Nostalgia & History > Mostly Forrest Hill Crossing, Chicago, IL, 9/4/75

Forrest Hill Crossing, Chicago, Illinois, 9/4/75
This is about 11 miles southwest of the Loop, near the intersection of 74th, Western and Columbus.  North/south lines of PC (ex-PRR) and B&O crossed east/west lines of C&O/BRC and N&W (ex-WAB) here.
 
1 & 2. A w/b train was led by N&W GP30 #543, built 7//62.
3. PC SD38 #6946, built 4//70, to CR #6946, to NS #3812, retired by 2012 led an e/b train.

Gerry

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Forrest Hill Crossing, Chicago, Illinois, 9/4/75
4. EL GP35 #2554, built 9//64, to CR #3660, + caboose C344 strolled by e/b.
5. BRC C424s #600 + #601, both built 4//65, led a w/b train.
6. L&N GP30 #1050, built 11//63, + caboose #348 were w/b.

Gerry

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Forrest Hill Crossing, Chicago, Illinois, 9/4/75
7. A s/b (compass) PC train on ex-PRR had a U25B still lettered for NYC in it.
8. B&O GP9 #6655, built 7//56 as C&O #6105, led a s/b (compass) train on B&O.
9. A w/b C&O train was led by GP35 #3535, built 6//64, + GP7 #5768.

Gerry

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Waukegan, Illinois, 9/13/75
10. C&NW E8AM #5019B, built 3//49 as E7A #5019B, rebuilt 6//53 by EMD to E8AM (2,000 hp from 2X12-567BC engines), rebuilt for commuter service 8//61, sold to RTA 12/31/77, leased to C&NW for operation, to RTA #5019 , retired in 1981, sold to Naporano Iron & Metal 5//85, was tied down.
Rondout, Illinois, 9/13/75
11. MILW SD7 #508 was built 6//52 as #2208, later rebuilt to SD10 #558, to DM&E #558 and DBGX #558.
12. An EJ&E w/b (northeast by compass) train led by SD38 #652, built 1//70, later DM&IR #222 crossed MILW.  I have no idea what MILW operator Don Shield was doing there.  He didn’t hand up orders.
 
References:
Train Watcher’s Guide to Chicago, By John Szwajkart, ©1976, self-published
That site that archives railroad pictures
https://www.thedieselshop.us/
https://utahrails.net/index.php
 
Gerry

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Photo 2. Looking east at the Forest Hill home signals.
Three tracks in the foreground are N&W. First two are leads to Landers yard.
Third track is single track main. 
N&W train in background is on the BRC, probably a transfer out of the ex-NKP yard at Calumet.
Semaphores are on the BRC. Photo 7, taken a little farther east shows the single track main going to double track.


Photo 3.  I recall those 6900's were used as hump power at 59th St. yard.

Thanks for posting.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/26 04:48 by Englewood.

Little L&N GP 30 had a lot of neat stuff, oscolating light and M5 horn.
Enjoy all your historical postings.
Regards, Jim Evans



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/26 08:22 by FiveChime.

GPutz Wrote:
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> Forrest Hill Crossing, Chicago, Illinois, 9/4/75

>  
> 1 & 2. A w/b train was led by N&W GP30 #543,
> built 7//62.


That's probably the Wabash transfer to Clearing. Long ago, there was a balloon track at the east end of Landers so that trains could pull east from the yard, go around the loop and be pulling west onto the Belt Wabash Lead to Clearing without conflict with Belt, Panhandle, and B&OCT traffic. With the coming of cars over 60 feet, it couldn't be used. The Belt connection was changed to a switch at Western Ave so the Wabash trains would shove east onto the Belt and pull west. They would shove out to just clear the westbound Western Ave home signal, which was almost back to back the eastbound home signal for the 75 plant (the double head semaphore in the picture). There was no having them shove back to clear the plant because the only radio was through the Wabash yardmaster, but more than that, Belt traffic was running like water and they wanted it out of the way as fast as possible. 

For 75, this move at that time of day took seemingly twice as long as forever. 

This move generally happened (when I worked 75) at the early 2d trick rush: B&O 7, 6, C&O 8, C&O 1/90, B&O NE96, B&OCT 39 racing the Pennsy to get to the Q first, B&OCT 33 with CJ and Stockyards, usually a westbound Panhandle that wouldn't fit clear of 87th (meaning - no stopping it for more than a couple of minutes), the usual endless stream of regular Belt traffic, and the usual Wabash freight house runs to and from 47th for the evening hotshots. I'd have all that pretty well figured out and over the talkback speaker Belt Jct - 75 - Hayford intercome would come

"Tom, I've got a Wabash with 40 for clearing."

He might have well have said "Checkmate.".

My mind played that all back when I saw those pictures.

Thanks for great memories.

TAW



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/26 17:53 by TAW.

Yes, great memories for sure. I spent some time as a 12-year old in 1968-69 up in 75th Street Tower (but my friend, Larry, and I always called it "Forrest Hill") with Tom (TAW) and he was a gracious host. 
Tom, you probably don't remember, but every once in awhile you would let us push/pull the Armstrong levers (as you called out the lever number) to set up a train. I remember watching semaphores shakily move from stop-to-clear.
Also, you would also ask us to get the number on the lead locomotive running either on a northbound or southbound train on the B&OCT. My guess you already knew the number, but you were giving us something to do.
I miss those days.
Thank you for the pictures, Gerry!

Nice set, and thanks Englewood and TAW for your insights, always enjoyable.

TAW Wrote:
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>
> > 1 & 2. A w/b train was led by N&W
> That's probably the Wabash transfer to Clearing.
>
> TAW

Thanks, that explains why it is on the wrong main.
Back when Landers was not just intermodal.

Tom is right about trains running like water.
Many bike trips with friends to 75th in the late 60's.
There was almost always something moving then.
 

Thanks for all the compliments and nostalgic information.

My original log book identified this location as 75th Street.  But, when preparing this post, I consulted John SzwajKart's book Train Watcher's Guide to Chicago, ©1976 and ©1982, which identifies it only as Forest Hill (there's a hill in Chicago?) and also indicates it's near 74th Street.  There must be at least a short story behind this.

Gerry

GPutz Wrote:
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> Thanks for all the compliments and nostalgic
> information.
>
> My original log book identified this location as
> 75th Street.  But, when preparing this post, I
> consulted John SzwajKart's book Train Watcher's
> Guide to Chicago, ©1976 and ©1982, which
> identifies it only as Forest Hill (there's a hill
> in Chicago?) and also indicates it's near 74th
> Street.  There must be at least a short story
> behind this.
>

75, the tower of many names. The map explains.

For anyone who has the first edition of Train Watcher's Guide to Chicago, at the beginning is a full pagepicture of the operator at 75 talking on the talkback intercom to the Wabash yardmaster. That's me being very, let's say diret and explicit about the Nickel Plate standing on the plant with B&O 7 there waiting.John spent several hours with me one day.

75th Street ended at the driveway too the tower crossing the B&OCT/PRR - Belt wye.

Forest Hill yard was originally the freight forwarder house yard (Western, Acme, Superior, etc.) and became the B&OCT Chicago intermodal yard in I think it was 1967.

TAW

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Thanks, TWA, for the story.  Gerry