Re: [CBQ] Q bobber/ Chicago Track Elevation

["Charlie Vlk" <cvlk@comcast.net>]

Steve

I have a pretty good file of such articles including the book you mention.  The Q preferred stone masonry on the earlier west section but switched to being an innovator of reinforced concrete construction on the East section.   

Wi think I’ve found around 15 views of the Chicago work.   With more photos it would be another Bulletin piece like the one on Aurora.

Thanks

Charlie 

On Jan 8, 2020, at 9:39 PM, Steven Holding <sholding@sbcglobal.net> wrote:



Charlie

"A Treatise on Masonry Construction" has info on the forms for all the railroads of Chicago that had to elevate their tracks.  I think this can be downloaded.  And a lot of the bridges were built using prefab slabs made at Montgomery with the fill being mined in the fields Leo talks about west(south) of Aurora and moved into the construction areas of Chicago and Aurora by the train loads. 

I have the book in my collection from years ago.  Stumbling on the drawings when looking thru it.  

Rupert has helped me to hopefully get an article    CONCRETE on the CB&Q 

Steve in SC

On Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 05:54:12 PM EST, Charlie Vlk <cvlk@comcast.net> wrote:

All-

The discussion about CB&Q Bobbers brings to mind a photo that showed a NM-2 on a construction train on the flyover bridge at Western Avenue from the mainline over to the track down to the stockyards.   It was part of the construction photos of the bridge that IIRC the late Joe Douda had in his collection.

Does anyone have photos of the Chicago Track Elevation Projects?   I am aware of the Illinois Railroad and Warehouse Commission Annual Reports photos, illustrations in the Railroad Trade Press,  and the ones that have been offered recently on eBay showing the Western Avenue Yard and vicinity.  

For some reason photos of the CB&Q track elevation projects are less available than other railroads.   As far as I know only one very grainy photo of the California Avenue to BRC portion has surfaced.   Very few photos of the Western Avenue to Union Avenue section have shown up.

Joe Douda recalled that his grandparents lived across from Western Avenue Yard as it was being elevated….a couple of tracks at a time, under traffic as the yard was still the main freight yard for the CB&Q East End!!!  

Another puzzle is the City of Chicago Track Elevation Ordinances called for the Panhandle and other tracks to be elevated and for the CB&Q to cross UNDER them in the vicinity of Western Avenue.   At some point the railroads must have figured out a way for the CB&Q to stay elevated between the BRC-California Avenue and Western Avenue-Union Avenue segments instead of dipping down to grade in between….but I’ve not found any discussion or documentation of that decision.

I would appreciate leads on CB&Q Chicago Track Elevation photos, or for that matter any photos of the tracks before they were elevated…..including stations at Hawthorne, the BRC, Crawford, Millard Avenue/Lawndale/Shedd Park, Douglas Park, CC&IC Crossing, Western Avenue, Blue Island Avenue, Ashland Avenue, and Canal & 16^th.

Charlie Vlk

 

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