I’m sure this would be in the past, but whats the greatest number of RR lines running parallel to each other and where in the USA would that have been. And I’m talking about multiple railroads and not multiple tracks of one railroad.
Well, it depends on how close you count as “parallel” and what endpoints you were using. Still, I would guess that, as for as what “area” had the most mainlines between two major cities or metropolitan areas, Chicago-St. Louis would have been right up there: C&A, WAB, IC, AT&SF, C&NW, C&EI…anyone else that I’ve missed? No, not the Rock Island-that wasn’t “paralell”. If you’re talking about where to look for tracks of different companies all running in the same general direction, I’d say Iowa, in the course of connecting Chicago-Omaha.
Market Street San Freancisco has the Municipal Railway Metro (subway), the Bay Area Rapid Transit (subway) and the MUNI-Market St. Ry Assa. Casto-Market-Embarcadaro-Warves streetcar (surface) along the same street (Market Street). Six tracks altogether, three different levels. West of the Loop in Chicago, if my memory is correct, the Lake Street Chicago Transit Authority elevated, the old C&NW now UP line to the west, and the old Milwaukee line (now CP? or just Metra?) run adjacent to each other.
In Northeast ohio you have the former nkp(NS) and conrail(CSX) that follow each other.Also from marion south to the Ohio river the former C&O and N&W are within 6 miles from each other.In cincinnati ns and csx have a track agreement where trains go southbound on NS and northbound on csx.hope this helps
stay safe
Joe
If I’m not mistaken, Prof. George W. Hilton once wrote in one of his 1960’s-1970’s articles in Trains that there were 7 railroads between those 2 cities, as being the ‘champ’ in redundant railroad building, though I don’t know the territory well enough to list them.
Likewise, and on a smaller scale, the approaches to Chicago would be a candidate - particularly from the east. New York City would also be a candidate, but those lines were more radial than parallel.
- Paul North.
Between 1925 and 1955 there were 6 railroads within 5 miles of the lake along the Lake Michigan shore line between Evanston and North Chicago:
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North Shore Line (Shore Line).
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Chicago & North Western
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North Shore Line (Skokie Valley Line)
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Chicago & North Western (new line)
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Milwaukee Road
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Soo Line
4 of the 6 had heavy passenger traffic.
The stretch between Monroe Michigan and Detroit had several well into the 70’s.
Detroit and Toledo Short Line
Pennsylvania
Michigan central
Detroit Toledo and Ironton
NYC
And one or two others that escape me at the moment
The crossing on Pennsylvania Avenue south of Wyandotte required you to cross as many tracks as you could before stopping because there were always trains coming along.
Define parallel and define end points. NYC to Chicago: NYC, WS, Erie, DL&W-NKP, LV-NKP, PRR, CNJ-RDG-B&O: that’s at least seven routes. The Erie and Lackawanna and LV were parallel roads from NYC to Buffalo with within sight running of the E and DL from Great Bend/Hallstead, PA virtually into Wayland, NY then again across from Mt. Morris into Buffalo (but Erie was branch lines from Painted Post as the main went west through HOrnell). I see that SP and WP used each others ROW’s in many places west from Salt Lake City into the Sierras but were also parallel to the Sante Fe in Southern California. Sante Fe, UP/SP, DR&GW-B-RI-WP, GN, NP and MLW virtually from the MIssissippi to the Pacific. Downeast in New England (NY to the Atlantic coast) you had the D&H, RUtland, B&M (and branches), CP,CV, CN, GTW, MEC, BAR, and NYNH&H lines. Your question is wide open for interpretation!
I think NDPRR’s answer probably captures the spirit of the original question. I was in Wyandotte last summer, and can vouch for the fact that there are still four distinct main lines that parallel each other through that area (I think they are two CN and two NS now, but each line has its own crossing signals that work in tandem with each other, and its own grade crossing identification). We’ll be back to see that one, because there was a good quilt store for Pat, from which the tracks can all be seen.
I think if you were to follow the Illinois-Indiana state line south from Lake Michigan, you’d (historically) have crossed four or five railroads in succession before you had traveled even a mile: EJ&E, Chicago Short Line (?), B&O, NYC, and PRR. Various sidings and industrial spurs make it look like a lot more.
The situation north of Evanston noted above, North Shore two lines, Northwestern two lines, and Milwaukee one line, was repeated between Kenosha, Recine, and Milwaukee, except that instead of North Shore Shore Line, there was The Milwaukee Electric interurban that operated somewhat in competition with the North Shore until about 1949. So we had CMStP&P, CNW, CNS&M, CNW, TME, parallel, within easy walking distance.
Kevin C. Smith listed the AT&SF as running from Chicago to St. Louis, which it did not. We had five lines running from StL to KC: MoPac, Rock Island, MKT, WAB and GM&O.
Interestingly, the Rock Island did not run Chicago to StL. To go to Chicago by Rock Island, I would have had to travel by way of KC. Also, I believe the MKT went to KC by trackage rights, as their line crossed the Missouri River and went through Sedalia and on into Kansas.
In the line of parallel rights-of-way, I grew up about 150 yards from the parallel rights of way of the South Shore, C&WI (EL-MON-C&O-WAB) and NKP. The lines ran parallel from about 130th and Torrence near the Ford plant along Brainard Ave to the Illinois-Indiana state line (about 3 miles).
Ah, yes, through Hegewisch!
All of those railroads that used the C&WI through there have to count for something!
if somebody can nominate market st SF with six parallel tracks on 3 levels, then i nominate queensboro plaza, NYC
YOu are correct about Queensboro Plaza, with four underground subway tracks and four overhead elevated (“subway on viaduct”) tracks. below the former IND Queens line and above the former IRT and BMT Flushing and Astoria Lines, and before 1949 there were eight tracks on an elevated structure twice the present size.
But that is only a station, and all tracks belong today to the same authority.
On Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, between Atlantic Avenue and Park Circle, you have the two-track ex-BMT Brighton Line and the IRT 2, 3, 4, 5 lines, all underground.
On Sixth Av./Av. of Americas, you have the four-track subway and the two-track PATH (former Hudson and Manhattan) from about 10th Street north to Herald Square. At the Herald Square station, PATH has three tracks and the 4-track IND 6th Avenue subway crosses the 4-track ex BMT Broadway line, the whole works underground.
Ah, yes - Do we count only separately owned lines, or the separate operators over those lines, such as by these (presumably) trackage rights ?
How about from the western NY / Buffalo area to Chicago - including the ‘alter egos’ on the northern/ other side of Lake Erie, such as between Toronto and Chicago via Detroit - and those that joined in along the way, such as the PRR and B&O ? NYC, Canadian Southern, C&O’s subsidiary, B&O, PRR, NKP, Erie, CP, CN, others ?
- Paul North.
You missed the South Shore (now NICTD), Nickle Plate and IHB in that mile
I seem to remember that someone on the forum expanded on that to include the 6 lines between Saint Louis and Houston(?), for a total of 42 possible routing combinations between that particular piece of tidewater and the Windy City…
Urf…I knew that, too. What was I thinking?
Fred, I think you’re referring to my “mile” south of the Lake along the Illinois-Indiana line, a few posts back. The lines you mentioned were a distance south of that–maybe within a mile, but not considered with the others because there was a bit of a gap between those and “your” group.
As for the lines you mentioned, see Paul’s (“CSSHegewisch”) thread about paralleling lines through the Hegewisch neighborhood. You’re pretty much describing the lines that went through State Line and Hammond interlockings. At Hammond the IHB, running pretty much east and west, crossed separate lines of the Erie, Monon, and NKP, with C&O sharing trackage with Erie (all of which ran kind of northeast-southwest, but were fanning out from State Line.
At State Line, the Monon, C&O, and Erie all shared the Chicago & Western Indiana’s track in Illinois; the interlocking is where they went their separate ways. The NKP crossed the C&WI lines there, and the South Shore was a short distance away. All of those railroads crossed the B&O (or is it B&OCT?) freight line there, and an IHB branch also crossed. The Wabash used C&WI lines in Illinois, but used the B&O east of State Line for a distance. The EJ&E also snuck into that area somehow. All that’s left now is that IHB branch, the B&O line (CSX), and the NKP line (NS), with NICTD a short distance to the north. In the bigger scheme of things, CSX, NS, and NICTD are all east-west lines, but you wouldn’t know it, looking at this plant!