This is the much fabled steam era manual railroad junction located at Archer and Western Avenues, on the southwest side of Chicago. This location is unique because here, "Past meets present". The latest in modern equipment stops here and waits for clearance just as it was back then. Notice the old fashioned Semaphore Signals and wooden operators shack. The north and south tracks are owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railroad, and CSX Transportation. The east and west tracks are owned and operated by the Canadian National railroad, and sees service by Metra commuter trains and Amtrak passenger trains too.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Brighton Junction. Chicago Illinois USA. September 2006.
This is the much fabled steam era manual railroad junction located at Archer and Western Avenues, on the southwest side of Chicago. This location is unique because here, "Past meets present". The latest in modern equipment stops here and waits for clearance just as it was back then. Notice the old fashioned Semaphore Signals and wooden operators shack. The north and south tracks are owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railroad, and CSX Transportation. The east and west tracks are owned and operated by the Canadian National railroad, and sees service by Metra commuter trains and Amtrak passenger trains too.
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3 comments:
The AT&SF main line ran past here also until the entire line from Corwith to Dearborn Station and my beloved 18th Street Coach Yard was abandoned when Amtrak came along. The GM&O and Santa Fe both with double track main lines came together briefly to share the Bridgeport bridge over Bubbly Creek. The operator was in a shanty at the top of the bridge.
The Bubbly Creek bridge is still standing today, but without the shanty on top. The bridge is grafitti tagged, and the black paint has long faded.
The Bubbly Creek drawbridge hadn't been raised in many years, and the wrong kind of people started to eventually occupy the abandoned operators control shanty.
Sometime during the winter of 2002, the operators shack had caught fire and was gutted. I can still remeber seeing sparks from crews with cutting torches dismantling what was left of the old metal shanty, from the adjacent I-55 Stevenson Expressway on My way to work one morning.
Thank You.
Eddie.
Studying my Google Earth straightened me out. The former IC West also uses this bridge.
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