Video of North Avenue Yard Shows Diversity of Freight Cars, MOW Equipment

[TBurke]

I took this video last week while returning in the mid-afternoon from a meeting in Chicago.  It shows the diversity of freight cars and MOW equipment with the concrete ties.  If you look carefully you can see a hopper poking out from the shed at the Morton Salt plant and the gondola behind the trees in Sipi's parking lot spur.  Looks like the Tribune is having cars blocked for them nowadays at the Grand Avenue yard instead. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE0wtkv8vgQ&feature=em-upload_owner

My guess is that the covered hoppers are for Morton Salt since I was told that UP brings in and out hoppers for the upper level spur at Blommer off the West Line instead of using a zig-zag, back and forth movement on ladder tracks at the throat of the Ogilvy station to move from the Northwest Line to the West Line as in the past. 

Does anyone know for sure the purpose of the black tank car that is frequently spotted on the ground level spur to Blommer, just south of Grand Avenue?  Last week I saw a tank truck next to it so my guess is that something is being transloaded from rail to truck at that location-if so, that was resourceful of UP to find additional traffic for a mostly idle spur. 

[TribuneFreightFanatic]

Nice video! It certainly is exciting to see all of this action and change happening in the North ave yard.
In regards to your tanker question, I believe it contains corn syrup for the Blommer Chocolate factory.
Up until (roughly) 4 years ago, they used to store 5-6 tanker cars on the spur that snakes toward the Kinzie st. bridge (former Navy Pier line).
Speaking of which...does anyone know why they no longer seem to store cars on that track?