Brach's Candy has new tank cars?

[Brianbobcat]

Brach's candy on Cicero north of Lake Street is being demolished.  This photo posted in the Forgotten Chicago Facebook page:
appears to show two new tank cars in the parking lot.  At first I thought they were just sitting on the mainline, but the UP West Line is only 3 tracks there and I highly doubt that two tankers would just be sitting there.  I'm going to venture over there in a couple days, but if this photo appears correct, then they would've needed to reactivate a long disused spur and lengthen the tracks.  Probably using these to collect contaminated water or other chemicals as they tear down the buildings.  If those are there for the demolition, I wonder whether they came from the Milwaukee District West line or right off the UP West line.

[TBurke]

Great catch.  I look forward to your close-up photos.  Was this photo taken from the L and looking north?

I cringed when I saw the Brach's complex blown up for the Batman movie with Heath Ledger. 

[chuck]

I think those are just sitting on the UP main.  It runs right there and is elevated.  The spur into Brach's came from the north and curved to the west inside the complex.  It never exited into the parking lot.

[chuck]

Now that I think about it, you may be right!  I explored the Brachs ruins a few years back and every basement was flooded to the first floor with water.  That water is probably pretty bad.

[TBurke]

Darn that would have been cool to see a new temporary spur.  Here's a shot of the site.  Looks like the Brach's spur went through one of the buildings and back out again as it curved west.

[Brianbobcat]

I think those are just sitting on the UP main.  It runs right there and is elevated.  The spur into Brach's came from the north and curved to the west inside the complex.  It never exited into the parking lot.

Funny, looking at it more, I want to say you're right.  When I pulled up this site on my iPhone, Apple Maps shows that there was a freight train with tanker cars going down the main line.  If this was a new spur, it doesn't look like it would be that difficult for it to break through the rest of the building after the curve and into the lot, especially if that building was already coming down.  I'll head over monday morning at the latest and take a look.  On a related note, have any pictures from inside or outside during your exploration?

[chuck]

Here you go Brian, from 2007...

http://chucksphotospot.com/photos/bcf060907/

http://chucksphotospot.com/photos/bcf111107

[TBurke]

Great-but sad-photos.  Thanks for posting.

Here's the Tribune article about Brach's closing….

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-01-12/business/0101120197_1_candy-production-manufacturing-jobs-facility

Tootsie Roll is able to import cheap foreign sugar with an exemption (thanks to Dan Rostenkowski) but we've seen others bite the dust-Peerless, Reed, Kimbell, Curtiss, Leaf, Farley, Brach's, Peanut Specialties, etc.  Hopefully World's Finest Chocolate, Blommer, and Ferrara can hang on as well as the M&M/Mars plant.  I

t appears though that World's Finest Chocolate is no longer rail served on Chicago's Southwest Side.

4801 S. Lawndale Chicago, IL 60632

Tootsie Roll has an active spur that goes right into the building from the north side and is worth checking out using Google or Bing. Presumably it's for incoming raw materials.  Another spur that apparently was for shipping out finished goods looks to be out of service just to the east.

7401 S Cicero Ave, Chicago, IL 60629

[TBurke]

I was able to swing by the old Brach's plant this afternoon and took a few pictures.  Uploaded here at low-res so they would fit.  One picture shows the Brach's parking lot from Cicero and there are no freight cars there.  Another shows where the spur used to enter the property from the northeast corner-and the tracks are gone and a fence, not a gate, goes across the old rail entrance.  Finally, the other photo shows tank cars on the UP tracks on the viaduct.

So that Facebook picture unfortunately was an optical illusion.