Deval tower in Des Plaines Il closed today 6-11-05
Long live Deval.
Rrcrossbucks.
Really?! Didn’t know they were planning to close it. That tower controlled two UP and a CN mainline crossing. Didn’t they redouble track the CN mainline through there to accomadate more commuter trains to Antioch?
Not yet. Don’t know if they’re going to do that. CN/Soo is still single track through Deval.
They’re double tracking the old Soo Line from Antioch (home) to a Franklin Park junction with the old Milwaukee Road. The trains get on the MILW at Franklin Park for their run into Union Station.
Word I have is that the double track work is to be done by the end of the year and Metra service between Antioch and Chicago will get a lot better then. But I don’t know if they’re going to keep the single track through the Deval interlocking or not.
Deval double track would be a lot of work and be controversial. The CN crosses two UP lines there: 1) the freight line between Proviso and Milwaukee (also use by CP between Bensenville and their route to Milwaukee), and 2) the primarily commuter line out to Harvard and McHenry.
The crossing over the freight line is actually on a wooden tressle. A main road makes an “S” turn under the tressle and causes some traffic problems in Des Plaines, IL. The mayor has thrown a fit about this in the past and “Wants it Fixed”. Of course, he wants somebody else to pay for the fix.
I don’t know what’s going to happen at Deval. Probably not much. It was like that when I moved to the Chicago area 31 years ago. I’d bet ( and I do bet on things ) that it will be unchanged when I leave, however I leave. That’s the way things are in Illinois (motto: “The Corruption State”)
Anybody know who is controlling the interlocking now?
The dispatcher? Like they have enough time to route that many trains per day.
And if so, who’s dispatcher? UP? CN? CP?
And who is now controlling B-17 (Norma) or A-20 (Shermer)? Are they still controlled by tower operators?
It looks like all control will be given to CY tower in Chicago .
As of yesterday, I’ve seen no bulletins concerning this alleged closing.
The tower is closed. Yes all control was moved to CY tower at Clyborne. The tower operators still have control of Norma and Seeger, and the CP dispatcher still controls Shermer and Bryn Mawr. From what iv’e been told there will be 2 operators at CY on 1st and 2nd shift and 1 on 3rd to handle the traffic.