Bob,
The interchange was off the West Chicago branch mainline in Aurora between Mountain St(now Illinois Ave) and the CAE Xing. There were two tracks along side the east side of the Q main with Rte 25(Aurora Ave) on the other side. The connection track swung NE at the North end.
The two tracks also came back together at the North end with a switch back to the Q main. When the state of Illinois took the turns out of Rte 25 from Broadway, to Mountain to Aurora Ave(Rte 25) the yard was shortened on the south end to the new S curve. Reference BB51 for details on the night Aurora engine handling this traffic and before that the Aurora freight House engine doing it. I believe volumes are also shown. If not go to the BRHS 1947 interchange report(parts shown in BB51) that detail volumes at all interchange points for 1947 and 1948.
Personally I remember seeing cars on the interchange only once in my early youth. I noticed a string of box cars right alongside Rte. 25 that we were traveling on to go see relatives in Geneva. That means the memory is pre or during 1959.
The track schematic is detailed in "The Great Third Rail" which is packed away at this time. One of the more interesting car movements detailed in that book or some other is a movement of line poles from the Pacific Northwest to a point on the IHB west of Chicago. The routing was GN or NP(St Paul) Q(Aurora)CAE(Bellwood)IHB. The Q and IHB interchanged multiple times per day at Congress Park(future BRHS Bulletin article) and Bellwood is just a few miles North of that point. Amazing how the CAE got a piece of that movement.
In the 1960s and 70s the CAE yard was used to make meets between the 3 "Mails" that operated on the branch to serve primarily General Mills. What was most interesting was that on an outbound mail(to General Mills from Eola) we would pull into one of the CAE yard tracks and meet the inbound train. Once they passed and the Conductors had handed off the wad of track lists maintained for cars at West Chicago our outbound train would back TT east or compass south and then head TT west or compass North on the mainline. We did this because the switches back to the main on the North looked like
Spaghetti by this time and no one dared to try going over them. Eventually a notice was issued taking them out of service.
For anyone thinking there was a Q/CAE interchange at Batavia,we'll sort of, the Q delivered coal to the CAE for their Batavia power plant(another future BRHS Bulletin article on the 20th century of the branch under the Q. Once the power plant ceased operation the tracks were removed. By the way this wooded area was a destination for many CAE weekend excursions from the city and operated as a park by a third party contractor.
Leo Phillipp
Leo
Doing some research on the Q's interchange with the CA&E (traction line) in North Aurora. There was an interchange yard and I'm looking for photos and a track diagram. CA&E folded in the late 50s so the track chart has to predate that.
Thanks for your help.
Bob Herrick