19-03-27b PHOTOS: Heritage Corridor

The first leg of my actual journey on Amtrak's Train #21, the Texas Eagle, runs along the Metra "Heritage Corridor", which gets its name from the Illinois and Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor along which the rail line runs. In railroad Terms the line is the old Chicago and Alton which ran between Chicago and Alton in a similar fashion to the way Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac ran a single line between rail hubs in Alexandria and Richmond Virginia. The Alton was purchased by the B&O in 1931 then transferred to the Gulf Mobile and Ohio, which later merged with the Illinois Central before being ultimately purchased by Canadian National. The route below Joliet was sold by the IC and eventually passed to the Southern Pacific that finally became part of Union Pacific in 1994, but CN/IC retained ownership of the Heritage Corridor section due to a sizable amount of local industry. Today the line is part of the larger Lincoln Corridor, 110mph high speed route that connects St Louis, Springfield and Chicago with a 5 daily round trips, however due to the large amount of conflicting freight traffic, METRA service only consists of a handful of peak direction weekday runs.

Freight conflicts are endemic to this route due to the presence of four major at-grade crossings that can be tied up for long stretches by freight movements trying to negotiate the congested Chicago terminal area. Closures of interlocking towers and increased dispatcher workload has made coordination impossible and it is not uncommon for Amtrak traffic to get hit with sizable delays on this 30 mile stretch. Fortunately my train only lost about 20-30 minutes for a variety of reasons. You can view the entire set of photos here (mirror) and a video of the entire run here.

After turning onto the old Alton at 21ST ST crossing, the line parallels the CTA Orange Line to Midway . Here we see a CTA Orange Line train led by 2600-series car #2958 pacing the Eagle near Bridgeport.

Here we see the same train after passing the old BRIDGEPORT drawbridge over Bubbly Creek. The CN Joliet Sub's speed in this area of 40mph allowed the transit train to keep up even with its frequent stops. With new 7000 series cars getting ready to replace the 2600-series, the Budds were moved to the Orange line which had previously been the domain of M-K built 3300 series cars. 

The first of the major at-grade crossings is BRIGHTON PARK where the Alton crosses the former PRR "Panhandle" and B&OCT main lines that loop around the backside of Chicago. Until 2007 the crossing was non-interlocked, instead protected by stop signs with a switch tender displaying proceed signals to trains using a system of mechanical semaphores. 

A bit to the south sits the Amtrak Brighton Park car shoppes. Built to support the RTG Turboliners in the 1970's, the shoppes continue to be used to perform a variety of maintenance tasks on the midwest single level coach fleet.

This ancient cantilever signal structure is a remnant of the line's B&O heritage, which resulted in B&O Color Position Light signals being present from the 1930's through until 2018.

CORWITH interlocking and its three sets of diamonds sits at the immediate west end of the former Santa Fe Corwith Yard, their gateway in the Chicago terminal. Until the merger frenzy of the 80's and 90'd, only the Santa Fe and Milwaukee Road offered "one seat" service to the Pacific coast. CORWITH tower, located on the left between the two sets of diamonds, was closed and demolished in 2009.

BELT JCT marks where the Alton crosses the Belt Railway of Chicago, the innermost of the three Chicago terminal railways. Note the strange rusty crossover.

The Summit station is served by both Metra and Amtrak Lincoln trains with the latter using it as an option for people traveling to/from the Chicago suburbs. 

We happened upon a CN local switching a local industry with a cut of cars occupying Track #2. The Grand Trunk Western

19-03-27 VIDEOS: Chicago Terminal Approaches

Once again it is time for a special video post. Typically when my efforts at still photography are being hampered by backlighting or inclement weather, I break out the old GoPro and stick it up on the back window to salvage something from an otherwise sub-optimal situation. In this case I was presented with an opportunity to document the Chicago Line approach into Chicago on Amtrak's Train 29, the Capitol Limited. Later in the day I got some better lighting conditions outbound on the Metra Heritage Corridor onboard Amtrak's Train 21, the Texas Eagle.

The first video covers the segment between CP-479 and CP-500, which covers the famous Porter Junction where the Amtrak Michigan Line diverges at CP-482. Over the past 10 years NS has invested heavily in this stretch to increase capacity for the Wolverine Service passenger trains that use the Chicago Line between 21ST ST and CP-482. This includes a new CP-485, a relocated CP-490 connected to a new CP-492 with a new controlled siding, a new CP-494 and a new CP-500. For this one the NS dispatchers did a pretty good job of routing my train around numerous westbound freights.



The next video covers the segment between CP-501 and CP-ENGLEWOOD. Notable parts include the now closed HICK tower, a fully signaled third track between HICK and CP-509, a westbound NS freight crossing into yard tracks at CP-506, a new full crossover equipped CP-507, two NS freights waiting for a CSX train to pass through the second track on the CP-509 lift bridge and the new METRA flyover at CP-ENGLEWOOD that eliminated a 3x2 set of diamonds.



The last Capitol Limited video covers the final segment between CP-ENGLEWOOD and the South Branch Bridge at 21ST ST crossing. Note the partly green painted GP33ECOs in the NS 47th St Yard, which were rebuilt as lower emissions locomotives with money from a Federal grant. Most NS traffic turns off at CP-518 and then travels to various yards via the old PRR Panhandle/B&OCT route through the Brighton Park and Ash St crossings. The 21ST ST crossing involves the former Alton railroad, later a part of the GM&O, Illinois Central Gulf and ultimately Canadian National.



It is to the former Alton route that my last video takes us, with the video starting right before BRIDGEPORT interlocking with a CTA train running parallel on the Orange Line. Amtrak Train 21, the Texas Eagle, crosses at grade the 5 tracks at BRIGHTON PARK, then 3 more Santa Fe tracks at CORWITH, two Belt Railway of Chicago tracks at BELT JCT and finally another two Indiana Harbor Belt tracks at ARGO. Along the way Train 21 passes a CN local with a Grand Truck painted Geep and some MoW work around Lockport before finally ending up at the rebuilt Joliet Union Station.



Tune in next week as we head back to Chicago for some various Chicago Union Terminal photos.

15-12-04 VIDEOS: Blue Island RFW Round Trip

Both paths to Blue Island from downtown Chicago via METRA offer express options. Electric trains often run express from Kensington to Randolph Street Station after exiting the painfully slow Blue Island branch, and Rock Island trains that travel the Main Line between Blue Island and Gresham Jct also bypass the closely spaced stops through Beverly.

Furthermore, with the replacement of the old METRA Highliners now complete, all Electric Division trains now offer railfan windows in both direction and, of course, the push-pull trains offer a railfan view on inbound trips. I was able to string together a wonderful pair of trains that provided a full RFW round trip express run. Outbound, I caught an early morning reverse peak express to Blue Island, basically a deadhead move that bothered to collect a few extra fares. Inbound I caught the last Joliet Express of the morning.

Here is the Electric Line express run from Randolph Street to Kensington. Other stops included Van Buren, Roosebelt, 57th St, 63rd St and Kensington. This video was shot with a GoPro cupped under my hand as I stood at the front RWF to avoid any issues with the crew. Check out around the 14:00 mark for one of the last Highliner trainsets still in service.



This second video is far less exciting and shows the METRA Electric Blue Island branch. This is a single track branch with a single passing siding at Pullman. Trains move via the Controlled Block system, which is basically APB. No dispatcher intervention is needed to switch traffic or display signals. All the stops are flag stops and with few passengers, few stops are made, however since we were then running early there was a bit of a delay at Pullman waiting for the inbound train to pass. Also note the wheel screech on the sharp curve entering the branch.



Finally here is the inbound Rock Island express trains. It makes the two stops between Blue Island and Gresham as well as 35th Street near the White Sox Stadium. This was shot with my usual still camera. Note towards the end the train passing through the famous 16TH ST crossing interlocking with its 1902 vintage interlocking tower. Also note the lineup of MP36PH-3 power at La Salle St Station.



Well that's it for this week. Next time we check in with Ye Olde Baltimore Streetcar Museum.

15-12-04 PHOTOS: Blue Island

Those of us from Philly like to point out things like the Chestnut Hill East and Chestnut Hill West lines as an example of extravagant redundancy. However, this sort of setup is not unique to the Philly area with its dueling railroads. In Chicago both the Illinois Central and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, wound up serving the southern Chicago suburb if Blue Island with competing commuter rail services. In this case the community was actually located on the Rock's main line, while the IC was the one reaching in with electric service from is own main line in Kensington.

In addition to two parallel stations, Blue Island also hosts an active interlocking tower with a vintage 1950's CTC panel that controls a sizable portion of the Rock Island line between here and Joliet. The Rock was almost completely abandoned in the 1980's with METRA directly purchasing the commuter portion and Iowa Interstate nabbing the rest. Like other examples of commuter railroads in the Northeast, METRA was slow to close the towers with ROOT ST, GRESHAM JCT, BLUE ISLAND and UD (in Joliet) all in operation up through the 1990's. Today only BLUE ISLAND is still manned.

My trip to Chicago also included brief stops at the Halstead St. METRA station along with a brief walk across the famous Roosevelt St. bridge. You can check those and all the other photos out here.

We begin at the Rosedale CTA stop where 3600 series Budd #3023 is arriving at the head of an inbound train.

Amtrak P42DC #88 passing through the infrequently served METRA Halstead Station on the Aurora Line with an Illinois service train.

I was visiting Halstead St to take pictures of the old 1990's vintage searchlight signals at the large UNION AVE interlocking plant. Unfortunately they had been alreadyreplaced. Of course the searchlight signals in the Eola area are still standing some 3 years after re-signaling efforts began.

Moving to Roosevelt Ave, here we see the lineup of trainsets in the METRA storage yard awaiting the evening rush.

F40PH's #122 and 189 outside the engine-house.

BNSF operates the Aurora Line under contract to METRA and sometimes supplies its own switchers to work the coach yard. Here GP39-3 #2655 switches a trainset.

Across the way Amtrak P32-8W #500 switches private car Sierra Hotel.

Amtrak cabbage F40 #90219 sits attached to a trainset of Superliners, possibly marking it as the Pere Marquette.

The next morning I encountered more CTA Budd 2600 cars at Rosemont.

Gallery Highliner #1243 at the IC Blue Island Station. How I got there will be the subject of a forthcoming video post.

You can see how close the RI station is to the IC station. Forget about a Swampoodle connection to enable electrification to Joliet, the IC line is terribly slow, runnung down streets and through back yards at 40mph. It is also single track with only a single passing siding. 

METRA's BLUE ISLAND tower was high tech shit back in the 1950's when it was built. CTC signaling using an N-X model board all contained in something akin to an air traffic control tower.

14-12-04 PHOTOS: Aurora Express

Early last December I was presented with an oppurtunity to take a supplimentary trip to Chicago and since it involved a rare (for me) weekday hotel stay I finally had a chance to get some video of a METRA Aurora Line express run. Like the LIRR and NJT, METRA now runs a zoned express service on its popular Aurora Line. The outermost zone starts at Aurora and makes only two additional stops at Route 59 and Napperville before running express all the way into Union Station. Of course getting out to Aurora in time for even the final such express departure at 8:06am takes a bit of doing, especially when I was coming in from near O'Hare airport. Fortunately, in order to position sufficient trainsets for its aggressive service MERTA must make use of frequent reverse peak express trains and the 7:01am departing outbound train departing Union Station which would turn for the 8:06 ran express all the way to Downers Grove giving me two runs for the price of one.

Of course I didn't stop there. After arriving back in Chicago I hoofed it over to the Van Buren St station where I caught an Electric Line train to the Riverdale stop which was then only a short walk away from the famous Dolton Junction, a manned tower with the last pure mechanical interlocking machine in North America. Capping everything off I managed to get quite a bit of railfan view action on the return METRA Electric train.

You can find the exciting full set of photos here.

We begin with a reverse railfan view of the outbound express run between Cicero and Dowers Grove.



At Belmont we pass an inbound train on Track 3 with F40PH-3 #112 pushing on the rear.

Lisle is the first station in the second service zone and an empty trainset with two F40PHM-2's providing power is loading passengers beofre its scheduled departure.

In the Eola yard area, some of the few remaining CBQ era searchlight signals on the line are slated for removal. The signal on track 3 is displaying Stop and Proceed after the passage of another inbound METRA train. Trains not short turning at one of the intermediate terminals run empty from the Yard in Aurora.

My ride for the inbound and outbound trips was gallery cab car #8588.

I had originally planned to use my new GoPro, but I forgot some of the mounting hardware and my normal camera provides for nicer looking videos. I filmed the entire run from Aurora, cutting out the dwell time at Route 59 and Naperville. Upon departing Naperville the train developed a fault in the MU line between the cab car and the engine and had to reboot the locomotive to clear it up. From there the ride was uneventful, but the late am departure meant a derth of conflicting traffic and we were routed straight 3 all the way into the Union Station complex.



After getting back I made my way across town to the Van Buren St station on the Electric Division. Having previously used the Randolph Street terminal, I was surprised by the ornate decoration and passenger flow infrastructure located at a station that is completely invisible from street level.

My electric train of classic Highliners soon arrived and I was off to Riverdale.

DOLTON JCT is a large at-grade crossing of the Indiana Harbor Belt, B&O Chigaco Terminal, the PRR's Panhandle Route and the Chicago and Eastern Indiana. Today the PRR Line has been ripped out and the C&EI is owned by Union Pacific. Here we can see the tower looking east along the B&O route. 

When I arrived, a train on the Union Pacific with CSX power was waiting to proceed over the 2x4 set of diamonds. In short order it resumed its journey with C40-8W #7764 and #7802.

The large interlocking tower was constructed in 1943 using a 172 lever US&S mechanical lever frame salvaged from elsewhere as a war emergency measure. In it's prime the plant could boast 20 diamonds, and although that number has since shrunk to 10, it is still enough to resist the forces of automation. More information about the interlocking tower and plant can be found here. 

09-07-24 PHOTOS: CTA Kensington

So in Part One of my 2009 Chicago Trip I covered the trip on Amtrak's Capitol Limited from Washington to the Windy Apple. Now in Part Two I take some time to explore the city with a special railfan excursion on the Metra Electric line to 115th St - Kensington.

Kensington is not just a station, but an important interlocking on the Metra-Electric line where both the NICTD South Shore Line and Metra Electric Blue Island Branch split off. It is also the end of the 4-track section of the Electric Line which contrary to east coast practice puts the locals on the inner tracks and express trains on the outer. Until recently KENSINGTON interlocking hosted a manned interlocking tower to not only handle the busy METRA and NICTD lines, but also the adjacent CN-IC freight main line that makes use of the interlocking plant since the two services were united in the Illinois Central days.

This set of photos will cover my METRA trip to Kensington and then subsequent riding of the CTA lines in the loop district. I also took a lot of tourist type photos of Chicago, but I will refrain from going too in depth with those as I am shifting non-railfan related content to my Facebook account.

So we begin at Monroe St near the the Art Institute of Chicago where the Electric Line emerges from the cavernous Randolph St Station and into the light of its lake shore route to the south. More of the former Illinois Central yards and terminal complex had been open air, but they had been more recently covered by the new Millennium Park. Still from Monroe one can still catch a lot of good action and in this photo we see some of the new NICTD gallery electric MU's next to a classic METRA Hi-liner. The NICTD cars are returning to the yard between here and Roosevent Ave and the Hi-Liners are laying over on a station track.

Like the R40/42's you can see that the St. Louis Car built Hi-Liners are beginning to suffer from some roof rust. Here we are looking south toward Van Buren with the Art Institute sky walk connecting its two halves which are bisected by the electric line. 

The pantographs of a Hi-Liner are more robust than a typical light rail vehicle, but not the equal of an east coast electric.

Much of the thick copper catenary wire for the 1500v DC electrician system probably dates from the 1920's when it was first installed, although there is some evidence of renewal.

If anyone is wondering what a Hi-Liner looks like inside here you go, They are basically just like a gallery car only a little bit shorter and with a ramp up to the center doors which have to accommodate high level platforms.

Upon arrival at Kensington I was met by an inbound NICTD single level train which looks surprisingly similar to the MARC owned single level K-Cars. Here NICTD #34 is ready to depart northward.

Shortly behind the northbound South Shore train was a southbound headed up by NICTD #42.

This long 6-car train then proceeded to do what makes KENSINGTON interlocking famous...cross over 5 mainline tracks, 4 of which on diamonds. The 4 diamond tracks belong to the CN-IC freight railroads and are also used by Amtrak Illinois service trains and the City of New Orleans. 

Speak of the devil, but look what soon appeared. Amtrak train 390, the Saluki arriving from various points downstate led by P42 #127. This is one of two daily Illinois sponsored round trips in addition to Amtrak's CofNO.

Unlike many of the other midwest service trains this was not equipped with a F40 Cabbage Car.

 Standing silent over this whole mess of trains is KENSINGTON tower. While the tower was recently closed the interlocking was not re-signaled as the interlocking had already been re-signaled years ago, but control was kept with the local operator. As you can see the think bundles of cables heading from the all relay interlocking equipment for the field stations are still in service. Over on my other blog I have a special on Kensington tower with inside shots.

07-06-30 PHOTOS: Last Days of BRIGHTON PARK

Back in July I took an Amtrak trip out to Chicago for the express purpose of taking photos at Brighton Park Crossing. For those of you who do not know Brighton Park was rather special. As far as I know it was the last instance of mechanically operated semaphore signals on an active railroad in the United States (there is still a crew operated semaphore diamond crossing signal in British Columbia). Brighton Park technically wasn't even an interlocking. It was a non-interlocked crossing at grade manned by a switchtender. Right now it consisted of 10 diamonds. The two track former Alton RR line used by Amtrak and Metra Heritage Corridor trains and CN freights crosses a two track NS main, former the PRR Panhandle Division, a two track CSX main formerly the B&OCT and a single track NS industrial spur. If you think this is complex, it's nothing compared with what Brighton Park looked like back in the day.

The switchtender at Brighton Park operated a number of semaphore signals mounted on a bracket mast and a regular mast. The blades were directly operated from the mechanical lever frame in the tender's shanty via a system of pipelines and cranks. All trains approaching Brighton Park had to come to a full stop. The tender would then signal permission to occupy the crossing via the semaphores. Each semaphore represented a specific track and direction. The tender was also responsible for lining the switches north of the crossing for NS trains to cross the CSX main to then get to the industrial spur via a diagonal track.

Here is some more information about Brighton Park at the Chicago Rail Junctions page, and some additional photos courtesy John Roma.

Anyway, the reason Brighton Park hung around for so long in this archaic configuration was because the three railroads involved could never agree on who would pick up the tab for interlocking the crossing. Furthermore, no railroad wanted to cede dispatching to one of the others and risk getting screwed over priority wise. The tender at Brighton Park routed the trains on a FCFS basis, except for scheduled Amtrak and Metra trains which were given priority.

Eventually Norfolk Southern was responsible for the rebuild and took over dispatching the crossing. The other driving factor was that the Brighton Park diamonds needed replacing and the whole crossing had sunk down into the roadbed over the past 70 or 80 years and needed to be completely re-graded.

I decided to hit up Brighton Park early Sunday Morning after staying in a hotel with Pigs in the Loop. We got out there around 9 or 10 am and the weather couldn't have been better. We were not alone. A spike of railfans had already gathered, some driving in from as far as Toronto. There were also construction crews doing their thing for the July 6th rebuild date.

Anyway, I should probably cut the chit chat and cut to the photos.

You can find them all here:

http://acm.jhu.edu/~sthurmovik/Railpics/07-06-30_BRIGHTON_PARK_LAST_HURAH/-Thumbnails.html

And those too lazy to click around on their own can enjoy a guided tour.

First we have Brighton Park as seen from above from the adjacent CTA Orange Line. New cantilever signal is in the foreground next to the CTA substation. The BP shanty and semaphore bracket is behind. You can see the diamonds and an NS freight waiting for clearance to occupy the crossing.

I got there just in the nick of time to see this Amtrak Lincoln service train with P42DC #122 rumble across the diamonds. I am kicking myself for not getting some video of this.

After the Amtrak cleared up NS C40-9W #8911 was granted entry to the crossing...

...via the semaphores on the simple mast.

The Brighton Park mast was easily accessible and stood next to the entrance signal on the Alton line. Brighton Park was literally a black hole in the signaling system and trains on the Alton needed signals to re-enter the land of CTC.