Crossing gate operators tower. GTW Elsdon Yard. Chicago Illinois USA. October 1983., a photo by Eddie from Chicago on Flickr.
I took this photograph way back in October of 1983.
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad's Elsdon Yard which crossed West 51st Street between South St Louis Louis and South Lawndale Avenues in Chicago's Elsdon neighborhood, was in it's final week of operation when I took this photograph.
This elevated crossing gate operators tower, controlled the railroad crossing gates during switching manuevers, at the busy 14 track railroad crossing on West 51st Street for many years.
This tower was located along the north side of West 51st Street, about one city block east of South Lawndale Avenue. This tower was demolished on site one week later.
Thanks.
Eddie K.
1 comment:
You have a good eye for detail, and the presence of mind to capture what once was commonplace, but is now, sadly, all gone.
I remember this structure very well. Growing up in the area in the 1960s, one of my favorite passtimes was when my father would drive us over to the Elsdon station, just out of view to the left of this photo, and sit on the bench to watch trains shuttle back and forth. I used to think the gate man in this tower had just about the coolest job...second only to a locomotive engineer, of course.
There was similar stucture a few blocks south, at 55th Street, but it had nowhere near the same activity as 51st. The gates at 51st Street were going up and down all the time.
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