Thursday, September 20, 2012

Westbound Amtrak train approaching Brighton junction. Chicago Illinois. April 1984.

This is one of my early 35 mm railfan photos I had taken during the Springtime of 1984.

I was hanging out at a popular local southside Chicago railroad junction with my camera in hand, when I snapped this now historic photograph.

A westbound Amtrak passenger train, approaches and makes the mandatory stop at Chicago's Brighton Junction. This old fashioned manual steam era crosstrack railroad junction using mechanical semaphore signals, is located on a railroad embankment along South Archer Avenue, just west of the intersection at South Western Avenue. This area is where Chicago's Brighton Park and Mc kinley Park neighborhoods border each other.

In 2007, the Illinois Central Railroad succesor Canadian National, closed Brighton Junction, re equipped it with new crosstracks, and replaced the old manual semaphore signals with new automated block target signals.

The Chicago Transit Authority's orange line rapid transit to Chicagho's Midway Airport, also passes over this junction today.

Back in 1984, it was very country like here, as well as very "Steam era like" as well.

Thanks.
Eddie K.

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