Old Train Tracks Between Wayne and Lakewood

[Markxxx]

I was walking the other day from the Chicago Public Library (Lincoln Park) to Bally's at Webster and I passed by some old train tracks. These are between Wayne and Lakewood.

I always assumed these are old trolly tracks, that for some reason never got tore up.

These tracks run a long way. They go through the parking lot of the (I think it's the) Lakeshore Athletic Club's parking lot.

Anyway as I was walking I now see there are actual train cars on these tracks. They look like three old coal cars. No train engine.

So anyone familiar with this? Or know how the trains got there.

What was the original purpose of these train tracks? A trolly or streetcar?

[Mr Downtown]

Those tracks were the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, an ordinary railroad line built 1885-89 between Chicago and Wilmette. The corporate history is rather complicated, but the part from downtown north to Wilson was used for ordinary freight service to North Side industry during most of the 20th century. As the Northwestern Elevated Railroad (today's CTA Red Line) extended service north of Wilson circa 1907, they took over the tracks from there north, though arrangements to serve freight customers north of Wilson continued even into the 1970s.

In the 20th century, the railroad tracks were a freight spur that ran north from the area of Union Station, crossed the Chicago River at a sharp angle near Kinzie Street, then ran down the middle of Kingsbury Street, then north in the middle of Lakewood Avenue before curving a little eastward just south of Addison. They served coal yards, the brickyard where Wrigley Field was built, lumberyards, and other small industrial users. In recent decades the connection to downtown was severed, and the tracks were abandoned north of Diversey sometime in the 1980s. The last customer was the Peerless Confectionery factory on Diversey.

Information about the Lakewood Branch here

Information about CTA freight service north of Wilson here

[shoreline]

As an update to the links referring to freight service for Chicago Transparent Products Co, 2700 N. Paulina I can advise that the firm has been closed since 2005.

[BorgHunter]

If you do want to find some old streetcar tracks (at least on Google Street View; no idea if they're still there), find the place where Lake is noncontiguous and jogs north of the Green Line tracks, at Pine. Point your little orange man at the intersection of Lake, Corcoran, and Pine, and look north. Streetcar tracks are underneath the viaduct.

Most streetcar tracks do still exist; they were just paved over. It'd be more expensive to remove them than to just cover them up.

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

As was pointed out to me in another thread, derelict railcars, in some cases stranded by the removal of rail access routes, were often owned by the business that used to receive their freight shipments that way, rather than the railroad. This accounts for their presence in many cases.

[elmwood]

I remember, in the mid 1980s, when I was taking a ride on what's called the Red Line, seeing a ramp down from the El viaduct, with tracks and overhead wires. Was this part of the CTA freight service, a remnant of an interurban branch, or something else?

[Conductor]

Originally Posted by elmwood

I remember, in the mid 1980s, when I was taking a ride on what's called the Red Line, seeing a ramp down from the El viaduct, with tracks and overhead wires. Was this part of the CTA freight service, a remnant of an interurban branch, or something else?

You don't say where, or in which direction, which complicates this. There were a few places where the EL had ramps under wire along the Red Line, a remnant of the steam road origins of that line as part of the Milwaukee Road (CMSt.P&P) Evanston Line, as mentioned. The CTA kept a couple of freight locomotives until the 1970s when the service gradually petered out. There was also a freight house for the old North Shore Line to Milwaukee on the Red Line, located at Montrose, abandoned 1963. All of the freight service was under wire. There was also a ramp down to the lower level at the former Wilson Shops.

[Ed Zotti]

Originally Posted by elmwood

I remember, in the mid 1980s, when I was taking a ride on what's called the Red Line, seeing a ramp down from the El viaduct, with tracks and overhead wires. Was this part of the CTA freight service, a remnant of an interurban branch, or something else?

Others know more about this than me, but having ridden what was then the Howard line quite a bit as a kid, I'd say you're referring to the ramp down from the westernmost track to grade between Wilson and about Berteau. South of Montrose the track was on an embankment - the concrete retaining wall at Montrose may still be there (I can't remember), but the area at grade just east of the Graceland Cemetery wall, where the freight cars (mostly coal cars) were stored on a siding, has since been converted to a park. Until the early 70s or so the George Lill coal yard was at Broadway and Berwyn; this was served by a short spur from the Howard line. My understanding is that the CTA would haul coal cars from the Graceland siding to the coal yard and back. I gather there had been an interurban service earlier but that was before my time. You can read more about this at:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewt...?f=61&p=788179

http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/.../lawrence.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=mBM...0track&f=false

According to what I read, freight service ended in 1973.

[elmwood]

Originally Posted by Ed Zotti

Others know more about this than me, but having ridden what was then the Howard line quite a bit as a kid, I'd say you're referring to the ramp down from the westernmost track to grade between Wilson and about Berteau.

That's it! Thanks, Ed.

[AndyLee]

I go past some train tracks near Fullerton and Lakewood

See this Google Map

Every once in awhile I go by them and see a train car or two. They are always sitting detached from anything, just one or two cars. Usually something that looks like a coal car, but usually filled with wood.

The tracks appear to run quite far, but they almost look like some kind of abandoned street car line.

What's the deal with this? Anyone know?

[campp]

WAG it's just a siding where they "spot" or park cars until a train comes to gather them. It might be what they call an interchange, which is track connecting two different railroads. Sounds like pulpwood or something like that.

Sometimes tracks used to go down the middle of streets, but that practice is disappearing pretty much everywhere.

[Tim R. Mortiss]

This was discussed here not too long ago.....

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=518756