I took this photo at Brighton Junction, on a sunny early spring afternoon in April of 2007. Brighton Junction is an old steam era facility on borrowed time. This scene may be disappearing soon, as time and technology have caught up to this old fashioned manual junction. Brighton Junction is located just west of the intersection of Archer and western Avenues up on an embankment. This is proboubly wishful thinking...but I feel that it would be nice, if the old operators shack and signals could be preserved on display eventually at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union Illinois.I hope this actually does become preserved.
7 comments:
Eddie,
What's that in the background, toward the left. New housing?
Hi Anthony!
Yes, that is new housing under construction just below the west side of the embankment.
Due to it's convenient commuting location to nearby downtown Chicago, the price of living there is proboubly very expensive.
these former blue color factory district neighborhoods, have become too expensive for many to live there.
Shoot man! Not everyone is a yuppie!
Like Three Dog Night sang about on their 1971 album "Harmony" -"Times running out for -the family of man".
Thank You.
Eddie.
What are these developers thinking?
Answer: $ $ $ and only $.
I'm actually not surprised. Like I've told friends of mine who have been away from Chicago for even just five years: "You'd be amazed at the changes."
I mean, new housing alongside the Brighton Park Crossing? Or, better yet, townhomes costing $400K, literally across the street from the Cabrini Green housing complex?? As the late, great Dizzy Dean would say: "Who'd a thunk it?"
Three Dog Night, that's a good one. Those guys were hit monsters back in the day. I once read a book about the Canadian band Guess Who, who shared a tour with Three Dog Night at some point in the '70s. The two guys in the Guess Who that were well-known partyers (vocalist Burton Cummings and bassist Jim Kale) basically said they were astounded at how hard the guys in Three Dog Night could put away various substances.
I have a fuzzy memory of an old video of the Three Dog Night lip-syncing their hit "One" probably for some TV show. The guitarist was playing a rare 1969 Fender Telecaster in pink paisley. The originals are shockingly expensive if you can even find one, so I now own a Fender re-issue of that model. It's an eye-popper!
If they really want to upscale a dirty place like Brighton Junction, they should build a commuter rail station at the crosstracks. It could easilly be served by the Metra Heritage Corridor trains to Joliet Illinois.
Thank You.
Eddie.
Eddie,
Do you think such a close-in station on a regular rail line (vs. rapid transit line) would be worth it?
I think so.
All trains including Metra are required to stop there now.
Think about the parking situation.
It would certainly be convenient.
Thank You.
Eddie.
>>all trains, including Metra, are required to stop there now<<
That's right, I forgot! Due to the antiquity of the physical plant, all trains have to stop, so why not put in a station? ha ha
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