Thursday, December 27, 2007

A scene from a Chicago Railroad Scrapyard. Chicago Illinois USA. Febuary 1986.

Businesses come and go in the city of Chicago Illinois, and most any city in North America nowadays. This scene was photographed in Febuary of 1986 at the site of the former Chesapeke & Ohio Railroad / Pere Marquette ,Rockwell Street Yard on Chicago's southwest side. This privately owned railroad scrapyard operated here for a few years during the mid 1980's. Surplus locomotives and rolling stock met the scrappers torch at this location. We are at approximately West 76th Street and South California Avenue near Chicago's Wrightwood neighborhood. The light colored brick factory building in the background, is the Kool Aid Division of General Mills plant. I worked there through a temporary labor pool employment agency twice in the year of 1985. This plant was located on South California Avenue and west 74th Street in Chicago's Marquette Park neighborhood. They made everything from Kool Aid and Crystal light powdered drink mixes, to Open Pit Barbeque Sauce. Illinois was experiencing Hard Economic Times during this period.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You'll never what You may find when You go on location with a camera. I have never ever seen a locomotive in GTW colors with those D,T & I markings anywhere.

I am glad You took this photo, as it is proboubly rare today.

Ken