Wednesday, January 17, 2007

A blast from the past! Manufacturers Junction Railroad interchange local. Chicago Illinois USA. January 2007.

This locomotive is an old EMD SW-1 diesel switcher wich goes back to the steam to diesel transition era (1940's and 50's) and so does the Demonstrator style color scheme it's wearing.
I photographed this scene at Hawthorne Junction, wich is at the Chicago city limits with the suburban village of Cicero Illinois. This crosstrack junction is where the north /south Belt Railway of Chicago line, crosses the Canadian National Railroad's former Illinois Central Iowa division mainline. Seen here on the northbound interchange curve track, is a 3 car local that the MJ Railroad has picked up from the CN Hawthorne Yard in Cicero Illinois. The MJ is a little industrial shortline approximately a little over a mile long. The grassy hill seen in the background is the abandoned Bel Aire Drive In movie theatre at w 31st Street and s Cicero Ave.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, you snagged a pretty rare sight! MJ operations are pretty darn elusive!

Eddie said...

Hi Anthony!
Thank You. I had a case of some
"Rare Luck" that day, as I have no other MJ photographs at all.
I couldn't have found a better time to be at Hawhorne Junction.
The MJ mostly operates on inaccsessible private property.

Thanks railfan buddy.

Eddie.