BRIGHTON PARK CROSSING, ILLINOIS

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

I would to see any pictures people have of this famous crossing. Preferably older pictures from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. I can’t find many pictures of it from these era’s. Also, I would love to hear anything related to this crossing.

2

There are some pictures in the Brian Solomon book Railroad Signaling published by MBI.
Dave Nelson

3

Greetings,

I know that you were looking for older pictures from Brighton Park, IL. However I’m not that old and unfortunately I just started visiting Brighton Park in 2003. I wish I would have been a frequent visitor there much earlier.

Here are some shots from 2003.


This is the Brighton Park Switchtender Shack in July 2003


Here a BNSF SD70MAC passes the semaphores at Brighton Park in July 2003


Here an NS Dash-9 crosses the CN at Brighton Park in July 2003


Here the NS is on the “Panhandle Line” at Brighton Park. I believe that is what is left of the old PRR right-of-way. I could be wrong.


Here is the switchtenders shack and semaphores at Brighton

I hope these photos help out a bit.

Keith Schmidt

4

I grew up four blocks north of there during the 1960’s and never walked the tracks to it. Didn’t even really know it was there until I read about it’s existence about a dozen years ago!

Did my train watching as a kid in the opposite direction for a couple blocks down to the “canal” and Ash Street Junction. And yes, that’s part of the old PRR Panhandle. Trains I remember running through (and there was one heck of a lot more tracks through there than there is not!) were the Pennsy (the had a switcher stationed behind Campbell Soup), B&O, C&O and B&OCT. Great memories . . .

5

In the Chicago Odyssey series, there’s a great video of Brighton in action, or inaction. I think Amtrak STILL has to stop at the crossing pefore proceeding. This was supposed to be fixed years ago. The shack looks the same, just needs a guy wo wave the trains thru. The new development is the Orange Line. I think Burger King put in a store on the Western/Archer corner.

6

Actually, that BK was put in there in the 1960’s. I got banned from it by the manager with a couple of my friends back in 1967! [dinner]