A local railroad branchline that served the industries in My old neighborhood on the near southwest side of Chicago that I had grown up with, was the former Atchinson, Topeka & Santa Fe's I.N line, wich prior to 1972 was the Illinois Northern Railroad.
The Santa Fe's I.N branchline, operated from the A,T & S,F Corwith Yard, headed north and crossed the Illinois Rt I 55 Stevenson Expressway, crossed the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and curved northeast as it passed through Cicago's Little Village neighborhood. The line continued past the Cook County Jail on West 26th Street between South California and South Sacramento Avenues (Where there was a run around siding track ) and headed east up an embankent, where it terminated and interchanged with the Burlington Northern at South Western and Blue Island Avenues, at the western edge of Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.
Through ut the 1970's and 80's, the Santa Fe served this line with a switching local from Monday thru Friday.
I recent years, traffic declined so badly to the point, that succesor railroad BNSF Railway, leased the line to DRS Rail Services in 2000, and switched the line only as needed.
In the past two years or so, the BNSF Railway abandoned the old I.N branchline due to an almost total lack of online business.
The old Santa Fe I.N branchline, was indeed My old neighborhood railroad. If I use My imagination I can still hear the distant sound of the arriving outbound I.N local around 10:00 AM, crossing South Kedzie Avenue at West 28th Street with a cut of box cars in tow.
Thanks.
Eddie K.
The Santa Fe's I.N branchline, operated from the A,T & S,F Corwith Yard, headed north and crossed the Illinois Rt I 55 Stevenson Expressway, crossed the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and curved northeast as it passed through Cicago's Little Village neighborhood. The line continued past the Cook County Jail on West 26th Street between South California and South Sacramento Avenues (Where there was a run around siding track ) and headed east up an embankent, where it terminated and interchanged with the Burlington Northern at South Western and Blue Island Avenues, at the western edge of Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.
Through ut the 1970's and 80's, the Santa Fe served this line with a switching local from Monday thru Friday.
I recent years, traffic declined so badly to the point, that succesor railroad BNSF Railway, leased the line to DRS Rail Services in 2000, and switched the line only as needed.
In the past two years or so, the BNSF Railway abandoned the old I.N branchline due to an almost total lack of online business.
The old Santa Fe I.N branchline, was indeed My old neighborhood railroad. If I use My imagination I can still hear the distant sound of the arriving outbound I.N local around 10:00 AM, crossing South Kedzie Avenue at West 28th Street with a cut of box cars in tow.
Thanks.
Eddie K.
1 comment:
Nice memories and nice angle on that photo.
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