Topics

61

General Discussion / US Brewing Company (Brand Brewing Company) 2525 and 2530 N. Elston Avenue

« on: August 14, 2014, 04:41:01 PM »

I passed the site of the former US Brewing site on Elston a couple of weeks ago and noted that it is still vacant with some rubble strewn about.  It's a shame since the developer pushed so hard to demolish the historic structure (served by the C&NW with a track still on its north side) despite community opposition to put up a big box HH Gregg store there. 

Gone but not forgotten...

https://sites.google.com/site/usbrewingcompany/

62

General Discussion / New Website-SouthLand Rail (Chicago's South Suburbs)

« on: May 19, 2014, 06:45:36 PM »

FYI...

http://www.chicagosouthlandrail.com/rail_site/index.cfm

63

General Discussion / Blommer Chocolate (Last Downtown Rail Freight Customer) in Today's Tribune

« on: May 18, 2014, 05:59:59 PM »

Blommer Chocolate is featured in an article in today's Chicago Tribune.  It mentions them shipping out liquid chocolate in tank cars.  That might explain the tank cars that are frequently on the lower level spur just south of Grand Avenue. 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ct-chocolate-smell-chicago-blommer-biz-0518-20140518,0,6743921.column

64

General Discussion / New Videos-CP Rail Working Peerless Confectionery in 2002 and 2005-YouTube

« on: May 04, 2014, 08:31:30 AM »

Hi-

I posted a new video to my channel on YouTube of a CP Rail crew working its way north from Fullerton to Diversey on a bitterly cold December day in 2002.  Highlights include a car parked across the track outside the Lakeshore Athletic Club that has to be moved, traffic stopping on Diversey as the train inches up to get enough room to clear the switch to the spur, and a Peerless employee handing the crew a box of candy as they depart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIBNZMEBQRg

I reposted an earlier video and this one includes SOUND unlike the previous version.  It's a train crossing Clybourn and heading to Peerless some three years later.  Check out the idiot in the white SUV who stops right in front of the moving train.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFNyPJmeQY4

Tom

65

General Discussion / Gone But Not Forgotten-Peerless Candy-Seven Years Ago This Month

« on: April 08, 2014, 10:28:04 PM »

Peerless shut down seven years ago this month.  Hopefully this picture will bring back better memories.

66

General Discussion / South Side-Cermark Road/BNSF Lumber District Update

« on: April 08, 2014, 05:42:51 PM »

I had a chance to take a drive through the former Lumber District today on Cermak and the nearby area.  Looks like the tracks are totally gone east of Halsted Street along Cermak and Lumber Street-as in removed, paved over, regraded.  It's like they never existed.  They left behind a signal box at the SW corner of Halsted and Cermark that once operated the crossing signals.

Colonial Lumber had a boxcar on its spur just west of Halsted.  However the H. Kramer smelter spur that cuts across Cermak looks like it has not been used in a very long time from the mud and debris on the track and the rusty condition of the rails.  Does anyone know if it is permanently stopping the use of rail?  I know they had to reach a settlement last year over the air pollution they were putting out and had to install scrubbers. 

A spur is still retained off the main track alongside the south side of Cermak just west of Morgan for what appears to be a scrapyard.  All other spurs in the immediate area were severed recently (except for the tail track and spur into Colonial Brick) so hopefully a new rail customer will open up there.

67

General Discussion / Article on UP Switching Freight Cars Full of Beer in Freezing Weather at Proviso

« on: January 27, 2014, 06:52:42 PM »

From the new issue of Crain's Chicago Business.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140125/ISSUE01/301259979/this-brew-crew-keeps-trainloads-of-beer-from-freezing#

68

General Discussion / North Avenue Yard Relatively Dead...

« on: January 27, 2014, 09:51:46 AM »

I drove past the UP North Avenue Yard on Saturday and noticed that other than those same three AOK gondolas that never move there were just three freight cars parked there.  A bulkhead flatcar with a load and a pair of covered hoppers.  I assume the flatcar is for Big Bay and the two hoppers are either for Morton Salt or Blommer Chocolate. 

It seems like as recently as the 1990s this yard was normally full. 

69

General Discussion / If You Like Street Running in An Urban Setting-Check Out This Brooklyn Site

« on: December 05, 2013, 11:55:23 PM »

I posted a link to the New York New Jersey Railway (formerly the New York Cross Harbor) site in the past but there have been a number of updates in the years since then. If you like street trackage and urban freight railroads then this website is just for you. 

http://members.trainweb.com/bedt/indloco/nynjr.html

Yeah, I know, New York is a long ways from Chicago and the scope of this website but it's still cool to look at.

On another note, has anyone else noticed that the new Google Maps with its Google Earth view is much slower than previous versions?

70

General Discussion / Blog Lists All Shortline Central Illinois Railroad Customers in Chicago

« on: November 20, 2013, 11:20:31 AM »

David Jordan's blog has a listing of customers that at one point were served by the Central Illinois Railroad over tracks leased from BNSF.  Here's the link.

http://peoriastation.blogpeoria.com/2010/07/29/ciry-update/

If at some point his blog disappears I wanted to paste the list here as well with some comments/observations.  Does anyone know where Domick's distribution center was or Kolcraft's plant? 

American Sugar Refining Corp.  [still rail served by BNSF]
Battaglia Distributing Co.  [still rail served by BNSF]
Colonial Brick Co.  [still rail served by BNSF]
Cozzi Iron & Metal Inc.  [bought by Metal Management]
Dominick’s Finer Foods Inc.  [I have no idea where it was located, timely though with the whole chain going out of business soon]
Frozen Assets Cold Storage  [still there but its spur is severed]
H. Kramer & Co.  [spur and tail track still in place but as of this week did not appear to have recent rail service due to dirt and weeds on the tracks]
International Cellulose Inc   [building looks deserted, isolated and abandoned tracks still in place]
Kolcraft Enterprises  [no listing in the area, just a downtown office address now-where was its plant?]
Maloney Lumber & Plywood  [relocated to12800 S Butler Dr, Chicago, IL 60633 ]
Metal Management Inc  [still rail served by BNSF]
Metal Management Midwest  [duplicate listing]
Pure Asphalt Co.  [business is still there, with isolated and abandoned tracks]
Stock Building Supply  [Gone, it was located south of Cermak.  The spur held a blue CIRY switcher for a long time.  Spur now severed where it crossed Cermak]

On another note using historicaerials.com it is interesting to see all of the one-time industries NORTH of Cermak served by the Lumber District Santa Fe line which crossed Cermak in several places via long spurs to reach them.

71

General Discussion / Battaglia Distributing Sued BNSF To Reopen Rail Service in Lumber District

« on: November 18, 2013, 08:13:40 PM »

Battaglia Distributing has two buildings across the street from each other on Ashland south of Cermak and north of the river.  The western building has an active spur from BNSF that goes right into the building.  Across the street on the east side you can still see another long spur that paralleled Ashland from Cermak almost to the river and went alongside the building.

http://www.stb.dot.gov/boundvolumes2.nsf/38f502d6898daf3385256811004b5a12/61b971981f742dfd852569b30051b335/$FILE/32.pdf

Looks like Battaglia went to the STB in 1997 to force the railroad to reopen and restore service on the spur on the EAST side of Ashland but lost and chose not to buy the track and put it back into service.  Not sure of the timing but perhaps they bought the building on the WEST side of Ashland to retain rail service.

The pictures below (1) look north on the spur WEST of Ashland where there is public access on the road to the boathouse between the parking lots for Grainger and Battaglia and (2) in a Google Maps image look east from Ashland Avenue at the location where the spur in question in the STB case once ended along the loading docks. 

72

General Discussion / CTA L Car In Parking Lot At Canalport and Cermak! Parallel to BNSF Tail Track

« on: November 18, 2013, 08:06:44 PM »

I spotted this L car out of place and in the corner of a parking lot today of the building facing Canalport between Cermak and Peoria in the Lumber District.  The tail track for the BNSF to reach Colonial Brick is the other side of the black fence.

Does anyone know the story behind it?  A long extension cord led into the L car from across the parking lot.

Again, low res versions uploaded so they would fit.

BTW Colonial Brick's spur looks very much alive though there were no cars spotted that I could see from Cermak.

73

General Discussion / Another One Bites the Dust-Sipi Metals No Longer Rail Served

« on: November 10, 2013, 08:05:37 PM »

This morning I did a sweep of the Chicago Terminal area and went over to Besly Ct. and Wabansia and noticed that Sipi Metals no longer has rail service.  Their spur that went through their parking lot is paved over and a fence replaces the gate that once allowed access to the spur. Plus recent rebuilding of the streets removed most of the former MILW tracks that once went down Wabansia to the west of Elston.

Makes me wonder how economically viable Chicago Terminals operations in this area will be with the loss of Finkl Steel, Peerless Confectionery, and now Sipi?  Sipi at best only received an occasional carload in the CP Rail days but that was at least something positive. 

On another note why would an industry like Sipi deliberately cut off rail access and therefore make itself totally dependent upon trucking? 

74

General Discussion / BNSF Cited in Lead Clean-up Along Lumber District Track in Tribune

« on: November 09, 2013, 10:03:01 AM »

From the Chicago Tribune two days ago...talks about a former (and presumably rail served) industry which left contaminated soil behind as well as BNSF which has high levels of lead on its out of service Lumber District track.  Here is an excerpt.  The Trib states that this out of service north-south line is abandoned-is that the case officially?  Surprising the tracks are still in place if that is the case.  I know BNSF accesses the active trackage from the west now.

"By Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune reporter
7:29 p.m. CST, November 7, 2013

More than seven years after state and federal officials discovered a lead-contaminated lot near an elementary school in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, the tainted soil has been dug up, trucked to a landfill and replaced with bright green grass.

In this case, community activists pressured the EPA to take action in response to stories in the Tribune and USA Today about the former Loewenthal Metals property.

Nobody knew about Loewenthal Metals and scores of other abandoned smelters until an independent researcher published a 2001 study that relied on historical records to identify potentially contaminated sites. In response, the EPA asked its regional offices and state environmental agencies to conduct testing and take action if the sites posed health risks.

The Loewenthal Metals site at 947 W. Cullerton St. is one of several that fell through the cracks, even though Illinois EPA inspectors in 2006 found it contaminated with up to 5,900 parts per million of lead — more than 14 times the federal safety limit for areas where children play.

State inspectors also reported seeing children walking through the lot on their way to and from Walsh Elementary School a block away.

USA Today drew attention to the Loewenthal Metals property in a 2012 series about abandoned smelters. After a November 2012 Tribune story about the contaminated lot, neighborhood groups posted bilingual warning signs and Ald. Danny Solis, 25th, ordered a fence erected around the site.

Another round of testing by the U.S. EPA confirmed the hazards identified earlier by state inspectors. Contractors ended up removing 4,800 tons of contaminated soil, EPA officials said, making the site safe enough for housing.

During their testing this year, EPA inspectors found high lead levels in an abandoned railroad right of way between Cullerton and 18th Street that neighborhood groups had turned into a trail and community garden. The city is cleaning up its portion of the property and negotiating with BNSF Railway to address the rest of the contamination, EPA officials said."

75

General Discussion / Article Outlines Financial Trouble at Iowa Pacific (Chicago Terminal parent co.)

« on: October 04, 2013, 11:13:24 AM »

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_23790454/rails-debt-parent-company-local-train-operator-struggles

Hopefully it will not negatively impact the Chicago Terminal railroad.