Milwaukee Road Photos of the Deering Line

Posted by tom burke on 10 November 2010

In September of 1980 the Milwaukee Road employees made a field trip by car to photograph the Deering Line on Chicago’s North Side as well as the Dunning Line on the West Side. The purpose was to provide documentation for an internal ROI study on which lines to propose for abandonment.

The Deering Line connected to the C&E Line at Kingsbury just east of Southport and it meandered northwest, following the east bank of the North Branch of the Chicago River. At one time it crossed Diversey Boulevard but by 1980 it ended in an industrial area north of Fullerton and west of Clybourn.

Tracks north of Fullerton were worked jointly by the Milwaukee Road and the Chicago & North Western (C&NW) that entered the area via a spur that came down off a ramp from the North Line, crossing Clybourn at grade level.

The Deering name came from the International Harvester Deering Works plant which was in the area bounded by the river to the west, Clybourn to the east, Fullerton to the south, and just past Diversey on the north. International Harvester closed the Deering Works plant in 1933 during the Great Depression and over time its massive brick buildings were occupied by other businesses, most notably Cotter & Company, the parent company of the True Value hardware chain.

By 1984 business had fallen off so rapidly on the Deering Line that it was cut back to Ashland Avenue. Now all that remains of the Deering Line are a short segment left in place to reach Finkl Steel, where it crosses Southport then ends less than a block away and a pair of isolated tracks running just east of and underneath the Ashland Avenue bridge.

For more information about the Deering Line you can order The Milwaukee Railroader magazine from First Quarter of 2006 from the Milwaukee Road Historical Association with a feature length article with maps and additional photos.

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This historic map from 1923 shows the location of the spurs and the original names for the IH Deering Works buildings in the area. The tracks in red show the location of the spurs where the other photos were taken.

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This view looks west by northwest along the Deering Line from a position just west of the underpass the Milwaukee Road used to dip below the C&NW North Line. To the left or south would be the North Branch of the Chicago River. A rail-served customer, Commercial Solvents, is ahead. This area was obliterated in the late 1980s and converted into a shopping center and parking lots.

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We’re now looking west at the underpass below the C&NW North Line. This time the photographer is east of the underpass. Today this area is inaccessible and part of a City of Chicago facility. The tracks are long gone. Note the double tracks.

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Perhaps the Milwaukee Road photographer wanted to highlight the poor conditions of the tracks on the Deering Line with this picture. They are there-buried in mud and oil.

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We’re inside the former International Harvester Deering Works north of Fulleron and west of Clybourn. This view looks south and towards the river. The spurs on either side serviced various buildings of the IH Deering Works which are occupied by other businesses in 1980. The building on the right looks relatively new however.

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The camera is turned around the other way and faces north. Note how small truck trailers were in 1980 versus the behemoths used today.

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Looks like the expedition came across a relatively new looking boxcar sitting inside the Cotter & Company complex. It would be at the very end of the tracks inside the complex, near the intersection of Damen and Clybourn.

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We’re in the depths of the Cotter & Company complex now that occupied most of the former IH Deering Works buildings. Note the True Value trailers stored here. See the accompanying map for details on the location of these spurs.

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Technically we are looking northwest along the C&E North Line on Kingsbury Street but this photo also shows the start of the Deering Line ahead in the distance. Note the caboose and covered hopper in the distance. Presumably the hopper is for Reed Candy, Continental Baking, or Peerless Confectionary farther up the C&E North Line.

Just to the left of the hopper is the junction point between the C&E and Deering Lines. My guess is that a crew is working the Deering Line at this moment and left the rest of the train on the start of the C&E Line.

Note how Kingsbury Street was paved in dirt in 1980. That’s Finkl Steel to the left with one of its two spurs entering the property. This spur is still visible inside their fence in 2010 though no longer connected to the outside world since it was sliced off in 1985. This view looks northwest from about Cortland Avenue. In 1985 the City of Chicago would repave this section of Kingsbury and new trackage would set in concrete in the middle of the street with asphalt around the sides.

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