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railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
trainfan1970s
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: December 31, 2011 06:25PM
anybody know the history of the railroad line near pulaski and granville. I believe those same tracks lead to pratt st in lincolnwood too but not sure when they were last used, or what company owns the line.
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
222psm
(---.br.br.cox.net)
Date: January 02, 2012 01:06AM
Union Pacific was (is) the owner of those tracks, they were part of the Chicago and North Western. We used to roam these tracks back in the early 80's, and at the time trains still ran. Here is some info, it's not on the specific spur that you mention but it splits off from it at LaBagh woods.
http://www.abandonedrails.com/Chicago_to_Northbrook
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2012 08:14PM by 222psm.
http://www.abandonedrails.com/Chicago_to_Northbrook
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2012 08:14PM by 222psm.
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
trainfan1970s
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: January 02, 2012 02:01AM
Thanks for the awesome info. That link proved very informative
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
222psm
(---.br.br.cox.net)
Date: January 02, 2012 08:39PM
Wow, I went to historic aerials.com 1962 and that track went all the way to a main line near Green Bay Rd and Simpson St. You can make out the route in the current Google maps by the way some buildings are angled. Here's a pic:
http://www.historicaerials.com/api/img-server.php?op=fetchHistoricPhotograph&bbox=-87.6931797497749,42.0573914447773,-87.6902837497749,42.0544954447773&year=1962&stamp=true
Also a little north east of the river north of Howard st. there was a rail road yard.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2012 08:45PM by 222psm.
http://www.historicaerials.com/api/img-server.php?op=fetchHistoricPhotograph&bbox=-87.6931797497749,42.0573914447773,-87.6902837497749,42.0544954447773&year=1962&stamp=true
Also a little north east of the river north of Howard st. there was a rail road yard.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2012 08:45PM by 222psm.
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
randoymwords
(---.c3-0.frg-ubr1.chi-frg.il.cable.rcn.com)
Date: January 03, 2012 01:40PM
I hiked part of the abandoned line this summer. The city plans to turn part of the spur into an actual walking trail (as they have with the branch that runs north to Devon from Bryn Mawr near Kostner), but for now, it is fairly wild in places and takes one past industrial sites. I started at Elston and Kimberly, entering through a hole in the fence behind the K-Mart there. I trekked northeast to Touhy, ending up behind the Lincolnwood Shopping Center. The line gets cut off north of that by the CTA train yard and the water pumping station. Perhaps one day I'll try to pick it up again past that...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randoymwords/sets/72157627619530800/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/randoymwords/sets/72157627619530800/
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
222psm
(---.br.br.cox.net)
Date: January 03, 2012 03:24PM
Cool pictures thanks for sharing!
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
Chris
(151.190.0.---)
Date: January 03, 2012 03:40PM
Here's another link about the Mayfair spur that heads to Evanston:
http://www.trainweb.org/evrailfan/chap1a.html
http://www.trainweb.org/evrailfan/chap1a.html
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
randoymwords
(---.c3-0.frg-ubr1.chi-frg.il.cable.rcn.com)
Date: January 03, 2012 09:58PM
huh. So I wouldn't be able to pick it up north of the Lincolnwood mall anymore, if Evanston has turned it all over to development. I've been using a ten year old street atlas that still shows it as a rail line. That leaves me with looking for traces, I suppose.
I could probably explore some of the industrial spurs around Howard, across from the CTA yards; there are still some older factory buildings and warehouse there. Hurm.
I could probably explore some of the industrial spurs around Howard, across from the CTA yards; there are still some older factory buildings and warehouse there. Hurm.
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
randoymwords
(---.c3-0.frg-ubr1.chi-frg.il.cable.rcn.com)
Date: January 03, 2012 10:10PM
Thanks, 222psm! I'll have to try walking the northerly spur that you posted!
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
Flipkay
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: January 04, 2012 12:51AM
There are two railroad lines that intersect at Bryn Mawr & Kostner in Sauganash.
The Valley line stopped being used in the early 1990s and in 2003 there was a process to start converting it to a bike trail (http://www.sauganash.org/biketrail/bryn_mawr-kostner_bike-trail.htm).
The other one was dismantled around June 2009. Here is some info. on it:
The Chicago Dept.of Transportation entered into a “railbanking” agreement with Union Pacific Railroad to use the out-of-service rail corridor east of Rogers Ave. for a new bike/pedestrian trail until a railroad might need the corridor again for rail service. Called the Weber Spur, the rail corridor runs from Bryn Mawr northeast to Devon. It crosses Peterson just behind Precision Plating Co. and crosses Pulaski at-grade just north of the abandoned car wash. The Village of Lincolnwood
has signed-on to extend both the Sauganash Trail (Valley Line Trail) and the Weber Spur Trail north to Touhy. In addition, the Sauganash Trail will be extended south through the forest preserve from Bryn Mawr to Lawrence.
The Valley line stopped being used in the early 1990s and in 2003 there was a process to start converting it to a bike trail (http://www.sauganash.org/biketrail/bryn_mawr-kostner_bike-trail.htm).
The other one was dismantled around June 2009. Here is some info. on it:
The Chicago Dept.of Transportation entered into a “railbanking” agreement with Union Pacific Railroad to use the out-of-service rail corridor east of Rogers Ave. for a new bike/pedestrian trail until a railroad might need the corridor again for rail service. Called the Weber Spur, the rail corridor runs from Bryn Mawr northeast to Devon. It crosses Peterson just behind Precision Plating Co. and crosses Pulaski at-grade just north of the abandoned car wash. The Village of Lincolnwood
has signed-on to extend both the Sauganash Trail (Valley Line Trail) and the Weber Spur Trail north to Touhy. In addition, the Sauganash Trail will be extended south through the forest preserve from Bryn Mawr to Lawrence.
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
WayOutWardell
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: January 04, 2012 03:07AM
For those who might know: how did the factories along those lines load their goods into the freight cars? Were there sidings along the main line, did each place have its own dock or was there a common depot somewhere?
In looking at the old aerials centered on Peterson & Rogers, the former Bastian-Blessing factory and the Walgreens HQ on Peterson both have property alongside the Valley Line but it looks as though the factories and the tracks were separated by parking lots. South of Rogers, though, where the two lines split, there appears to be a freight terminal. Seems odd that they would move their stuff to be picked up elsewhere; Bastian-Blessing made soda fountain and store fixtures, not exactly easy-to-move items.
Incidentally, the Skil Tool factory on Elston (where the K-Mart is now) appears to be built directly adjacent to the tracks.
In looking at the old aerials centered on Peterson & Rogers, the former Bastian-Blessing factory and the Walgreens HQ on Peterson both have property alongside the Valley Line but it looks as though the factories and the tracks were separated by parking lots. South of Rogers, though, where the two lines split, there appears to be a freight terminal. Seems odd that they would move their stuff to be picked up elsewhere; Bastian-Blessing made soda fountain and store fixtures, not exactly easy-to-move items.
Incidentally, the Skil Tool factory on Elston (where the K-Mart is now) appears to be built directly adjacent to the tracks.
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
oh4chia
(---.hsd1.ca.comcast.net)
Date: January 11, 2012 05:18AM
I lived in the Veterans Housing Project just east of this line and just north of Foster between 1946 and 1954. We would stand at the end of the sidewalk below the embankment and name the cars as they went by.
I was there in August and the tracks are gone. In addition to the Skil Tool factory there was another factory that used graphite, I believe, for something on the south side of Foster.
The Train Watcher's Map of Chicago, Supplement to the Guide by John Szwajkart 1987 shows everything that ever was in the Chicago area. http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Prr/Maps/Itlk/itlk_chi_branch.html
I was there in August and the tracks are gone. In addition to the Skil Tool factory there was another factory that used graphite, I believe, for something on the south side of Foster.
The Train Watcher's Map of Chicago, Supplement to the Guide by John Szwajkart 1987 shows everything that ever was in the Chicago area. http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Prr/Maps/Itlk/itlk_chi_branch.html
Re: railroad line in sauganash neighborhood (pulaski and granville)
Posted by:
rjmachon
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: February 12, 2012 07:35AM
Some more info on that old train line.
Here is a link to a Chicago Tribune story on 2/7/12 about that old line. Also, if you do some web searching, there are numerous other photos of the abandoned route from farther south.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-north-suburban-bike-trail-20120207,0,5746573.story
This was from greg j. I hope they finish the bike trail!
Here is a link to a Chicago Tribune story on 2/7/12 about that old line. Also, if you do some web searching, there are numerous other photos of the abandoned route from farther south.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-north-suburban-bike-trail-20120207,0,5746573.story
This was from greg j. I hope they finish the bike trail!
