking of the Finkl (former Verson Press) property, I believe some of the oldest structures were built by NKP as various railroad shop buildings....

As info, the photo is looking south. The furthest diamond is what remains of the
(at this point) once four track CRI&P South Chicago line. The curving tracks by the
white truck are the NS out of Calumet which are former C&WI. No Lake Cities or
Thoroughbred today. :(

Photo from Barriger Library Flickr pages looking north on the NKP
from a point south of the Rock Island and BRC diamonds
https://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/12238929624/in/album-72157640349260066/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/17 12:42 by Englewood.

Thanks for sharing. For a frame of reference, the Barriger photo is backwards.

Victor A. Baird
Http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/17 14:58 by wabash2800.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for sharing. For a frame of reference, the
> Barriger photo is backwards.
>
> Victor A. Baird
> Http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

I don't think so.
1. Topographic maps show the yard and roundhouse on the compass west side of the NKP tracks.
2. Go to the previous and following photos in the Barriger series. They are clearly reversed,
NKP016 has the C&WI operator's shanty on the right side when it should be on the left.
3. If you look at the notation on the negative "NKP016" it is not reversed while on the previous one
the notation "NKP015" is reversed.

Take a look at these Barriger photos taken from a different perspective:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/12307805556/in/album-72157640505227503/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/12230299874/in/album-72157640325270063/

I could be wrong, let's see what other sets of eyes see.

As an aside, it is sad to see such a great collection as the Barriger photos haphazardly posted backwards with most
locations left to be guessed at.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/17 08:28 by Englewood.

Thanks for the update on this location. It has been over 10 years since I have been out that way. The NKP passenger main was once a double-tracked line with automatic block signals. My own research found that one of the NKP mains crossing here was removed in the mid-1970's. For those unaware, the original NKP yard was called Stony Island, and was on the north side of Pullman Jct., and also had the road's primary locomotive shop. Whatever buildings Verson used would have been left over from this facility. Calumet Yard was built in 1924, and the engine facility there in the late 1940's, replacing Stony Island. When PC shut down the NYC line at JN Tower in fall 1972, the NKP passenger line became useless. The last N&W passenger trains here ran in Sept. 1965. I think N&W used the line to interchange with IC for a while after that.


Englewood, I agree with your comment on the Barriger collection.

When I worked at Calumet Yard we were delivering and pulling trains to and from
the IC at Fordham Yard via this former main line to La Salle Street Station.

I recall catching a Yard Extra job 1st trick on Easter Sunday, 1988 and we had pretty large trains up and back.
We left our caboose on the NKP "main," set out our IC's, and then doubled several tracks back onto the caboose,
getting permission from the IC dispatcher for headroom on his main. Then shoved the whole thing back to Calumet.

As for the incredible Barriger photos at Pullman Jct., I believe NKP 15 is not flipped, because of the position of
the water tank on the left (also visible in NKP 16 which is correct when flipped), and because of the location
of the cross bucks on the 94th Street crossing. Flip the photo and they are on the wrong sides of the street.

Thanks for the interesting current photos of that location, and for the links to the amazing Barriger photos.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/17 00:51 by Seventyfive.

If anyone happens to look up this thread now, street view shows a new OWLS diamond in the same spot, so it looks like the diamond removal was temporary.