Railfanning in Chicago......

[alangj]

I too grew up in the SW suburbs ('49-'64, and '71-now) and can remember how busy that whole area was. Calumet Yard was still Nickel Plate in the '50s and if memory serves me correctly, still had steam operating there. (I vaguely remember riding on the CTA 103rd Street buses over the Calumet Yard overpass and wishing I could get off at the top of the bridge to watch the activity below - tough to convince the busdriver on that issue!) My Dad worked at 95th and Torrence and would take me with him into work on weekends when they had a "rush" shipment to finish up and get out via the Rock Island. I can still remember what a "rush" it was for a 6-7 year old very-early-days railfan to get to ride in the cab of the RI switcher that was working their siding. Through that company's contacts with the RI, my Dad later got permission to take our Cub Scout den on a tour of the RI's shop facilities at 47th Street, including a walk-through of the AeroTrain which the RI was then using in suburban service, and also a chance for each of the kids to sit in the engineers seat of a parked E or F unit that was spotted near the enginehouse (can't remember which type it was) and rev up the engine (in "neutral" of course) and play with the horn and bell. Another "rush"! I wonder if any RR would allow that sort of access nowadays, security issues being what they are, etc.

Alan
Evergreen Park, IL

[JoeKoh]

hi
just as before security is tight in major yard areas but as railfans we can be the extra eyes and ears for the railroad.
stay safe
joe

[dknelson]

The next issue of Trains will be largely devoted to Chicago. If past experience is an indication (this is their third or fourth all chicago issue), it might not be a bad idea to buy one copy for the permanent collection, one copy to take with you on trips and scribble on.
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

I grew up on the South Side of Chicago from the early 70's till the late 80's. my favorite location was Pullman Jct. on the corner of 95th St and Stony Island Ave. In the 70's you saw a number of railroad crossing that junction. You had EL, PC, B&O, C&O, NW, RI, IC, Belt. There were a lot of transfers between the railroads there. In the 80's railroads merged but traffic increased. The junction got busier, WC, Soo, UP started doing transfer to NS Calumet Yard. Also the NS police increased also. When I was growing up there was no police, but now they have patrols hourly. Things has changed, six axle power is the norm, welded rail is common, container and trailer domainate and security is "tight".

Q in Sac