A nice trip, ahead of the storm.

[CShaveRR]

Many people have told us that we made the right decision by not going to Michigan today (we were supposed to go out for pizza this evening with a bunch of my high-school classmates, then return home tomorrow). It has begun to snow here, right on schedule. And they're still talking about 6-10 inches by tomorrow night. The latest projection looks like we might get a little less, with a gap in the storm causing our snowfall to end a little earlier.

But someone like I, who believes as much in the journey as the actual destination (dear friends from GHHS notwithstanding), was a little miffed about not getting out today. So, when Pat asked where we should go for lunch this morning, I didn't hesitate in saying "Great Lakes Cafe". She was a bit surprised, but that's what we did. She got out to the library and the Historical Society before we left, and we took less than an hour to get there...going with the flow on I-294 and I-80, and the flow was in a very big hurry to get home. I actually slowed down from 90 a couple of times!

So we had a filling lunch, and got gas for about 10c/gallon less at our usual place (naturally we passed another one that had it for four cents cheaper still!). 

As it turns out, we had a couple of interesting motivations to go where we did. The Canadian National recently leased a stretch of track in Gary to the South Shore...that will make for more efficient service on the South Shore and faster customer response. No problem there, but as a result of this transaction, I found that the track in question was actually the original Lake Shore & Michigan Southern main line from Burns Harbor through Miller to Gary! All of the lines in that area (excepting the South Shore) were apparently shifted when U.S. Steel built its mill in the early part of the 20th Century, and the resulting arrangement caused the LS&MS to build its new line through Miller--what I haven't reconciled is the fact that the new alignment is NORTH of the old one. It stays north of the former B&O (now CSX) all the way through Gary now, but it used to cross the B&O with the diamonds right in downtown Miller. Not only that--the Miller Station Restaurant (they also have great pizza!), which is very close to the current CSX alignment (with a strange orientation) is actually the old LS&MS station! It's easy to see how it fits in with the old track alignment. (By the way, the most recent--probably the final--edition of the SPV Railroad Atlas does not show this former alignment...it shows the existing railroad as being EJ&E (CN's predecessor), and extending to a connection with the South Shore at Miller. Definitely wrong, and no mention at all of the LS&MS or the New York Central. I don't know when the crossing was eliminated, but now I DO know why the pizza place is oriented the way it is, and why the interior reminded me so much of other NYC system stations I've been in.

As were tracing the old roadbed through Miller (pretty obvious once you know what to look for), Pat mentioned seeing on our PBS station ("Channel 11!", as Linda would tell us all the time), she found out that a number of display houses from the 1934 Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago had been moved somewhere in northwestern Indiana--she said they were in Miller Beach! We scoured the area near the shore, and saw nothing that looked like them. So we did what I wish we could have done earlier...when we stopped for gas we Googled it. It turns out that there are four or five of these houses from the exhibition that were moved to somewhere presumably within the boundaries of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (which borders Miller to the east), and they offer a tour of them once a year. Last year's was in October, and we're going to use our snow day tomorrow to see what's happening this year. You have to have a reservation, pay 35 bucks apiece, and they take you to the area with a shuttle bus for a two-hour tour. It will be interesting to see the 1930s vision for houses of the future!

You might not find Miller on any map--it's been a part of Gary for quite a while, right up to the eastern boundary of Lake County.

Oh, yes--trains. Not much success today. One caught us in Chesterton, and we got two simultaneously in East Chicago on our way home. I suspect that some of the equipment seen will be useful, but I expect to be able to spend most of the day tomorrow (we won't even bother to dig out until the snow stops!) doing the research and making a report and writing a letter and Googling those houses and...

 

The sun was shining for the entire trip, but the sky had clouded over by the time we'd gotten done with the grocery shopping (everybody was in the store, "stocking up" for the "Big One").  I didn't get to call anyone at Fricano's this evening; hope my classmates all had fun and plenty of pizza! No real news on Linda, except that they went up her nose with a rubber...CAMERA, and she feels fine, post-op
--no results just yet.

[mudchicken]

Miller on the Wabash or Gary & Western (other side of NYC/IHB....MC/CLS&E) not quite the same place. (and 8 blocks south)

[MP173]

Carl:

Glad you made it home safely.  I drove back from St. Louis yesterday and made good time until I hit the I80/294 merge around 4pm and crawled to Cline Avenue.

BTW, there was a double fatality at the Miller Pizza crossing (CSX) earlier this week.  

Have been to Great Lakes Cafe on your recommendation.  Quite a spot for lunch and to watch trains.  

Looks like we will end up with about 8-10" here in NW Indiana.  Big snow, but certainly manageable.

How much industry is located on the EJE/CN to South Shore line?  I should take a little time and explore that area.

Ed

[tree68]

The school district in the ol' hometown in SE MI decided last night to close - based on the radar, they made the right decision.  

Edit:  Looking at some webcams around the area, they're getting a bit of the white stuff.

Sounds like you had a good time, Carl. 

[CShaveRR]

Ed, there is little if any industry on this line.  It looks like a rail supply dealer  near where the Toll Road passes over it on the east end, and that's all I can tell. South Shore will be more interested than CN attempting to develop industry, and it may facilitate interchange between the two railroads.  I always see a bunch of cars sitting at the current east end of the line, and they look like the stuff to and from Michigan City industries (often sulfuric-acid tank cars, for example, and big 60-foot box cars).  I'm not sure where this line actually connects to the South Shore, but it might give the South Shore access to Curtis Yard, where they can pick up their own cars more quickly.  I hope it works for them.

Let me know when/if you go exploring there!

Edited to correct the name of the yard to Curtis (instead of Kirk) Yard.

[CShaveRR]

MC, I'm familiar with where both of those other railroads (Wabash and IHB) went through town.  I think a lot of the IHB might now be recreational trail (some of it is part of the National Lakeshore), but the old Wabash is surprisingly more difficult to find--especially since I remember the tracks going through there!

It turns out that the houses we were looking for are in Beverly Shores, Indiana, along Lake Michigan.  From what I read, they were taken over by the Lakeshore, and allowed to deteriorate, but that they're now being restored.  That will have to be another trip, and we may not have to get out of the car.