Nostalgia & History > Chicago Trip 1982 Part 13 Proviso

Here is my next to last installment of photos from my June 1982 trip to Chicago. This is what I saw and photographed at the Chicago & Northwestern's Proviso yard . According to a 2008 thread here on trainorders, there seems not to be a 100% correct answer to the question of just what municipality Proviso yard is in.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1624735,page=1

Having lived my whole life in New Jersey, I'll leave this debate to those of you with local knowledge.

Photo 1. C&NW locomotives at Proviso yard.

Photo 2. C&NW SD38-2 # 6656, GP-50 # 5063, & GP-7 # 4165.

Photo 3. C&NW GP-50 # 5053 and SD40-2 # 6843.

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Photo 4. C&NW SD40-2s # 6851 & 6833.

Photo 5. Classic EMD cabs: C&NW SD-40 # 878 & F-7 # 417.

Photo 6 . C&NW F-7s # 420/424 and a couple of GP-30s.

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Photo 7. C&NW F-7 #420 was built in 1949 as number 4087C. I would have several opportunities to photograph this locomotive in action because in less than a year, April of 1983, she along with sisters 417, 418, 423, 424, & 425 would follow me home to New Jersey. NJ Transit leased these locomotives for use while the Ex-Lackawanna Morris & Essex line was having extensive work done on the electric catenary wires. Eventually NJT would purchase all of them except 423 & 425 which were returned. All four that NJT owned are now in the collection of the United Railroad Historical Society and stored in Boonton NJ. Number 417 is painted as Lehigh Valley 576, 418 is to be painted as ERIE 715, 420 is painted as Lehigh Valley 578 and 424 is dressed as Reading 284.
423 is at the Wisconsin Great Northern RR in GN paint ( I photographed her there too) and 425 was renumbered 400 and became part of the C&NW executive train. From there, I'm not sure what happened to her.

Photo 8. C&NW crane # X250. Note that caboose # 10519 is lettered for the Chicago Great Western.

Photo 9. The Belt Railway of Chicago made an appearance while I was at Proviso. Alco C-424s # 604 /600 & bicentennial caboose # 210 moved through the yard.

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Photo 10. GP-7 4122 Inside the enginehouse at Proviso yard.

Just one more installment left, Roosevelt Road.

Enjoy,

Ken Gear

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sig292 Wrote:

> Photo 9. The Belt Railway of Chicago made an
> appearance while I was at Proviso. Alco C-424s #
> 604 /600 & bicentennial caboose # 210 moved
> through the yard.

BRC even painted the interior of that caboose red, white and blue!

I commend you for taking the time to post your entire series of Chicago-area photos----I certainly enjoyed them!!!

Nice set of photos. Number 5 is my favorite.