Topics

136

General Discussion / Chicago Terminal Reopens the C&E South Line

« on: February 12, 2007, 08:10:50 PM »

Some good news to offset the bad news lately regarding the Chicago Terminal Railroad.  This evening, February 12, the railroad headed down Kingsbury Street south of the Goose Island lead, going past North Avenue to the end of tracks at Kingsbury near where it curves into Halsted.  

The purpose was a test prior to possibly attracing new rail shippers on this stretch.  

The SW-8 had to push its way gently through the sections of track south of North Avenue that had been paved over in recent years, shoving pieces of asphalt to the side.  Onlookers were surprised to see a train on this section.

Did anyone get photos?  I didn\'t unfortunately.

Tom

137

General Discussion / 2/1/07 Last Run to Peerless, Not C&E Line

« on: February 08, 2007, 02:26:08 PM »

I just wanted to clarify that the train to went to Peerless Confection and back on February 1, 2007, was the LAST TRAIN TO SERVICE PEERLESS.  It does not mean that train operations necessarily are over for this north end of the C&E Line.

The C&E North Line continues to be an active part of the national railroad system until an official abandonment occurs.  

There is a big difference between out-of-service rail lines and officially abandoned railroad lines.  An abandonment petition must be filed first with the Surface Transportation Board and even then it can take up to two years for approval after the last train has traveled on those tracks.

Let\'s hope that they young Chicago Terminal Railroad can continue operations in some form or fashion on the C&E North Line.

138

General Discussion / Former Continental Baking site on C&E Line Leveled

« on: February 02, 2007, 07:17:11 PM »

The former Continental Baking (Hostess) site at Diversey and Lakewood was recently leveled across the street from Peerless.  Continental Baking received covered hoppers of flour from the Milwaukee Road up until about 1982 via a spur that ran alongside the east side of the building.  Sometime prior to 1984 the northern end of the bakery was replaced with an outlet store.

You can still see the former spur where it veers off the main track in the middle of Lakewood Avenue and curves toward the northwest.

Soon Peerless and rail service on the C&E North Line will be just a memory too as yet another upscale condo project is planned to replace it the candy company.

139

General Discussion / Ownership of Former Milwaukee Road Properties

« on: February 01, 2007, 08:55:23 PM »

I noted a question from GM about the status of the former Milwaukee Road properties in Chicago. It gets complicated.

Chicago Milwaukee Corporation (CMC) was the parent company of the Milwaukee Road railroad in the 1970s through its bankruptcy in 1977.  When Soo Line, the US subsidiary of Canadian Pacific, bought and took over the Milwaukee Road\'s railroad operations out of bankruptcy in January of 1986, CMC was the corporate successor to the Milwaukee Road and it retained the vast real estate holdings of the former railroad that were not transferred to the Soo Line.

CMC also inherited a number of brownfield sites that required remediation.

CMC existed mainly to liquidate real estate holdings of the former Milwaukee Road which it did over the next twenty years.  CMC paid out very high dividends for many years and continued to be headquartered in Chicago.  CMC became known as \"CMC Heartland Partners\" then simply \"Heartland Partners LLC\" when it dissolved in 2006, having sold off the last of its holdings.  

Much of Goose Island (the former Division Street yard), the area west of Clinton Street in downtown Chicago, and strips of the C&E Line were owned by CMC/Heartland Partners and sold off to developers.  It also sold off vast real estate holdings out west and the former Milwaukee Road shops and yards area around Miller Park in Milwaukee that is being redeveloped.

The residential area around Irving Park Road and the former Milwaukee Road C&M mainline that GM mentions was developed on the sites of former factories.

You can trace CMC\'s history via online documents with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) as I have done.  CMC was a public company and had to file statements with the SEC.  It makes for interesting reading though some business background is handy for digesting the financial information.

Tom

140

General Discussion / Deering Line Remains Resurface

« on: February 01, 2007, 07:41:53 PM »

Construction for a new private school alongside the North Branch of the Chicago River and Webster Street reveals quite a few remains of the Deering Line.  This construction site stretches from Webster northwest to the Ashland Avenue overpass.  Heaps of rails and ties are spread across the dirt.  This site was inaccessible for years.  You can get pictures from the Webster bridge or from the front gate area across from where Dominick dead ends at Webster.

141

General Discussion / Milwaukee Road Chicago Terminal Article Coming!

« on: January 07, 2007, 04:24:06 PM »

I put the finishing touches on a new and comprehenisve article on the Milwaukee Road\'s former Chicago Terminal freight operations.  It should appear by June of 2007 in The Milwaukee Railroader magazine.  The project is a collaboration with several key contributors and it should include lots of maps and photographs.

To get your copy be sure to join the Milwaukee Road Historical Association (www.mrha.com) or you can buy single copies soon after the special issue is out.

Tom Burke

142

General Discussion / 12/28/06-Business Strong on the C&E Line

« on: December 29, 2006, 05:34:12 PM »

Good news, business seems strong on the CP Rail C&E Line, soon to be spun off to shortline operator Chicago Terminal.  Yesterday I came up with the following tally:  Big Bay Lumber on Goose Island, two bulkhead flatcars; Peerless Confectionary, one each of a pressurized hopper and tank car, and Finkl Steel had four gondolas.  I wasn\'t able to look inside the fenced off General Iron Industries site for a count but the train crew was busy shuttling cars back and forth.  There were no cars at Sipi Metals however.

143

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.

144

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.

145

General Discussion / C&NW Navy Pier Line Under Trump Building

« on: August 07, 2006, 06:56:46 PM »

Walking from Lower Michigan Avenue in the direction of the former Sun-Times building I noticed a pair of former C&NW tracks re-emerging from the asphalt.  They were at Rush Street and Illinois Avenue and apparently recent roadwork associated with the Trump Tower construction  on the old Sun-Times site had scraped off enough asphalt to reveal them.

On another, hopeful note, it appears that the new Trump Tower developer is allowing space underneath the building for possible busway or railway use sometime in the future.  A wide opening is under the tower which is being built over Carroll Avenue and the old C&NW ROW on the site of the former Sun-Times building.  The new opening has a lot more daylight and is definately less \"spooky\" that the old loading dock area of the Sun-Times!

Tom

146

General Discussion / Another bit of track along Kingsbury Street gone

« on: July 22, 2006, 10:32:03 AM »

The former Milwaukee Road tracks in the North Bank Club parking lot at the SW corner of Grand Avenue and Kingsbury Street in Chicago are gone now thanks to a new condo building under construction there.  These tracks were the southernmost remnants of the former Milwaukee Road\'s C&E line.

147

Modeling / Latest Trains Magazine Features Navy Pier Line

« on: May 29, 2005, 09:51:41 AM »

Check out the latest issue of Trains magazine which features a story on the former C&NW/UP Navy Pier in downtown Chicago.  It puts the line into historical context as the first mile of Chicago railroad going back to the Chicago & Galena Union days in the mid-1800s.

Some operating photos are shown around Canal Street as well as crossing the Chicago River on the bascule bridge.