Englewood Station - Big and Little - Chicago

[richhotrain]

Englewood Union Station, located at 63rd and State Streets on the south side of Chicago, was never called Big, but the station was a big deal in its heyday, serving as a major rail junction and passenger depot. Four railroads served the station, the Rock Island, New York Central, Pennsylvania and Nickel Plate which had trackage rights from New York Central. There was nothing fancy about Englewood Union Station. It was a one-story building high above the street, accessed by a concrete stairway

Source: Monon Railroad Historical Technical Society

The junction carried Rock Island trains on a 2-track mainline running north and south. The 2-track Pennsylvania mainline intersected with the Rock Island tracks running east and west. The New York Central and Nickel Plate trains ran on a 2-track north-east-west New York Central mainline that curved behind the station to join up with the 2-track Rock Island mainline.

Source: Industrial History: Englewood Junction: Pennsy vs. Rock Island

Little Englewood Station, located at 63rd and Wallace Streets, was located a mere six blocks west of Englewood Union Station. The station was owned and operated by the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad (C&WI).

Source: The Blackhawk Collection

The station served as a stop for the Erie, Monon Wabash and Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroads as well as the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad. Only the Grand Trunk Western, one of the 5 roads that owned the C&WI, did not serve Little Englewood Station since it entered the C&WI mainline about 2 miles north of the station. Although the Grand Trunk Western (GTW) did not serve Little Englewood Station, it did have a station at 63rd Street and Central Park Avenue about 4 miles west of Little Englewood Station.

63rd Street not only was the location for these three aforementioned passenger stations but also for a fourth station, Woodlawn Station, at 63rd and Dorchester Streets in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, 14 blocks east of Englewood Union Station. The Woodlawn station was served by the Illinois Central Railroad.

What this all meant was that 12 passenger trains entering Chicago from the south and east made a local stop at 63rd Street on the south side of Chicago before heading into downtown Chicago as the northern terminus.

[BaltACD]

I seem to recall that the B&O also had a station at 63rd Street.

[richhotrain]

Ahh, you are absolutely correct. I missed that. As you say, the B&O ran passenger trains into Chicago’s Grand Central Station.

To get there , the B&O crossed the Indiana state line into Illinois, then made its way west to the BOCT Junction at Forest Hill 79th Street. From there, it ran north on BOCT track to the 63rd Street station just east of Western Avenue.

After leaving the 63rd Street station, it continued north to16th Street and turned east, eventually crossing the Chicago River on the BOCT bascule bridge. Once across the bridge, it turned north once again to reach Grand Central Station.

So, that makes five train stations on 63rd Street. That B&O train station on 63rd Street is about mid-way between the Little Englewood Station and the GTW station on Central Park Avenue.

Rich

[gmpullman]

Englewood sure was popular with the rail photographers. Not a very photogenic location but there sure were lots of trains to watch!

Century_Englewood_2 by Edmund, on Flickr

Englewood was one of those locations I learned to spot early on. It just had a certain look to it, like Joliet, you knew right away where you were.

NKP at Englewood by Edmund, on Flickr

This was also the starting point of the often-cited ‘race’ between the Century and the Broadway for a short distance east of the station where the NYC and PRR paralleled for a bit. There’s a neat film of one of these encounters that I’ll have to post here when I find it.

Cheers, Ed

[richhotrain]

@gmpullman

This was also the starting point of the often-cited ‘race’ between the Century and the Broadway for a short distance east of the station where the NYC and PRR paralleled for a bit. There’s a neat film of one of these encounters that I’ll have to post here when I find it.

Ed, please find that film. I have seen photos but never video.

Rich

[richhotrain]

@gmpullman

Englewood was one of those locations I learned to spot early on. It just had a certain look to it, like Joliet, you knew right away where you were.

Here is an old time aerial view of Englewood Union looking north. There are so many interesting points to make about this photo. One is the curving NYC mainline behind the station where it joins the Rock Island mainline. Another point is the junction where the PRR mainline crosses the Rock Island mainline. Notice the interlocking tower. In the foreground is a Rock Island connecting pair of tracks that jpint the PRR mainline (out of view on the right, presumably for interchange purposes somewhere down the line.

Rich

Source: https://monon.org/bygone_site/chicago/EnglewoodStationPhoto.jpg

[gmpullman]

@richhotrain

Ed, please find that film. I have seen photos but never video.

I’ve been looking. It is B&W and shows the dining car staff of the Century watching the photographer who is on the Broadway. I think it was part of one of the Herron rail videos “Reflections of the New York Central” and I’m sure I saw the preview on YouTube. Sometimes ‘bootleggers’ post copyrighted videos and they are taken down. I have the DVD but I’m not going to upload it to the internet.

NYC 20th Century Limited vs PRR Broadway Limited

Hi Fellas, Just thought I’d share one of my favorite pictures. Someday I’ll get this picture framed and hang it in my train room. Picture is of the New York Central 20th Century Limited vs the Pennsylvania Broadway Limited takes place near Englewood Illinois where the tracks paralelled each other and legend has it the engineers sometime waited on each other and raced side by side. This picture depicts such an event, era is 1946. Picture is titled 'STEEL,STEAM and THUNDER II by artist Marti…

Cheers, Ed

[richhotrain]

@gmpullman

I have the DVD but I’m not going to upload it to the internet.

Understood. I wouldn’t either.

Rich

[Backshop]

I’ve always wanted to visit Englewood, due to its history, but I’ve heard that it’s a very dicey neighborhood. I’m from Detroit and I wouldn’t even go there.

[richhotrain]

The area has changed so much over the last 60 years that it would be unrecognizable to someone who used Englewood Union Station, say, in 1965.

The area is considered dangerous today, and not a place to be visited. The station was closed on April 9,1969 and demolished in the late 70s. I can’t find the exact date or even the year. In this photo, I have outlined in yellow where the station once stood. There is no longer a junction there as the Rock Island tracks now are elevated on a flyover with the old PRR tracks passing underneath.

Source: Google Maps

[matt_mcc]

Englewood Union Station was torn down in 1982.

[amflyer1]

Thank you all love the lessens.

Chuck

[NorthBrit]

Welcome on board, matt_mcc.

David

[richhotrain]

@matt_mcc

Englewood Union Station was torn down in 1982

Matt, do you have a link that mentions 1982?

I have read “late 70s”, but I cannot find an exact date or even the year until you posted.

Rich

[gmpullman]

I found this photo in Conrail years of July 1979 and the building was still (barely) standing:

Good Luck, Ed

[richhotrain]

Now that photo is pretty cool, Ed. Thanks for posting. The fact that the photo shows Englewood Union Station still standing in July, 1979 further indicates that the building very likely survived into 1980, adding even more validity to Matt’s 1982 demolition date.

Rich

[Gramp]

When I was growing up, one of my doctors would talk about Englewood. He grew up in the area, and would comment about what a wonderful place that part of Chicago was, and lamented how it had been absolutely ruined.

[richhotrain]

Both of the Englewood Stations were located in areas that were once safe, but no more. The Englewood community is crime ridden and decrepit, filled with very old housing in disrepair and a ton of empty lots where houses once stood.

Rich

[NorthBrit]

Such a shame. The respect of things seems long gone and not only in Englewood.

David

[amflyer1]

Rich I not sure about Chicago but here where in my town if they say there are going to tear down a building to takes a few years , permits, money,ect, so the 1979 date you are seeing could be the time they started the paper work.Just a thought.

Chuck