Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Public excursion on private industrial railroad. The Greater Chicago Water Reclamation District open house. September 1989.

A very interesting and quiete "Pungent" railroad excursion I had ridden on, was one at a sewer treatment plant is suburban "Stickney" Illinois. This view I photographed, is seen looking down from the Central Avenue overpass bridge. The cars fitted with benches and canopies, are normally used for hauling sewer solids to a dump site. You heard of the Soo Line Railroad, I had jokingly referred to this as the "Sewer Line Railroad". The scenery outside of the plant area ran through sections of wood and fields with much wildlife to be seen along the 6 mile run. There were tours of the plant with detailed and informative lectures on how You'r water is treated and processed, as well as how there is a great effort towards cleaning up the waterways in a move toward conservation and ecology. The Greater Chicago Water Reclamation District gave detailed information about Chicago's major waterways, as well as about our local creeks and the Deep Tunnel Project. Did You know, that the Chicago River -The Sanitary and Shipping Canal -and the Cal Sag Channel are maintained at a depth of 22 feet deep for Commercial River traffic and shipping?

3 comments:

Tom Gill said...

Eddie,

Did this tour feature a trek through the "LaGrange Tar Pits?"

Just wondering.

Eddie said...

Hi Tom.
No, this trip only went from Central Avenue, to the baloon turn around track approximately 5 blocks or so west of Harlem Avenue.
This rail line actually does go further to the outlying towns of Argo -Mc Cook -and Hodgkins in the La Grange area. Have You ever driven by these dump pits along the I-55 Stevenson expressway after a rain? Pee Yoooo! Not for those with a weak stomach. Yuck!

Thank You.
Eddie.

tlee169 said...

It used to be call the Chicago Metropolitan Sanitary District and it smelled just as bad. We called the pits "the sludge lagoons"