Hello, davem60612. 1. What railroad do you work for? 2. How often have you picked up and set out Metra Coaches for interchange? I know more than average about railroads, but am not a railroad employee. I would think that Metra Coaches would seldom be put out for INTERCHANGE at all; those ocasions mostly being "accept delivery from builder," "send to rebuild contractor,&quo
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Hello, Dunning1, nordsider, and all. 1. Sounds like a great book and a great tour. Perhaps the FC Group can post when David M. Solzman is doing his next tour, or even set up a "FC Special Tour" with Mr. Solzman. 2. Is his book still "on the shelf" more often than not, or is it one that will have to be ordered online, etc? Thanks. Brian J. Patterson.
Forum: General Discussion

Hello again, nordsider. 1. The "San" is the part of the Illinois and Michigan Canal that could not be bypassed by dams and locks "elsewhere." When the Army Corps of Engineers established the "9 foot channel" in the 1920s and 1930s, the "Panama Canal" type locks in use today were built next to the "old and too small" locks, the canal was widene
Forum: General Discussion

Hello, Mr. Downtown and all. 1. I'm sure that the 7780 mile figure is for "lane" miles for the reasons you described. However, from the viewpoint of Streets and San, that isn't as messed up as you'd think. 2. CDOT needs to maintain structures. Thus, they would count centerline of pavement distance; with double and triple paved streets being counted two or three times. 3. St
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Hello, nordsider and all. 1. Just going from memory, they already have been. The asian carp is no joke. The Army Corps of Engineers has placed an electric barrier on the Ship and San at Romeoville. The barrier SEEMS to be working so far. 2. For that matter, WE don't exactly want the asian carp in Lake Michigan, either. After all, we are barely a generation removed from the Alewife mess
Forum: General Discussion

Hello, Kchi and all. 1. I am 49 years old, and have never lived in Chicago. I am, however an observer of many facets of history. My opinions and ten bucks will by a cup of coffee, but only if you buy it at McDonalds. However, here they are anyway. 2. Plantwise, (the buildings, etc) during the timeframe you mentioned, CPS was actually BETTER than the Chicago Parochial School System as a
Forum: General Discussion

Hello, CrazyIvan25 and all. This is probably a "rare" sighting because Metra seldom needs to "wye" its trains. Metra trains are always set up with their locomotives on the "outbound" end and a control car (railcar with a functional control cab at one end) on the Chicago end of the train. Normally, Metra "correctly" assembles its trains at its mainte
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Hello, Elf Odin and all. That would be the "freight" tunnels. Going from memory, these tunnels are disused narrow-gage RAIL tunnels suitable for mining car type rail stock. They were used to move coal, merchandise, and other freight as and when needed, avoiding surface streets. They became disused when motor vehicles became reliable and popular. They were NEVER open to automobile
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Hello, G. O. Mancer and all. I ALMOST remember that TV commercial! I did several Google searches to see if a copy was posted online. If there is, I couldn't find it. Controversy, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Not much remains commonly available, at least on a quick search, of Howard Miller's remarks. However, having 58 percent of all operating radios in Chicago tuned in to
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Hello, bowler and all. It would appear that either Mr. Lombardo or his editors got the spelling wrong. At some point in the process, the Stockade ancedote was either told orally (bIr is a more common spelling for that pronunciation) or the spelling was "fixed" by an editor. After all, who hasn't had misspellings forced into their documents for placenames by an automatic spell checke
Forum: Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Hello, Deejo and all. 913 W. Willow is indeed the ex-Texaco Station, as per your loopnet link. The owner who converted it into a single family residence put up privacy barracades, planted several trees, and have painted the building. Does anyone have any historical info on 935 W. Willow? Thanks. Brian J. Patterson.
Forum: General Discussion

Hello, deepstblu2 and all. The building still "exists" on Google Streetview. It is located at 935 W. Willow St, at the intersection of Willow and North Bissel. It is about 100 feet east of the Brown Line, about 400 yards south of the Armitage Station. The last "signed" occupant was a shop specializing in the repair and restoration of European Imported vehicles. They don'
Forum: General Discussion

Hello, Chuck D and all. There were actually TWO Electroliners. They were built in 1941 for the North Shore Line by the St. Louis Car Company to make the North Shore more competative with the Milwaukee Road and the Northwestern. These two articulated trainsets were fully air-conditioned, unlike the rest of the North Shore Fleet, and each had a "Tavern-Lounge" car where passengers cou
Forum: General Discussion