Railroaders' Nostalgia > Tales from the Towers No. 5 : R.I.P. Calumet Park

Fifty years ago today Calumet Park Tower in Burnham, Illinois was destroyed by an arson fire.
Sometime during 3rd trick, valves were opened on heating oil drums which were outside near
the back, and only, door to the tower.  The fuel ran under the tower, which had ample room underneath
for all the mechanical pipelines that operated the switches.  I was told the Operator/Leverman saw a lit
fusee thrown at the tower from the field just east of it and across the SC&S main.

As I heard, the fuel oil beneath the tower nearly exploded, ignited the wooden floor planks above the
pipelines, and kept going.  Just about everything in the tower was wooden except for the pipelines,
locking bed and levers.  The Operator was on the second floor and had no way out, as the only
stairway was by the back door and already in flames.  He had to jump out one of the windows, and
as I recall, beneath every window were pipelines to the switches.  That jump was his life-saver and must
have been painful.

Rumors I heard suggested that a recently fired employee set the fire.  I never heard if anyone was ever charged.

I did not hear about the fire until the next day, and then visited the location on Conrail Day, April 1.  What a sad sight.
A lot of charred wood and tons of bent and melted metal from the levers and bed.

Cal Park was a great place to hang out and fan.  It was through friendship with 1st trick Operator Joe Herrera that
I got my first railroad job when I was 18, and that led to some 30 years of railroading.

When looking back at all the towers I have visited and seen, what stands out is the lack of escape routes in most of them.
After the fire at the Park, I recall seeing ladders installed near windows at many towers as a fire escape.

The nearest tower to Cal Park was Burnham Tower, and I heard they had two fires there some years later.
The tower survived the first and I wonder if Burnham had that extra ladder.

I tried to pull up some photos of Calumet Park on TO but my laptop is not succeeding, so if any readers are able
to post some links it will be much appreciated.

p.s. I should add that Cal Park Tower was not rebuilt; no surprise there.  It was eventually remote-controlled from
IHB's Hohman Avenute Tower in Hammond, Indiana.  I never did hear how long it took for that to get set up.
I imagine TO member TAW was disappointed to have not been on the B&OCT's Chief desk when this fire occured !



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/26 09:00 by Seventyfive.

When I worked Englewood in the early 70's Joe Herrara worked a swing job that
included the ops position at Englewood one afternoon a week.  Very nice man.

Englewood had one of the "fire escape" ladders on the end of the building opposite the strairway.
It was probably a little less dangerous than a fire.
I was always expecting someone from the hood to pop up the ladder but it never happened.

One winter the oil tank in the sub-basement of Englewood sprung a leak and drained out.
The bosses first reaction was that someone had stolen the oil but closer look proved otherwise.
They patched the leak and filled the tank back up. It was comforting to know that the dirt floor in the sub-basement
was soaked with a large quantity of oil just waiting for an ignition source.  Never did catch fire.
 

That's pretty bad to set the tower on fire with someone in it.

ts1457 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's pretty bad to set the tower on fire with
> someone in it.

I thought so too; that's some hard core revenge.  But it is Chicago, lotta tough characters in that town.

Andy

You have to wonder if the guy working in the tower had something to do with the guy getting fired?

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You have to wonder if the guy working in the tower
> had something to do with the guy getting fired?

He did use a lot of accelerant with those heating oil drums.

AndyBrown Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ts1457 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > That's pretty bad to set the tower on fire with
> > someone in it.
>
> I thought so too; that's some hard core revenge. 
> But it is Chicago, lotta tough characters in that
> town.
>

During a strike on BRC in 1968 (or was it early 69?) C&O, a tenant, kept running trains.Since they were not on strike, that was acceptable. BLE (I think it was tham) had pickets on the Columbus Ave crossing at the east end of C&O Rockwell yard, so management took the trains between 75 and Rockwell. The crews got on and off at 75. Some BLE folks were upset with that arrangement and one night, C&O 1/90 found the hard way a partly removed rail connected to the adjoining stick with wire for the signals. That wasn't the neighborhood punks, that was rails!

TAW

TAW Wrote:
 That wasn't the neighborhood
> punks, that was rails!

Yikes!

AB

Seventyfive Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fifty years ago today Calumet Park Tower in
> Burnham, Illinois was destroyed by an arson fire.
> Sometime during 3rd trick, valves were opened on
> heating oil drums which were outside near
> the back, and only, door to the tower.  The fuel
> ran under the tower, which had ample room
> underneath
> for all the mechanical pipelines that operated the
> switches.  I was told the Operator/Leverman saw a
> lit
> fusee thrown at the tower from the field just east
> of it and across the SC&S main.
>
> As I heard, the fuel oil beneath the tower nearly
> exploded, ignited the wooden floor planks above
> the
> pipelines, and kept going.  Just about everything
> in the tower was wooden except for the pipelines,
> locking bed and levers.  The Operator was on the
> second floor and had no way out, as the only
> stairway was by the back door and already in
> flames.  He had to jump out one of the windows,
> and
> as I recall, beneath every window were pipelines
> to the switches.  That jump was his life-saver
> and must
> have been painful.
>
> Rumors I heard suggested that a recently fired
> employee set the fire.  I never heard if anyone
> was ever charged.
>
> I did not hear about the fire until the next day,
> and then visited the location on Conrail Day,
> April 1.  What a sad sight.
> A lot of charred wood and tons of bent and melted
> metal from the levers and bed.
>
> Cal Park was a great place to hang out and fan.
>  It was through friendship with 1st trick
> Operator Joe Herrera that
> I got my first railroad job when I was 18, and
> that led to some 30 years of railroading.
>
> When looking back at all the towers I have visited
> and seen, what stands out is the lack of escape
> routes in most of them.
> After the fire at the Park, I recall seeing
> ladders installed near windows at many towers as a
> fire escape.
>
> The nearest tower to Cal Park was Burnham Tower,
> and I heard they had two fires there some years
> later.
> The tower survived the first and I wonder if
> Burnham had that extra ladder.
>
> I tried to pull up some photos of Calumet Park on
> TO but my laptop is not succeeding, so if any
> readers are able
> to post some links it will be much appreciated.
>
> p.s. I should add that Cal Park Tower was not
> rebuilt; no surprise there.  It was eventually
> remote-controlled from
> IHB's Hohman Avenute Tower in Hammond, Indiana.
>  I never did hear how long it took for that to
> get set up.
> I imagine TO member TAW was disappointed to have
> not been on the B&OCT's Chief desk when this fire
> occured !

Terribly. 

However, there was the day that the Harbor was on the ground in the plant. A newly-minted Expert Trainmaster showed up and dcided those old time railroaders were doing it all wrong. He ordered a D-9 to make short work of the mess. The CAT arrived, unloaded and under the direction of thge Expert Trainmaster, headed to work. There were some pipes next to the track in the way in a couple of places, but under the direction of the Expert Trainmaster, the CAT made short work of driving over them to get to the derailment.

The Expert Trainmaster had the derailment clear in short order. MG was then handled by switchtenders for months while PC scoured the system to find enough pipeline, carriers, cranks, and fittings to fix the plant.

TAW

It’s fun to watch experts at work, ain’t it Tom.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

It was obviously, not unheard of for towers to get hit by derailed trains. An operator at Ames tower near Crawfordsville, Indiana, for example, was badly injured when the tower with him it was hit by a train. After the interlocking was rebuilt, the two story tower became a one story tower with the 2nd floor placed on the ground.

Victor Baird

Posted from Android



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/26 16:24 by wabash2800.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It was obviously, not unheard of for towers to get
> hit by derailed trains. An operator at Ames tower
> near Crawfordsville, Indiana, for example, was
> badly injured when the tower with him it was hit
> by a train. After the interlocking was rebuilt,
> the two story tower became a one story tower with
> the 2nd floor placed on the ground.
>
> Victor Baird

That's exactly what happened to the tower in my hometown when I was growing up.

Drknow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It’s fun to watch experts at work, ain’t it
> Tom.
>


Almost as much as doing exactly what they tell you to do.

TAW

TAW, doing exactly what you were told to do was always a lot of fun, especially if they were in a hurry.

Sam

I always say it’s their sandbox and if the Carrier wants to commit monumental stupidity I don’t even question it anymore. In the past I actually tried to help and received scorn and ridicule on an industrial level by those that are my “leaders” so now my motto is “let it happen”.

Regards

Posted from iPhone

Drknow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I always say it’s their sandbox and if the
> Carrier wants to commit monumental stupidity I
> don’t even question it anymore. In the past I
> actually tried to help and received scorn and
> ridicule on an industrial level by those that are
> my “leaders” so now my motto is “let it
> happen”.
>

After a couple of years of Frisco Northern hell, I set a standard for myself in order to deal with it:

As long as nothing gets bent and my guys (I always considered everyone working on my territory to be my crew)  don't leave work early fired, injured, or killed, whatever management wants to do with their railroad is fine with me. Want to blow your money? You're not sharing it with us anyway. Knock yourself out.

TAW

100% same here Tom.

Nobody’s hurt and nothin’ in the dirt is my motto.

Like I’ve said I will watch boxcars of money flushed down the drain and not say a peep. I’ve been not so subtly told over the years that I more or less need to learn my place in the hierarchy, and we all know that TE&Y are low as whale shit on that pole. So sit and smile is what I do now.

Posted from iPhone

Drknow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 100% same here Tom.
>
> Nobody’s hurt and nothin’ in the dirt is my
> motto.
>
> Like I’ve said I will watch boxcars of money
> flushed down the drain and not say a peep. I’ve
> been not so subtly told over the years that I more
> or less need to learn my place in the hierarchy,
> and we all know that TE&Y are low as whale shit on
> that pole. So sit and smile is what I do now.
>
What they told us at our little wooden axle railroad:  "You don't see the big picture - but we're not showing that to ya."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/09/26 21:42 by roustabout.

One of our illustrious leaders told our crew one day, "You don't get paid to think." Done deal. Let it all go to pot. And it did.

Malicious compliance ; all we did was exactly follow your orders !