IC 2720 on the point with a load of empty potash cars headed north through Des Plaines, IL yesterday. The white spots are the rain on my window. This is just north of where the Milwaukee Road, Soo and CNW lines intersect; also in Des Plaines. This used to be the Soo line, so I'm not sure how CN acquired it. It is definitely CN track though. On the other side of the train is 10 or so CN trucks, working on the signals for the route 12 and route 58 crossing signals. Sent from my SM-S901U1 using Tapatalk
In that neck of the woods, any ex-Soo tracks would have been spun off into the "new" Wisconsin Central, which CN acquired 14 years later. Only a few years after spinning off the WC trackage, Soo was completely taken over by what was then called CP, now CPKC. CN, CPKC, SOO, WC, IC... You need a program to keep up with the alphabet soup of mergers, spin-offs, re-mergers, acquisitions... Makes reality shows look like sitcoms...
Thanks Mike, that definitely answers some questions. However, now I'm a bit confused. Does Soo or CPKC or CN operate the old MILW line just east of this CN line? How about the line from Chi to Elgin? I thought Soo bought those lines out of bankruptcy. I remember seeing Soo locos on the Elgin line as a child in the late 80s. Sent from my SM-S901U1 using Tapatalk
The tracks that you're seeing are part of CN's Waukesha subdivision. In Des Plaines, just east of there I can see UP's Harvard sub, with Metra next to it. CN crosses the Harvard sub a little north of Des Plaines. The Elgin-Chicago line is CPKC Elgin sub. It leads through CPKC's big yard at Bensenville on the way to Chicago. There are a lot of Canuckians around Chicago...
Today in the rain at Cedar Park, Texas. Parking the diesel with a load of new ties behind. They had already unloaded two car loads.
Thank you Mike. I grew up in Chicagoland, but moved away nearly 45 years ago and get confused as to who owns what these days. In my day, the busy C&NW/MILW/Soo junction at Des Plaines was protected by Deval Tower, as seen here on 07/03/1984. Deval is gone today.
Deval Interlocking from the mid-1970s. As seen in the distance and in the photo below, semaphore signals were still in wide use here.
Another from 07/03/1984. That's the single track Soo crossing the three track C&NW Harvard Sub. The train is inbound to Chicago ..... running on the left hand main of course.
Northbound MILW on the joint MILW/C&NW freight line crossing the C&NW Harvard Sub. Out of sight to the right, the train is also crossing the Soo. Northbound MILW approaching the interlocking.
