This post has nothing and everything to do with the Q.
Many of you know I am still active in the rail industry buying/selling and
scrapping railcars. Yesterday I had business reasons to spend a couple hours on
the South Chicago and Indiana Harbor RR property in the shadow of the state line
power plant and skyway bridge on the SE side of Chicago.This is the former
Chicago Short Line. See the March 2001 issue of TRAINS.
This was my first visit to the property and I immediately felt I had
stepped back in time 45-50 or more years; while I had to make some adjustments
it was very easy to draw parallels to the Q. And yes I am that old. While the
diesels are maroon and yellow,all 4 are end cab EMD switchers and absolutely
spotless. You could literally eat off the floor of the 1917 "new" roundhouse
floor. I have not seen a roundhouse this clean since I visited the Algoma
Central in the 70s. There was no trash or built up accumulated junk between the
tracks in the yard.
We were treated as welcome professional visitors,the crews and management
were more than helpful and clearly very proud of their operation and its'
history. Historic photos and information are on the walls in numerous
spots. I walked on cinder and coke residue ballast for the first time in
over 30 plus years. I even got to show my associate what an service friction
bearing looked like under the lid. Oh the memories ?!
Steve, the DS sits in a cubicle in the roundhouse break/meeting room and
the crews take their breaks less than 10 feet from him. How's that for getting
to know personalities and who will do what in a situation !
I just wanted to pass this along so that you photographers can get shots
before its gone as I can't believe in this day and age of bottom line,
efficiency driven operations, this quaint and slower paced opration will
remain unchanged.
For anyone associated with a RR museum the CSIH still operates cabooses and
even has at least one with friction bearing trucks. I have no idea what they
plan for them but it can't hurt to let your interest in preserving one of them
be known.
Leo Phillipp