Chicago Switching Forum
Chicago Switching => General Discussion => Topic started by: chuck on March 19, 2014, 06:07:41 PM
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Been a little slow here... Lets talk about these pictures I found on my hard drive. These are from April 2006 and are in the area bordered by Ashland to Iron and 36th to 38th.
I would embed here, but probably easier for everyone to view in Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mzdgpwai2fxbb0n/QQaeS12AEI
Does anyone know anything about this area? I am pretty sure all of this track is gone now. What is the deal with the siding going next to the cement wall in the first couple shots? Doesn't appear to be the remains of a building.
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Chuck, I was down there last December right after demolition of the Wrigley factory began, since I wanted to capture the tracks leading to the factory. The concrete wall you're referring to I think was a shield for the tanks that used to be there. I looked on Historic Aerials and it shows some tanks, the remnants are still there (those concrete pads with the semi-circles on them where the tank would sit). As for what they were used for, there's a sign there that's badly rusted but still tells some of the story. You can see it in the middle of the frame of your second photo. When I went, it had fallen, but I picked it up and took a picture. It said "Stop, Chlorine car connector". My guess is that since chlorine gas is quite hazardous, that was there to protect the tank from a vehicle coming from 36th street, while the railcars protected it on the northern side. Here is a frame grab of my video showing the sign.
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Great set of photos and detective work, guys. Those blast walls are interesting.
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I was kind of thinking blast wall. It reminded me of the blast walls I saw at the Joliet Arsenal for railcar loading. I think this is one of the coolest little switching areas in Chicago. I would like to find a diagram/map with all of the original trackage, must have been a prettyy interesting operation years ago.
TBurke, thanks! Feel free to use them on the future "Southside Switching" section if you like.
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I like the BNSF airslides in the back too!