There is nothing like spending a lovely springtime afternoon outdoors, at a favorite railroad junction with a camera in hand.
I took this photo at Hayford Junction, located at West 75th Street and South Central Park Avenue in Chicago's Ashburn neighborhood. Two old locomotives from former railroads C & O and Chessie System ( Todays CSX Transportation) prepare to depart Clearing Yard with an old pre Conrail Pen Central Hi Cube boc car on the head end of their freight train, while two late 1970's era EMD model GP-15 roadswitchers move tank cars back and forth performing switching manuevers. This is a timeless and classic scene of southside Chicago railroading.
3 comments:
I am writing a researched fiction story that takes place in Chicago in 1942. My character works at the Proviso Yard on the Chicago & North Western Railroad as a mechanic. He lives in the city, so I am trying to determine how he would've gotten to and from work everyday. Also, I am hoping to determine where he might see a woman waiting for a passenger train that was bringing home wounded soldiers. Any help/ideas/suggestions that could help inform my story would be greatly appreciated.
The character would have proboubly taken two electric streetcars to get there. The 1st part of his commuting journey would have involved boarding a Chicago Surface Lines trolley ( Pre CTA), and then transferring to one from the Chicago & West Towns Railway at Oak Park Illinois. Heck! He could have even boarded a Chicago & NorthWestern Commuter train to Maywood, and then possibly taken a taxi cab or have the railroad pick him up at the depot in a company vechicle. There are a number of options. If He made decent money back then in the year of 1942,He could have owned a car and drove to and from work.
Thank You.
Eddie K.
Anonymous....you might also want to check out a site called... SHORPY. It is a high resolution photo blog. There are many photos of Proviso and other rail scenes as well as a bunch of other interesting photography. Mnay of it photographed for the War Dpartment or other Government agencies. Just type in SHORPY on Google it will be the first thing to come up.
Dennis (tininjun65)
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