Leo and all- The old sandhouse tale of an engine being buried in the fill at MP 16 around the area just west of the Illinois Tollway is an exaggeration of what likely was an engine or cars that sunk into muck and had to be pulled out. The railroad in 1863-4 could not have spared any as they already were operating through Mendota and beyond and wartime traffic was heavy and new locomotives not to be had. When they added fill for the third main the weight of the new embankment pushed the telegraph line out of alignment and was almost a repeat of the first time they had problems there. There was mention of the tale in the Aurora Beacon which debunked the buried locomotive story it but it still persists today. Maybe Geraldo Rivera or the guys doing “The Curse of Oak Island” will settle it for once and all….. There was a short period when it looks like Clyde, Riverside and Hinsdale had their own trains that would layover locally, but Riverside became the terminus for Suburban service in the 1870s. To ride from Aurora to, say, Cicero you had to take a regular passenger train and change to a suburban train at Riverside because the regular trains did not make the “suburban” stops between there and Chicago. As you said it looks like Downers Grove became the end of most suburban trains some time around the turn of the century when the turntable at DG was moved from the south side to the north and west when the new coach yard was built. And Leo, I have never seen anything that would indicate that Dinkies terminated at Eola. I don’t think it was much more than a country stop prior to the facilities being built there in preparation for the Aurora track elevation project. I suppose during construction the trains that went all the way to Aurora might have run back out to the new yard temporarily. Charlie Vlk From: CBQ@groups.io <CBQ@groups.io> On Behalf Of Leo Phillipp via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, February 4, 2021 3:23 PM
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Shoo Fly at Illinois Tollway???? As Charlie alluded to, the area between Highlands and Western Springs gave the Q fits when trying to build the original line. The battle is referenced in the annual reports for at least two years mentioning the mass amount of fill dumped, to just watch it sink away. In one of the reports it’s noted the line is nearly completed except for that area. Now when I was “on property “ every so often someone would mention the rumor that at some point, either during original construction or when additional mains were added, that supposedly a loco began to sink into the quagmire and it was simply decided to let it stay as part of the fill. I’ve never seen anything in writing to confirm this rumor, but it like others were told so often they became supposed long standing facts. Just like EOLA is sometimes said to stand for “end of line Aurora”. Thing is the line didn’t end at Aurora, though that is where dinkies terminated and where the tale got its base. But way back when only a few dinkies went all the way to Aurora. Early on most terminated at Riverside and then later at Downers Grove. Hey Leo, Give us more of the story of this steam engine that sank in the soft soil… So before Moderator Dave shuts this thread off as not Q related. I’ll try and add some Q related comments,FWIW. There’s numerous precedents for BNSF requiring improvements in return for working with government agencies on road projects. 1) on the West Batavia branch when the tollway wanted to improve the exit and entrance lanes from I88 to route 31 in North Aurora not only did the tollway and Feds(our money directly) pay for removal of the unused bridge over the tollway they paid for a nice new a approx. half mile runaround built to 30 or 40 MPH standards where there had been nothing before. On the Irish Mail job we used to shove back from Dart(the customer located there) over crossings to the old cooperage runaround a good 3/4 mile. 2) somewhat related, when Amtrak(our tax $s) and the state of Illinois (many of us on here tax $s) wanted to add the Quad cities trains BNSF got the expansion of yard tracks at Eola paid for so the Galesburg main would be clear of parked freight trains so Amtrak could use both mains w/o big delays. I went over the Eola road bridge last week and Eola yard looked as empty as a church parking lot on Monday morning. The new project to widen I294 is just another case. BNSF has removed ever single side track on the entire east end except for a couple yard tracks at Downers Grove and Congress Park. I’m sure a nice new double ended spur at I294 would be a great operating aid. By the way since I294 is an interstate there’s no doubt that Federal money(here again our tax $s at work) is paying a goodly portion of this project. But in defense of the project I294 is a parking lot during both the morning and evening rush hours. Hey, just maybe this project will uncover the long rumored steam engine that sank in soft soil way back when and was simply used as fill !? Maybe BNSF is fibbing to avoid public outcry from the NIMBY community, Lol.
Mike SchattL On 2/4/2021 1:20 PM, Charlie Vlk wrote: Mike- No joke….unfortunately. You would think so but when somebody else is paying the bill cost is not an issue!! The linked writeup specifically stated the MOW siding is part of the plans and that there is considerable citizen opposition to it. Charlie Vlk I doubt the fourth track is for MoW storage, LOL!!! Perhaps a passing siding but any MoW track could've been located east or west of the new bridge IMHO as bridges are super expensive to build. Mike SchattL On 2/4/2021 12:50 PM, Charlie Vlk wrote: David- The MOW extra track bridge will be part of the new bridge construction and is shown south of the main lines. They may even be considering using the main 3 temporary bridge for it….but that would make too much sense. BNSF may not be getting the project out of tax dollars but rather out of the Illinois Tollway Authority, whose bonds were supposed to be paid off through toll revenue and the toll roads turned over to the state as free access interstates. The tolls are paid by taxpayers either directly or embedded in the cost of goods carried in trucks. Charlie Vlk I've seen the videos too, and I don't recall the storage track being there. Technically, taxpayers have nothing to do with it. This is a Tollway project and paid entirely out of toll revenues. -- David Streeter On 2/4/2021 11:43 AM, Charlie Vlk wrote: Erik- Thanks for the information! Interesting that the BNSF is trying to get the taxpayers to build an additional bridge and fill (that is where the fun will begin!!) for MOW equipment. Bet they wouldn’t spend big bucks to dump fill in that troublesome area and build a new, separate bridge just so they don’t have to inconvenience themselves running rail mounted MOW stuff to the next siding as they have been doing since 1864!!! Charlie Vlk | | Site preparation for tollway widening expected in August, despite contin...Kimberly Fornek The Illinois Tollway is moving forward with plans to widen Interstate 294 through Hinsdale and Western Springs w... |
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| | 'That is a tunnel of noise': Western Springs residents talk sound walls,...Kimberly Fornek Western Springs residents want a better sound wall on their side of Interstate 294 as part of the Illinois Tollw... |
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On Thursday, February 4, 2021, 11:01:38 AM CST, Charlie Vlk <cvlk@comcast.net> wrote: Does anybody know what the construction is at the Illinois Tollway between Highlands and Western Springs? I have seen a video taken from a Dinky on uTube going both ways and wonder what the details of the project are. I am not normally interested in any BN/BNSF/Metra events but as this is taking place in the area that gave the CB&Q fits with sinking roadbed during the original line construction of the two track grade and when they added the third track I was wondering why they are doing what looks like a bridge replacement and if there have been any problems with the fill for the shoo fly or the new construction.
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