Messages

751

General Discussion / Overview map

« on: December 23, 2006, 07:46:10 PM »

GM:

Look for a special edition of The Milwaukee Railroader magazine this summer which will cover in great detail the Chicago Terminal Lines of the Milwaukee Road.  Goose Island is covered.  

If you are not already a member, I suggest you sign up at www.mrha.com.

Tom

752

General Discussion / Unusual Train Stop

« on: December 08, 2006, 04:48:35 PM »

At least it wasn\'t as bad as the Metra crew that ran out of fuel on the North Line a year or two ago and stopped cold dead...someone forgot to top off the tanks in Kenosha overnight apparently.

753

General Discussion / Finkl Steel Sold, Leaving North Side Location

« on: December 08, 2006, 04:46:37 PM »

According to an article in Crains Chicago Business\' online edition today, Finkl Steel has been sold to a German steel company and will shut down its North Side plant at Cortland and the river.  Operations will move to another site.  Apparently Finkl ran out of room at their current location which dates to 1902.

My guess is that NIMBY pressure from Lincoln Park neighbors and developers had something to do with it.  Steel plants and upscale homes and shops don\'t always mix well.

The big question now is how does it affect the plans of startup shortline operator Chicago Terminal Railroad (part of the Iowa Eastern holding company)?  Will they renegotiate with CP Rail for better terms?  Or did they know Finkl would be moving?

I estimate that Finkl accounted for about 125 carloads per year-a large percentage of these former Milwaukee Road lines.

On the other hand, General Iron Industries is still a huge shipper of scrap metal while Sipi Metals, Peerless Confectionary, and Big Bay Lumber chip in as well.  The new shortline might attract new shippers on Goose Island or elsewhere for transload purposes as is speculated.

754

General Discussion / A Finkl buys Southside Property

« on: December 08, 2006, 04:39:11 PM »

According to an article in today\'s Crains Chicago Business Finkl Steel was acquired by a German steel company.  Finkl plans on leaving their North Side location where they have been since 1902.

755

General Discussion / New Shortline Operator for North Side Lines!

« on: November 22, 2006, 08:18:54 PM »

The rumor has been circulating for over a year, but it appears official now that a new shortline operator will be taking over the former Milwaukee Road freight lines on Chicago\'s North Side effective January 1, 2007.  According to a posting today on the Surface Transportation Board website, the Chicago Terminal Railroad intends to take over the lines now operated by CP Rail/Soo Line.  Go to www.stb.dot.gov for details.

I interpret this move as good news for preserving rail service on these lines.  They must be profitable for a private company to want to take them over-or even expand service.

756

General Discussion / MP 15 switcher

« on: November 22, 2006, 08:14:26 PM »

CP Rail rotates locomotives on a monthly basis per FRA maintence requirements.  They are shuttled in over the Metra/UP Northwest Line from the Bensenville Yard ultimately.  Crews are taxied in.  Prior to 2000 CP/Soo Line trains used the former Bloomingdale Line to reach this easternmost trackage.

Except for holidays the local CP Rail switch job normally works Tuesdays and Thursdays, with a run to Peerless as needed in the late morning, then working its way back to Goose Island for Big Bay Lumber, and bringing full gondolas back from General iron Industries.  From what I have seen they leave Sipi Metals for last, on the way back to the UP North Avenue Yard.

The MP15ACs are former Milwaukee Road units that are leased to CP Rail.  Some have been repainted in CP\'s red color scheme.

757

General Discussion / New Member

« on: November 22, 2006, 08:08:59 PM »

that\'s true, Sipi Metals is still a rail-served customer.  They get a couple of gondolas per week.

758

General Discussion / Goose Island

« on: November 22, 2006, 08:06:52 PM »

Good catch.  It\'s amazing how much has changed since then-including the removal of the Ogden Avenue overpass.

759

General Discussion / Industrial Service in Milwaukee

« on: November 22, 2006, 08:01:57 PM »

Another good starting point is the Milwaukee Road Historical Association (MRHA) special publication on the Milwaukee Road in its Hometown.  It\'s available for purchase via the MRHA website.

An outstanding publication from MRHA is a special focused on the Milwaukee Road\'s Beer Line which is also available online.

Tom B.

760

General Discussion / Chicago Produce District?

« on: November 14, 2006, 09:01:13 PM »

Check out the Shortlines of Chicago website at:

http://www.dhke.com/schs/

They cover part of this area which is now served by a shortline.  The Milwaukee Road also served quite a few produce companies off Carroll Avenue and west of Milwaukee Avenue.  You can still see tracks running into the Fulton Cold Storage building at Morgan and Carroll Avenues.

761

General Discussion / Navy Pier Line / Carrol Street Track Plan?

« on: November 14, 2006, 08:55:46 PM »

Try locating Sanborn Fire Insurance maps from over the years.  They go into a great amount of detail and include trackwork.  Trains did a story on the C&NW\'s Navy Pier line in 2005 but it not well researched and was full of errors unfortunately.

762

General Discussion / Navy Pier Line / Carrol Street Photo

« on: November 14, 2006, 08:53:38 PM »

Good catch.  My guess is that the bridge in the background is Clark Street, and the train is where Quaker Oats is located nowadays.  I like the spur that veers off on a sharp curve from left to right!  The photographer was probably on the Wabash Avenue bridge.

763

General Discussion / Switching on Goose Island at Big Bay today

« on: October 04, 2006, 03:43:07 PM »

As far as I know, Peerless still receives shipments via rail.  Let\'s hope that Big Bay Lumber hasn\'t seen its rail movement.

Normally a railroad has to file a petition with the Surface Transportation Board to abandon lines and none has been posted as of this week.

764

General Discussion / Finkl Steel - Sunday Switching?

« on: September 25, 2006, 06:17:53 PM »

Finkl does move freight cars around its two spurs and the connection to CP Rail/Soo Line with a self-propelled crane which rides on the rails and has couplers on both ends.  

The track that continues northwest along Kingsbury St. past the switch in the street for the Lakewood (actually, Chicago & Evanston or C&E North Line branch in Milwaukee Road terms) branch is what\'s left of the old Deering Line which once went all the way to Fullerton Avenue more or less paralleling the Chicago River.  The Deering Line crosses Southport in the Finkl complex and ends at Dominick St. and McClean Ave.  

You can see pictures of this action in the Deering Line section of the website.

On another note, Finkl Steel also has another railroad-this one is internal only with no outside connection and it connects three different Finkl buildings on both sides of Cortland Avenue and across Southport.  You can see the tracks where they cross busy Cortland Avenue.  A very small unit is used to shuttle specialized cars back and forth carrying metal.

765

General Discussion / Another bit of track along Kingsbury Street gone

« on: September 25, 2006, 06:09:12 PM »

Cway-

The track that once led to Waste Management and the team tracks at Division Street is disconnected from the main track on Goose Island near where they used to diverge, just south of the Cherry St. RR bridge.  Sadly, it doesn\'t appear rail service will return as the tracks were also removed in sections along the east side of the island.  

On a bright note, the passing siding installed on Cherry St. just north of Division Street a few years ago is much longer than is required for the one or two cars a week that Big Bay Lumber receives.  My guess is the city is hedging its bet with future rail service.