tb_aroundkingsbury_081985_02
Several boxcars of paper are parked at Wallace's docks along Kingsbury St., at Grand Avenue on an August day in 1985. The tracks in the area are brand-new, part of a City of Chicago project to rebuild Kingsbury Avenue. The multitude of sidings, spurs, and run-around tracks are a thing of the past now and were eliminated during this reconstruction. Wallace is the last rail customer south of Chicago Ave. so there's no need for redundant tracks by this stage. Bill Denton also models this building though a decade earlier. This building was converted to high-end condos in the 1990s when Wallace moved out to suburban Carol Stream.
tb_aroundkingsbury_081985_02
Several boxcars of paper are parked at Wallace's docks along
Kingsbury St., at Grand Avenue on an August day in 1985. The tracks
in the area are brand-new, part of a City of Chicago project to
rebuild Kingsbury Avenue. The multitude of sidings, spurs, and
run-around tracks are a thing of the past now and were eliminated
during this reconstruction. Wallace is the last rail customer south
of Chicago Ave. so there's no need for redundant tracks by this
stage. Bill Denton also models this building though a decade
earlier. This building was converted to high-end condos in the
1990s when Wallace moved out to suburban Carol Stream.
tb_aroundkingsbury_081985_03
In 1985 the City of Chicago rebuilt street trackage along Kingsbury St. in several sections, including the stretch from Kinzie St. north to Erie St. The area was rapidly changing as formerly rail-served industries either moved out or shut down. By 1985 there was just one remaining rail customer at this end of the Milwaukee Road line, Wallace Business Forms, so one track was all that was needed. This view looks north on Kingsbury St. and across Ontario St. If you look closely you will see the Styrofoam spacers used in the flangeways to keep them clear as new pavement was installed between the rails.The old truck trailers to the east are from another era as well.
tb_aroundkingsbury_081985_03
In 1985 the City of Chicago rebuilt street trackage along Kingsbury St. in several sections, including the stretch from Kinzie St. north to Erie St. The area was rapidly changing as formerly rail-served industries either moved out or shut down. By 1985 there was just one remaining rail customer at this end of the Milwaukee Road line, Wallace Business Forms, so one track was all that was needed. This view looks north on Kingsbury St. and across Ontario St. If you look closely you will see the Styrofoam spacers used in the flangeways to keep them clear as new pavement was installed between the rails.
The old truck trailers to the east are from another era as well.
tb_aroundkingsbury_1988_01
This view shows a boxcar parked on the track at Kingsbury St. and below Ohio Street. It's probably a load of paper waiting to be spotted at one of the Wallace Business Forms docks just to the south. Note the curved building in the background that appears on Bill Denton's excellent N-scale layout of this area. Looking east, the sun is rising on this early morning during the summer of 1988.
tb_aroundkingsbury_1988_01
This view shows a boxcar parked on the track at Kingsbury St. and
below Ohio Street. It's probably a load of paper waiting to be
spotted at one of the Wallace Business Forms docks just to the
south. Note the curved building in the background that appears on
Bill Denton's excellent N-scale layout of this area. Looking east,
the sun is rising on this early morning during the summer of 1988.
tb_aroundkingsbury_1990_04
An MP15AC lettered for new owner Soo Line, but in Milwaukee Road colors, is paused on Kingsbury St. just past the Ohio Street overpass. The crew is waiting to retrieve an empty boxcar at Wallace Business Forms. As far as I can determine, this was the last train on this stretch of track. June, 1990.
tb_aroundkingsbury_1990_04
An MP15AC lettered for new owner Soo Line, but in Milwaukee Road colors, is paused on Kingsbury St. just past the Ohio Street overpass. The crew is waiting to retrieve an empty boxcar at Wallace Business Forms. As far as I
can determine, this was the last train on this stretch of track. June,
1990.
tb_aroundkingsbury_1990_05
The Soo Line MP15AC waits to retrieve an empty boxcar from Wallace Business Forms before heading back north for the last time. Train service south of Chicago Ave. would end with this final switch job, and the tracks would be paved over and removed in a few years.
tb_aroundkingsbury_1990_05
The Soo Line MP15AC waits to retrieve an empty boxcar from Wallace Business Forms before heading back north for the last time. Train service south of Chicago Ave. would end with this final switch job, and the tracks would be paved over and removed in a few years.
tb_aroundkingsbury_1990_06
Rail service ended several months earlier south of this point, but a delivery was made to the Commonwealth Edison substation in the fall of 1990. A drop-center flatcar carries some heavy electrical equipment for the installation to the east in the photo, near Cosby St. and south of Division St. The out-of-service track in the foreground continues south through the Montgomery Ward catalog and headquarters campus down to Grand Ave. In the background is the Ogden Ave. overpass, Division St., and the Cabrini-Green housing complex to the right. In the distance to the left is one-time rail customer Superior Coffee. Within a few years the Ogden Ave. overpass would be dismantled, and tracks removed except where they crossed Division St. with the rubber grade crossing. It was very rare to catch a delivery to this Commonwealth Edison location. This was probably the last rail operation south of Division St. as service continued to retreat north.
tb_aroundkingsbury_1990_06
Rail service ended several months earlier south of this point, but a delivery was made to the Commonwealth Edison substation in the fall of 1990. A drop-center flatcar carries some heavy electrical equipment for the installation to the east in the photo, near Cosby St. and south of Division St. The out-of-service track in the foreground continues south through the Montgomery Ward catalog and headquarters campus down to Grand Ave. In the background is the Ogden Ave. overpass, Division St., and the Cabrini-Green housing complex to the right. In the distance to the left is one-time rail customer Superior Coffee. Within a few years the Ogden Ave. overpass would be dismantled, and tracks removed except where they crossed Division St. with the rubber grade crossing. It was very rare to catch a delivery to this Commonwealth Edison location. This was probably the last rail operation south of Division St. as service continued to retreat north.