That photo is likely the one taken by Jack Delano in May, 1943 at the ICRR freight house on South Water Street.
Rich
Source: Library of Congress
That’s the photo I was thinking of. There were several freight houses on South Water Street moving from west to east - Michigan Central (NYC), IC (two) and the combined Nickel Plate/C&O (of Indiana). NKP and C&O shared a bunch of facilities in Chicago. Both entered the IC at Grand Crossing, where NKP passenger trains veered off to head for LaSalle Street.
Note the blue flags on the cars. I assume there’s one on the rightmost car as well. Looks like more than 40 cars total, with a lot of bridge plates in use.
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These are also Jack Delano photos at the ICRR freight terminal on South Water Street found on Getty Images.
This photo by Jack Delano on Getty Images shows trucks unloading at the Inbound Freight House of the ICRR.
Rich
Grand Central Station in Chicago had a relatively small footprint, but both the B&O and Pere Marquette had freight houses at the station. In the following photo, the Pete Marquette freight house in on the left of the train shed and the B&O freight house is on the right of the train shed. You can see the station clock tower in the background on the right.
Rich
Source: American-rails.com
This map illustrates the entire freight house complex at Grand Central Station including the B&O, Pere Marquette, CGW and BOCT
Source: industrial scenery.blogspot.com
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There was more space for the PM after the Chicago River was straightened. Soo Line’s freight station was on Canal at Roosevelt, reached off of the B&OCT.
Soo Line discontinued LCL service in 1968, but retained the freight house for what today would be called transloading until the early 1980s.
Next up are the freight houses at LaSalle Street Station.
The photo that follows shows the Rock Island RR (CRIP) Outbound Freight
House on the left and the NYC Outbound Freight House on the right, Out of the photo are the Rock Island RR Inbound Freight House to the left of the Outbound Freight House and the NYC Inbound Freight House to the right of the Outtbound Freight House.
Source: industrialscenery.blogspot.com
This somewhat hard to read diagram illustrates all four freight houses situated between Polk and Taylor Streets just before the train shed.
Source: industrialscenery.blogspot.com
Interesting. I did not know that.
Rich
My first civilian job in transportation was in BN’s “House 7” at 1601 S. Western Ave. in Chicago. 1975. BN leased the freight house to a forwarder that hired me as a graduate student intern. Those months sure opened my eyes about LCL/LTL.
In the fall I went back to Northwestern U and earned an MS in transportation. My thesis title was “The Transportation of LCL/LTL Freight by Railroad.”
Suffice it to say that the railroads were literally driven out of the retail part of the business by ignorant government regulators. The rails still handle a lot of LTL as motor carriers use intermodal. But the money is in the retail and the rails were stupidly regulated out of that.
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The Soo Line freight house dates to 1914, not long after Soo Line’s passenger trains moved back to Grand Central after a period at Central. The team tracks were just south of the freight house itself.
Maybe the smallest freight houses in Chicago were jointly run by the Insull Interurbans. The CA&E, CNS&M, and CSS&SB would all accept LCL freight at any of them, and truck it to the nearest place it could be transloaded, or, in the case of the CNS&M and CSS&SB, to where it could be loaded on “Ferry-Truck” flatcars.
The ones I’m sure of:
63rd Steet Lower Yard (Chicago Rapid Transit) MDT Box Motors
Lockwood Avenue (Metropolitan West Side/CA&E) Box motors
Austin Avenue (Chicago Avenue under the North Side L) Trucks only
Montrose (under the North Side L, where “Ferry-Truck” trains were loaded.
Less sure:
Burnham Yard near Kensington (115th St) CSS&SB Ferry-Truck and “real” LCL
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Among other railroads that we haven’t covered yet, I am curious about the location of freight houses for CB&Q, C&NW and the Milwaukee Road.
Rich
Already touched on the Milwaukee Road a little bit. Two freight houses on the North Joint Approach (to Union Station), a shared (with PRR/PCC&StL) team track area there. I know some other team tracks were in the Goose Island area, and there may have been freight houses there as well. Shore Line Dispatch Number 2 “Competing Rails” has extensive maps of the Goose Island area, which shows Freight Hose #5 at Kinzie and Kingsbury, and Freight House #7 between Illinois and Austin (Chicago) a half block east of Kingsbury. I’ll have to look more closely for Freight Houses 1 to 4, and 6. There was a team track near the freight houses 5 and 7, and Team Track #2597 behind Wrigley Field.
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Mark Lanuza posted a nice view of the Q and REA:
It is a BNSF parking lot and the REA a Whole Foods.
South Water St. 1938 aerial:
https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/uic_caps/id/105/rec/4
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Just so I understand correctly, is that the CB&Q freight house in the background?
When I click on the CARLI Digital Collections link, that photo ( Chicago loop #5, Main Branch Chicago River), is one great aerial view of the ICRR yard at South Water Street. Awesome.
Rich
Source: CARLI Digital Collections
I believe that is the accounting office?? The warehouses and team tracks rounded the corner and merged with Western Ave. yard.
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Ahh, thanks, OWTX.
Burlington freight houses 1 and 2 were at Harrison and Canal. They were gradually converted to Express, serving as overflow for REA and used by PRR & GM&O for Express as well. One of the tracks serving the freight houses was extended into Union Station, becoming track 8. Newer freight houses at Western Avenue replaced the freight house function.
The GM&O’s freight houses between Congress and Harrison, over by the PRR’s giant, were eventually made part of the mail complex, with the remaining freight business handled by leasing a couple of tracks from the PRR.
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Oh, now, this is interesting. I need to get out my old railroad maps and look these up. I love this stuff. My fantasy is to own a 100’ x 100’ building to house my giant layout to replicate the area south of the Chicago Loop where so much railroad activity took place.
I hope Phillippe is following this thread.
Rich
Article on the 1925 version of Union Station. Scroll down for maps with various freight house locations.
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Thanks for that post SMD link. chicagology is a great site, and as much as I have referenced it, I had not seen the specific part you linked. I need to explore that part of the site.
Rich
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