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49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
Steve B.
(---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: February 25, 2011 09:40PM
There are elevated railroad tracks that run parallel to and just south of 49th Street in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Every north-south street from Union on the east to Hoyne on the west pass under these elevated tracks. Google Maps shows these tracks to be abandon and it looks like they haven't been used in years. The concrete retaining walls on each side are leaning and in very poor condition with gang signs on every one. The steel bridges are rusty and deteriorated. Does anyone know if the railroad or the city have any plans to repair or demolish these eyesores?
Steve B.
Steve B.
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
backwardk4501
(---.fuse.net)
Date: February 28, 2011 05:08PM
Eyesores? PLEASE. Eyesores are all those condos that have gone up.
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
davem60612
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: June 09, 2011 07:57PM
That old right of way used to be a main line from out west someplace (Joliet maybe) all of the way downtown. I used to work in a Santa Fe yard just north of those tracks and an old timer told me about them.
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
222psm
(---.br.br.cox.net)
Date: June 11, 2011 03:12PM
I wonder if they abandoned it because it parallels the track south of Pershing Rd? The track along 49th is still active west of Western , then right east of Western it snakes north and connects to the line south of Pershing, then goes to the tracks that parallel the Dan Ryan. The track along 49th also once connected to the Dan Ryan tracks. I'm thinking it was a cost saving move since they would not have to maintain two sets that end up basically on the same line.
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
Steve B.
(74.7.39.---)
Date: June 13, 2011 03:02PM
Thanks for the replies. If the land belongs to the railroad, they could sell it to a developer or the city where the bridges could be sold for scrap, the land leveled and four new homes could be built on each block. Maybe some could be converted into small playgrounds. Leaving them to deteriorate is not a good option. The city should condemn the land which would perhaps force the issue. I can't imagine the city is receiving a lot of tax money from the railroad for an abandon rail line that generates no revenue.
Steve B.
Steve B.
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: June 14, 2011 01:23PM
Don't the RR companies pay property tax whether or not the tracks are in use? Playgrounds of course, would be another no revenue situation. I wonder if the track is being landbanked for future use (or there is no development pressure to reuse the land for another usage).
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
nuget453
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: January 22, 2012 04:08PM
I lived on 49th place between Laflin and Loomis. Those tracks were are fun in the winter. We would use what ever we could find to slide down that snow covered hill. Two long freight trains would come by every day one about 12:O0 noon, and another about 5:00 PM. Then you had the passenger trains that came by when ever, and they were fast. You had to be careful because the top of the hill was close to the first set of tracks. I spent time in the Western Pacific, and traveled all over the United States, But there is only one place that sticks in my mind as to the most fun places was living in the YARDS!! (RB)
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
jak378
(---.dhcp.embarqhsd.net)
Date: January 23, 2012 07:11PM
I lived in the vicinity of the east/west tracks that were between 58th and 59th that ran into the Pennsylvania RR yards just west of Damen Ave. They had a similar embankment and every other street deadended at them. They were great for sledding, and driving down home built cars down. The other thing we did was use them to travel by train. We would hop a freight at say Marshfield, ride to Honore and then walk the rest of the way to St. Basil School. There was hell to pay if you got caught, but it was fun. Fortunately the trains were all pretty slow moving for that stretch.
I just looked at Google Maps and they show the tracks at 49th, but not the tracks at 58-59th. I know the embankments are still there, but the tracks are probably torn up.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2012 11:51AM by jak378.
I just looked at Google Maps and they show the tracks at 49th, but not the tracks at 58-59th. I know the embankments are still there, but the tracks are probably torn up.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/2012 11:51AM by jak378.
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: January 24, 2012 12:14AM
[b]Remember the Cavalears at 49th pl & laflin?[/b]
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
jak378
(---.dhcp.embarqhsd.net)
Date: January 24, 2012 11:53AM
Cavalears? No don't remember that and I spent some time around there. I dated a girl that lived at 48th and Loomis for a couple of years ("55-'56 or so)
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: January 24, 2012 09:15PM
jak378 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cavalears? No don't remember that and I spent
> some time around there. I dated a girl that lived
> at 48th and Loomis for a couple of years ("55-'56
> or so)
[b]They had a club house on the corner of 49th pl & laflin. That was in the 50's. The building is still there.[/b]
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cavalears? No don't remember that and I spent
> some time around there. I dated a girl that lived
> at 48th and Loomis for a couple of years ("55-'56
> or so)
[b]They had a club house on the corner of 49th pl & laflin. That was in the 50's. The building is still there.[/b]
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: January 30, 2012 06:32PM
You guys have seen that the yards by Englewood are going to be massively expanded, right?
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
jak378
(---.dhcp.embarqhsd.net)
Date: January 30, 2012 08:09PM
Which yards by Englewood?
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
Chuck D
(12.104.103.---)
Date: February 18, 2013 03:45PM
The 49th street tracks were operated by the Grand Trunk and Western RR. I lived near the corner of 49th and Wood street, and the side windows of the house had a clear view of the tracks. I remember waiting for the huge 4-8-4 steam engines with their elegant black,olive and gold passenger cars to pass the house.The women of the houses closest to the tracks would hear the whistle, and run out to get their wash off of the clothes line before the soot from the engine would settle on their sheets.As kids we would play along 49th street, and when a freight train would pass, we would all yell "Chalk" as the caboose passed. Often enough, one of the trainmen would open the back door and throw a couple of big sticks of chalk to us. We always gave the chalk to the girls on the block for their hop-scotch games.
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: February 18, 2013 09:14PM
[b]That brings back memories. I lived at 50th & Wolcott and played on the tracks with my friends.That was in the 40's. I lived there till 1957 when I got married then moved from my parent's house. Went to St. Cyrill's also.[/b]
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
Hugh Manatee
(---.se.biz.rr.com)
Date: February 22, 2013 01:46PM
Wow Totally forgot about those tracks.I used to attend Sokol Town of Lake @ 48th and Honore , OLd SCHOOL HALL was torn down many years ago to make room for 4 houses. I remember walking the tracks over Damen Ave.Found a 38cal. bullet on one of the tracks, probably put up there by some young hooligan like me.
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
Bill_Baar
(---.tic.va.gov)
Date: March 04, 2013 05:02PM
Here's a useful link https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=213041250395756644804.0004b02ee8c544dc026d2
The tracks along 49th Street were the Grant Trunk. The tracks along 59th were the Englewood Connecting line of the Pennsylvania RR. Would be nice to see the Englewood tracks become a tool for pumping some new life into the community similar to the Bloomingdale Airline.
The 49th street track is mentioned here http://gridchicago.com/2011/wheres-the-next-bloomingdale-trail/
The tracks along 49th Street were the Grant Trunk. The tracks along 59th were the Englewood Connecting line of the Pennsylvania RR. Would be nice to see the Englewood tracks become a tool for pumping some new life into the community similar to the Bloomingdale Airline.
The 49th street track is mentioned here http://gridchicago.com/2011/wheres-the-next-bloomingdale-trail/
Re: 49th Street RR Tracks
Posted by:
SWEDE
(---.lightspeed.iplsin.sbcglobal.net)
Date: January 15, 2016 10:58PM
I lived on 50th & Oakley and would jump a box car and ride it down to 47th street and walk over to the " Joe Megans Back of the Yards Free Fair" in the 50's. We would call out chalk just like Chuck.
My brother and I went to
St Michaels and every morning on the way to school we would have to run to get under the viduct before the "Midnight Flyer" would pass so we wouldn't get full of soot or coal dust in our eyes. Those were the good old days. Now a days a bus picks kids up in front of their homes. They are sure missing out of all the fun we had back then.
My brother and I went to
St Michaels and every morning on the way to school we would have to run to get under the viduct before the "Midnight Flyer" would pass so we wouldn't get full of soot or coal dust in our eyes. Those were the good old days. Now a days a bus picks kids up in front of their homes. They are sure missing out of all the fun we had back then.
