There’s also a huge facility in Richardton with two or three EMDs. I think that there’s also maybe another trackmobile somewhere around town, but I’ve never caught it. If it exists, then it works at the scrapyard.
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Penetone in Tenafly, NJ used a winch to move cars on a siding: they would pull the delivered rake, up to about 10 cars, progressively in towards the end of the siding, and the peddler-freight engine (an RS2 or 3, later GP38) would just pull the set out when needed.
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Yeah, I think I read about something like that somewhere.
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In their Freight Bill for a shipment, the Consignee is entitled ONE placement of the car in their plant. If the company wants the RAILROAD to move the car to a different spot in the plant, the company get charged a intra-plant switch charge. To prevent having to pay intra-plant switch charges, companies will secure some form of equipment that will allow them to move cars about their plant whenever and where ever they want. That equipment can be an old switch engine, a trackmobile or even in some cases a winch with some cable. Whatever they can make work for themselves.
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I think a lot of small elevators and similar facilities went the winch route.
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A lot of small industries use a tractor with a bucket. Some have acfitting that can be exchanged with the bucket that has a knuckle on it. Many just shove the car with the bucket.
Jeff
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Do they chain the car to the bucket so it won’t roll away?
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Industries are not as careful as the railroads are about securing cars. That is one reason you will see a derail on the industry spur at some point short of the Main Track switch.
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I was in the Chicagoland area near Joliet. I believe the closest Shortline was The Bloomer Line down in Central Illinois or The Toledo, Peoria and Western. There also were probably some Shortlines around Chicagoland that aren’t coming to mind from the 80’s and 90’s (though also maybe not as unique as The Bloomer or T, P and W). I just thought of one-The Indiana Harbor Belt Line lol. Oh, also the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern. How could I forget that one? Lol. I guess it does depend on what qualifies as a “Shortline”. Though, to me, the IHB and E, J and E were more “Transfer Railroads” than “Shortlines”.
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As was the B&OCT.
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Does the Iowa, Chicago, & Eastern Railroad (ICE) count as a short
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They were a Class II up to 2008, but are now integrated with CPKC.
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I figured that one out, but does it count as an old shortline or not I’m confused 
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No, it would have been a ‘regional railroad’.
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Ah, Ok thanks Woke!
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Back in my salesman days, I was often in Chicago. There was a short line on the south side at Cermak between Halsted and Racine. It was a former Burlington branch and their locomotive 1206 named “City of Chicago” was in Burlington type colors. Nicely done until locals artists with spray paint tagged it.
The shortline came off of the BNSF mainline and ran south then west serving the lumber district and also a big scrap yard. Always made my day when I saw it working the local industries.
I believe it later was affliated with the shortline in Elk Grove Village and Bensenville (former CNW) that served the huge industrial park.
Cannot recall the name of that line.
ed
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Three lesser known Chicago-area shortlines were— the Chicago Short Line, owned by Inland Steel and now operating as the South Chicago and Indiana Harbor, The Chicago, West Pullman and Southern, owned by International Harvester and the Chicago River and Indiana, a subsidiary of the NYC.
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Dig into an old Official Guide (I have one from the mid-1950’s) and you’ll find some Class 1’s that would barely qualify as a regional today.
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I just googled it Tree, and it came up with one of our old forum threads. Just Michigan had several small ones–D&TSL, D&M, LS&I, AA, DT&I, DSS&A, WC and DT&I.
Class 1 Railroads in the 1950s - Trains Magazine / Trackside Guides - Trains.com Forums
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