I was driving down Mannheim Road northbound in Franklin Park and was curious about something. There is an IHB rail line that crosses the road. It’s not really rusty,but it doesn’t seem like it’s had any use lately. There is a factory on some kind on the west side of Mannheim with a couple of hoppers staged there…Anybody know anything about this?
I also know that UP’s Craigin line has a train that runs once a week…Any chance of seeing it increase anytime soon. The Weber line is just about extinct…
If anybody knows of any other lightly-used rail lines or spurs for that matter,let me know. I would like to check it out…
the line you crossed gose to a box company that is south of the crossing on Mannheim road. they may only use it when need. i stayed at the hotal right there Rob
Over the past few years I’ve made several trips to St. Charles, Ill. Several blocks east of Illinois highway 25, North Ave. (Ill. 64) crosses the “Chicago Great Western mainline,” a segment of railroad now owned and operated by the Union Pacific. During past trips I noticed the rail was either mildly shiney or it had just light rust at most indicating that this piece of railroad was enjoying some reasonable levels of traffic.
Earlier this month I visited the same railroad crossing and noticed that the rail was quite rusty. Is this line becoming a candidate for abandonment?
Bob, I think the answer to that question would lie in those industries just east of Randall Road. Historically, I’ve seen a few covered hoppers unloaded in that area. Don’t know if that traffic’s still there.
The big customer was General Mills. The plant either closed or stopped using rail service. Also, the city of St. Charles decided to tax wholesale lumber sales within their city. I don’t know if the two lumber yards are still there. There might only be one small active customer left on the very end of the branch. If this is true, then the St. Charles branch will probably be a canidate for abandoment. Every time I have gone past the W. Chicago Yard lately, there have been auto racks stored on the branch just west of the yard.
Given the huge traffic jams on North Ave. during the weekday rush hours, Metra ought to be eyeing the ex-CGW line through Saint Charles. Just as the “Lake Geneva branch” breaks off the “CNW” Harvard Subdivision near Crystal Lake with service to McHenry, the ex-CGW mainline could be part of a limited amount of rush hour service to Saint Charles and beyond. Losing that impressive ex-CGW steel bridge across the Fox River at a time of growing vehicular congestion in the western suburbs would be a real loss.
Not exactly lightly used rail lines in Chicago, but today I was at Ashland and Cermak. There is a rail line on the south side of Cermak and a train was backing in a cut of gondola cars into the scrap yard.
After conducting business, I saw the unit DRSX1208 parked in a fenced in lot. The crew members were there and I talked with them. They said they operated everyday and have 7 on line customers. I forget the name of the railroad…something like Central Illinois Railroad, I believe they are located in Granville, Il.
I’m familiar with the area and I’m pretty sure that this is the former Illinois Northern, which was an ATSF subsidiary and had a roster of S4’s up to at least the early 1970’s. The line follows Blue Island Avenue and 26th Street west of Ashland to just west of California and then eases southwest to cross the Sanitary & Ship Canal and connect with BNSF at Corwith.
That would be it. If you are in the area, go check it out. Right there at the corner of Cermak and Canalport there is a little area in which the railroad has it’s locomotive stored. They have a chain link fence and pad locks with a construction trailer which is their base of operation.
Is this the route the Santa Fe streamliners took to and from downtown? If so, what I would give to see a photo passing thru that area.
Ed:
Santa Fe’s route to Dearborn Station was south of the South Branch/Sanitary and Ship Canal, on the line parallel to I-55. The line along Cermak was always a low-speed industrial lead.