PRR Interlocking Diagrams: Chicago Branches
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CHICAGO AREA
YARDS  AND BRANCHES

[ Note to Contributors | Copyright & Licensing Agreement | Acknowledgements ]

Milepost numbers as per PRR Western Region ETT #7, 1967-10-29. Milepost numbers for the SL&IC joint line are from a Chessie System Chicago Terminal Division Timetable #3, 1983.01.01, courtesy of Dave Verzi.

This web page makes mention of many connecting or crossing railroads. Their abbreviations and full names are listed at the bottom. I also will try to provide links to informational web sites that pertain to these railroads, and will maintain them as best as I can. Since these are off-site links, I guarantee nothing.

Please also visit Bill Gustason's site Chicago Area Rail Junctions.

Sources:
  1. South Chicago & Southern R.R. Co. (L42) as of Dec. 31, 1945. In: C... & C... .
  2. Pennsylvania Railroad. Pennsylvania System (circa 1923) [Map]. In: Cupper, D., The Pennsylvania Railroad: Its Place in History.
  3. Pennsylvania Railroaad. Western Region Timetable #7. 1967 Oct 29.
  4. Rand McNally. Chicago Streets. Copyright indicated without a year being specified; map purchaced circa 1975.
  5. Szwajkart, J. Train Watcher's Guide to Chicago. See also http://home.earthlink.net/~szwajkartj/ .
  6. Szwajkart, J. Train Watcher's Map of Chicago. See also http://home.earthlink.net/~szwajkartj/ .
  7. Hammond, Indiana [City of]. Hammond Indiana and Vicinity. 1964.

The reader may also find Bill Gustason's Calumet Area Rail Junctions of interest.

Englewood Connecting Railway [Englewood Connecting Line [Secondary Track]]

Starts from a wye at EC on the Fort Wayne main line and proceeds due west. Milepost is 2.5, the distance being counted from 59th St. Yard. The entire branch runs between and parallel to 58th and 59th Sts.

FORD STREET, Chicago, Ill.; M.P. 2.1

Ref 9, Sheet 36, 1950; 2147x1178, 44K, 200 dpi

Crossing of the EC Line with the C&WI.

The original map was very difficult to read in a number of locations. The worst was one I could not at all resolve: the number of the derail on the lowermost track of the C&WI. It looks like 42, but that number is already in use.

There were a number of locations where there was very light tracings on this map. Some are clearly erasures, whereas others may be corrections and thus current in 1950. Rather than try to interpret these, I have created a second map with these items shown in gray.

Finally, can anyone explain the short lines parallel to C&WI trackage? Are these derails?

Street Location: Between 58th and 59th at Wallace. Wallace is between the Dan Ryan and Halsted.

Two additional stations are Green Street at M.P. 1.7 and Winchester Avenue at M.P. 0.3. Presumably 59th Street Yard is M.P. 0.0, but this is not given explicitly. At any rate, the branch ends at this yard in a wye.

SC&S [Main Line]

This branch, sometimes called the "Bernice Cutoff", is listed in the ETT simply as part of the main line. The entry is found interspersed with the Logansport--Chicago main line page. The South Chicago & Southern begins at COLEHOUR JCT. on the Fort Wayne main line, M.P. 0 for this branch. The timetable direction as listed here is eastward.

HEGEWISCH, WOLF LAKE JCT., Hegewisch [Chicago], Ill.; M.P. 3.9, 4.3

Ref 9, Sheet 39, 1945; 2152x1214, 39K, ?150/200 dpi

This location was remotely controlled from CALUMET PARK. Junction of the Calumet River Railway [Branch] to the northwest, at Hegewisch. This is followed soon thereafter by WOLF LAKE JCT., where the Hammond Branch veers off to the east.

Street Location: Both locations are in far southeast Chicago, just north of the city of Burnham, between Brainard Rd. and Wolf Lake. HEGEWISCH is at 131st, between Mackinaw and Green Bay. WOLF LAKE JCT. is directly south, at 135th.

There are a number of interesting erasures on this map. Rather than try to describe them, in this copy, I have added in gray those items of which I could be fairly certain.

BURNHAM, Burnham, Ill.; M.P. 4.6

Ref 9, Sheet 38, 1945; 2143x1226, 54K, 200 dpi

Not much farther to the south of WOLF LAKE JCT., the SC&S crosses CSS&SB, C&WI, and NKP. Note the crossing immediately to the south (down and right) of the tower: this must have been a maintainer's nightmare! The C&WI tracks are now (2000) gone. [Bill Gustason]]

Note that there are two insets showing the SC&S, one in the upper left, the other in the lower right. The inset at lower right contains a minor "typo"; clearly the line should read "A-----A". The 3 lines seen there may represent the Little Calumet River.

In reply to my request, Bob Lalich has graciously provided a photograph of BURNHAM trackage from spring or summer of 1981, showing the triangular crossing that you see in the interlocking diagram.

Questions: 1) what color did the middle arms of the CSS&SB home signals display? 2) Position light (PL) dwarf signals on the NKP??!

(Szwajkart 1976, pp. 164-165)

Street Location: Directly south of the above map, just south of Brainard, at the level of 138th St.

BURNHAM tower burned in the 1970s, as a result of a the ancient coal furnace/stove. It was replaced by the infamous "Burnham Trailer", literally a trailer. Amazingly, it didn't close until around 1995 and inexplicably remained manned around the clock. [Jon Roma] (On the other hand, look how long Amtrak's GROVE "tower" -- also a trailer -- lasted. -MDB)

CALUMET PARK [MG], Calumet Park, Ill., M.P. 5.5

Ref 9, Sheet 37, 1950; 2137x1201, 63K, 200 dpi

SC&S crosses MC, IHB, and B&OCT.

Questions: can anyone explain what aspects signal 123 (upper right of the diagram) showed?

Street Location: a block or two north of State St., between major streets Burnham Ave. on the east and Torrence Ave. on the west.

CALUMET PARK burned in the 1970s, the fire apparently having been set off by a former operator angry for having been dismissed by the railroad. It was then hand operated for some time, until a hasty CTC installation was put in place, operated by HOHMAN AVE. [JR]

Ends at BERNICE on the Panhandle main line, M.P. 9.3 for the SC&S.

Present status:
The Bernice cutoff is being converted into a nature trail, with the only intact track being from HEGEWISCH to CALUMET PARK (IHB). [AK] Additional information is available here.

Calumet River Branch [or Line]

Begins at RIVER BRANCH JCT. on the Fort Wayne main line, M.P. 0.0 for this line. [MDB] Proceeds south through Acme Steel, Republic Steel, and 110th St. Yard. [Al Buchan, AK]

CALUMET WESTERN JCT., M.P. 4.4

There is no diagram for this junction. Here the Calumet Western Branch (or Railway) joins in, and the track(s) proceed southeast. The location is just northwest of the extent of the HEGEWISCH diagram.

Street Location: south Chicago, north side of 130th St., between Brandon and Burley.

Joins the SC&S Branch at HEGEWISCH, M.P. 4.7.

Present status:
This branch still (Sep 1999) operated directly by Conrail (now NS?) and quite busy. [AK]

Cummings Branch [or, Track] and Calumet Western Line [Rwy.]

This line starts northwest of the South Chicago drawbridge, possibly the unlabelled track on the RIVER BRANCH JCT map [anyone know for sure?]. It then proceeds over Rock Island Jct. as the Cummings Branch or Cummings Line [BL], toward the southeast and south, remaining west of the Calumet River. [MDB] "C&C" (Coverdale and Colpitts) list it as a branch of 1.57 miles, connecting with the Calumet Western Rwy. at its terminus near 106th St. [Al Buchan] The area around 106th and Torrence, called Irondale now, was originally named Cummings after one of the officers of the steel mill there. That mill, the first in the South Chicago area, later became Wisconsin Steel. [BL] This diagram and photograph of Bob Lalich, looking east, should help clarify this complicated junction.

In the photo, note one of the stop boards just to the left of the Conrail units. The junction was never interlocked; switches were thrown by switchtenders. (This is amazing, considering that this was the B&O passenger route.) In the photograph, the Chicago Skyway (I-90) is directly over the photographer. The lines at ground level are, from left to right, the BRC track from 106th St. to the USS South Works, then the 2 tracks of the Rock Island. The nearest deck span is the Cummings Branch, which also used to cross over the BRC/PRR connecting track on which the Conrail units are sitting. The deck span in the background is the PRR Fort Wayne main line, and the one behind it, the NYC. In the background of the photo, on the other side of all of the bridges, the B&O passenger main dropped to ground level (westward; right to left on the photo) from its "Cal" River bridge, then curved toward the photographer to join the Rock Island. [BL]

Street Location: Southeastern Chicago, near 95th and Commercial.

106TH STREET, Chicago, Ill.; M.P. 4.4

Ref 9, Sheet SK.4, 1946; 2091x1700, 61K, 200 dpi

This location is just northwest of the Rock Island Slip of the Calumet River, which is the one that points northwest from the river. The diagram shows the Wisconsin Steel Co., and notably, there is a Wisconsin Slip on the Calumet River, the next slip south of the Rock Island Slip. [MDB]

"PRR Wye" to the north leads to the material storage yards, while "PRR Wye" to the south leads to the Wisconsin Steel plant itself. CWP&S is the in-plant railroad. At the right end of the map, where the 5 tracks cross Muskegon Ave., the southernmost track is the lead to the General Mills grain elevator, then in order, the tracks are a PRR running track (next to the "G"), PRR main, BRC main, and lead to the rail-to-water transfer. Nearly all PRR trackage is gone (Sep 1999), but BRC and CWP&S (now Chicago Rail Link) exist. [all: AK]

Street Location: Southeastern Chicago, north of 106th, east of Torrence, west of Commercial and Muskegon.

The line continues south, now jointly owned by PRR, CRI&P, and IHB [Al Buchan]. C&WI either parallels or joins for a while at 112th St., then at the level of 123rd the Calumet Western turns southeast, crossing the Calumet River, and joins with the Calumet River Branch (see immediately above) at CALUMET WESTERN JCT. [MDB]

Present status:
The Cal Western is now effectively part of the BRC from 95th St. to 112th St. From 112th St. south was transferred to the IHB in the early 1960s. Around the same time, the CW's old swing bridge across the river was hit by a ship, and connections were then built to use the then-new C&WI lift bridge. With the abandonment of this C&WI line, the bridge is now solely connected to the Cal Western. As of this writing (Jan 2000), the line is still intact, but has seen no trains in several years. [AK]

Hammond Branch / Wolf Lake Branch

Starts from the SC&S main line at WOLF LAKE JCT., turns and proceeds due east, crossing over Avenue O [oh, not zero]. The name "Hammond Branch" is taken from the HEGEWISCH map, but it appears per the 1967 PRR ETT that this branch was renamed to be part of the Calumet Western Line.

ILLINOIS-INDIANA STATE LINE, Hegewisch [Chicago], Ill.; M.P. ???

Ref 9, Sheet 42, 19??;

Sheet 42 is entitled as above but is missing from the collection. Its inclusion here is a presumption.

The line apparently crossed, at grade, the north-south IHB line that closely paralleled the state line. This IHB line runs from Burnham Yard just south of this diagram, across Wolf Lake, to a connection with the PRR Fort Wayne main in Hammond.

The Hammond Branch then crosses the state line itself, then another IHB branch. The latter IHB branch proceeds NE to Whiting, paralleling or joining the B&OCT, near where the B&OCT crosses the Fort Wayne main at WHITING.

HAMMOND JCT., Hammond, Ind.; M.P. ?

Ref 9, Sheet SK.3, 1946; 2090x1670, 46K, 200 dpi

The branch ends at HAMMOND JCT. on the SL&IC Branch (see below).

Present status:
Most of the Hammond Branch was ripped out in the 1960s. Only the portion west of the N-S IHB line is shown on a 1980ish Rand-McNally map of Chicago which is reasonably accurate with respect to RRs; the whole branch is shown on a city map of Hammond from 1964, which shows the nearby Indiana East and West Toll Road [sic] as dashed lines. [MDB] Presently, the branch is intact from the IHB north-south line, where a connection was put in, to Hegewisch; the last half-mile or so (from Avenue O to HEGEWISCH) has been unused for quite some time, and the portion to the old Hyman-Michaels RR scrapyard on Avenue O has not seen recent use. IHB switched this from its Burnham yard, just a bit south of the old Hammond Branch-IHB crossing. [AK]

State Line & Indiana City Branch

This line was jointly owned by PRR (SC&S) and B&OCT, with PRR owning the north track, B&OCT the south track. Branches to the north were generally PRR, those to the south were all B&OCT. [Al Buchan, Richard Wallis] Both main tracks are now CSX. [AK] The line at one time had passenger traffic in a two loop: Clarke Jct. on the Fort Wayne line, to Hammond, up the Hammond Branch, then up either the Cal River line or Cal Western Line, returning to Clarke Jct. via the Fort Wayne line. [several contributors]

The all-B&OCT portion of the line runs from Blue Island (M.P. 15.2) through Chatham Ave (14.5), Harvey Jct (14.1), Roll Ave (13.7), Barr Yard (12.4), Riverdale (11.4), Dolton (10.7), Brick Yard (9.6), and Calumet Park (7.2) [see above], to State Line

STATE LINE, Burnham, Ill.-Hammond, Ind.; M.P. 6.0

Ref ?, Sheet ?42, 1948; 1303x772, ...K, ?150/200 dpi

A horrendously complicated interlocking, but not one typically mentioned as having a Pennsy presence. The north-south IHB line that crosses the Hammond Branch, and which generally travels immediately along the state line, here crosses SC&S, B&OCT, Erie, and NKP. The latter 2 roads are making their approach into Chicago, whereas B&OCT heads west from here to its major Chicago yard, Barr Yard. [MDB] C&O shared trackage with the Erie; at the state line, the trackage became the Chicago & Western Indiana, the terminal road that handled trains using Dearborn Station. The Monon had their own track that ran just south of and parallel to the Nickel Plate, joining the Erie/C&O just before crossing the state line. [BG] STATE LINE appears to be on a "stub end" of the Hammond Branch, according to a C&C map. [Al Buchan]

This paragraph was found in the Railroad Gazette of 17 Jan. 1896 [p. 43]:

Interlocking.
A large interlocking plant is to be erected at State Line, near Hammond, Ind., to provide signaling for the crossing of the Hammond & Blue Island Railroad with the New York, Chicago & St. Louis, the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago, the Chicago & Calumet Terminal, the Wabash and the Chicago & Western Indiana. The main track of the latter is used by the Erie from this point to Chicago.

The following year, a more complete and descriptive article appeared in the same trade journal, 17 Dec. 1897, p. 887, along with a diagram of the interlocking.

Disposition: The tower was closed on 2000.08.05 [BG] and torn down on 2000.10.31 [JR].

(Szwajkart 1976, pp. 166-167; SC&S not represented on that map.)

HAMMOND JCT., Hammond, Ind.; M.P. 5.2

Ref 9, Sheet SK.3, 1946; 2090x1670, 46K, 200 dpi

Joining of the Hammond Branch into the SL&IC joint line. Note that this blueprint uses the label Hammond-Wolf Branch. Before joining in, the Hammond Br. crosses the CSS&SB.

Street Location: In Hammond, Indiana, off Calumet Ave. (U.S. 41), north of Chicago Ave. (Gostlin St., noted on the map, is contiguous with Brainard Ave. in the city of Chicago.) The M.P. number is for the station "Calumet Ave", which, by the Sanborn map, is where the curve to the Hammond Branch started.

Hammond (Columbia Ave.), M.P. 4.8

Whiting Jct., M.P. 4.4
Junction of the B&OCT Whiting Branch, which runs due north, crossing the Fort Wayne main at WHITING.

Baring Ave., M.P. 3.9
This is just east of the east leg of the B&OCT Whiting Br. wye.

Tod Ave., M.P. 3.7
This is just west of the former (at the time of this employee timetable) Right of Way No. 2 junction.

Junction; M.P. approx. 3.6
Junction with Right of Way No. 2 to the north and a B&OCT branch to the south. Connecting tracks were present in the southern 2 quadrants.

REPUBLIC, East Chicago, Ind.; M.P. 3.3

Ref 9, Sheet 40, 1943; 2138x1217, 32K, 200 dpi

An IHB branch crosses the SL&IC line. Very shortly thereafter, it crosses the north-south arm of the Indiana Harbor Canal.

McCook Ave., M.P. 3.2
Junction of Right of Way No. 1 (see below) to the north and a B&OCT branch to the south. This location had connecting tracks in all 4 quadrants.

Kennedy Ave., M.P. 2.9

CALUMET, Calumet [?East Chicago], Ind.; M.P. 2.7

Ref 9, Sheet 41, 1945; 2129x1201, 53K, 200 dpi
Inside (65K) [Bill Gustason]

The SL&IC line crosses an NYC branch, the EJ&E, and the NYC north-south main line to Danville and Cairo, Ill. Right of Way No. 1 (see below) joins the east-west SC&S line just west of here. [MDB, JR, RW]

Euclid Ave., M.P. 2.3

CLARKE JCT., Clarke Jct. Gary, Ind., M.P. 0.5

The SL&IC branch crosses the Fort Wayne main line, and has a junction with the Wabash. [MDB] The location is in the far western end of the city of Gary. [Bill Gustason]

PINE JCT., Gary, Ind., M.P. 0.0

The SL&IC apparently extended to Pine Jct. and junction there with the B&O proper; however, I am uncertain as to the farthest extent of the SC&S line ownership. Given that the north track joins into the south track at the eastern extent of CLARKE JCT., the track east of there may be entirely of B&OCT ownership.

Right of Way No. 1

This line, essentially a long industrial track, begins at the Fort Wayne main at approximately the location of INDIANA HARBOR interlocking. However, a perusal of that map and its neighbor, INDIANA HARBOR CANAL, does not help identify the exact location, as the track appears to be unmarked. It proceeds to the southwest. A relatively new expressway in this area (Cline Expressway, Indiana 912) has used the PRR right of way.

RIGHT OF WAY NO. 1, East Chicago, Ind., M.P. ?

Ref 9, Sheet SK.2, 1946; 2100x1660, 53K, 200 dpi

Here the line crosses the IHB, Canal St., the EJ&E, and another IHB line. It then turns south and proceeds to the SL&IC (SC&S), joining at a wye.

Street Location: at Canal St., southeast of the Indiana Harbor Canal, and northwest of Michigan. The IHB (shown on the map) runs parallel to Canal.

Ends, with respect to PRR ownership, at the SL&IC line, between REPUBLIC and CALUMET. Trackage continues to the south under B&OCT ownership.

Present status:
The trackage was last operated by the IHB, and none remains today. (Sep 1999). [AK]

Right of Way No. 2

No diagrams exist of this Right of Way. It came off the SC&S-B&OCT joint line in East Chicago and travelled north. On a map of the city of Hammond, there is a very short spur -- essentially a wye track -- off the north side of the joint line, immediately west of a B&OCT branch. This may be RoW #2. [Bob Poortinga, RW]

Right of Way No. 3

Begins from the Fort Wayne main, west of the Indiana Harbor Canal drawbridge, north of Riley Rd., in East Chicago. It crossed Riley Rd., running SW along the north side of Youngstown Sheet & Tube, then crossed Riley Rd. somewhat NE of Canal St. (presumably after passing the small cluster of residential streets on the NW side of Riley). Canal St. is the same NW-to-SE-running street seen on the Right of Way No. 1 map. [AK]

RIGHT OF WAY NO. 3, East Chicago, Ind., M.P. ?

Ref 9, Sheet SK.1, 1946; 2097x1664, 51K, 200 dpi

Here RoW #3 crosses IHB, EJ&E, and Standard Oil Co. trackage. Note the unusual orientation of this map.

The trackage turns due west, proceeding through the Amoco (Standard Oil) refinery, across Indianapolis Blvd. (U.S. 20), through a Sinclair refinery now torn down, and wyes into the north-south B&OCT branch that crosses the Fort Wayne at WHITING.

Present status:

Most of this branch is still present, apart from the connection to the Fort Wayne at the east/north end. The trackage is switched by IHB, as well as LTV (ex-Youngstown) at the east/north end. [AK]

The 1923 system map in Dan Cupper's book shows another line from South Chicago, west, north, and west, crossing the Panhandle main, then north, ending at "Cragin", just SW of Mayfair and Evanston. This system map shows other main lines as well. From comparison with a modern Chicago street map, Mayfair appears to be right alongside the present-day junction of I-90 and I-94, where C&NW and MILW main lines come together; "Cragin" would appear to be the location where the north-south BRC line (that also forms Cicero's eastern border) joins into the east-west MILW line through Pacific Jct; by streets, just N of North and E of Cicero. The rest of the BRC fits, and the crossing of the Panhandle appears to be at BELT CROSSING.

Legend

B&OCT Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal
BRC Belt Railway of Chicago
C&E Chicago & Erie (Erie RR)
CSS&SB Chicago, South Shore & South Bend
C&NW Chicago & North Western
C&WI Chicago & Western Indiana
EJ&E Elgin, Joliet & Eastern
IHB Indiana Harbor Belt
MC Michigan Central
MILW Milwaukee Road (Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific)
NKP "Nickel Plate" = New York, Chicago & St. Louis
SC&S South Chicago & Southern (--> PRR)
SL&IC State Line & Indiana City (SC&S --> PRR)

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Mark D. Bej
bejm@eeg.ccf.org
+1 216-444-0119
2002.05.17