May 1, 2005 - Blast From The Past - BNSF 2819 heads past the old interlocking tower at Shattuc, Illinois on BNSF's Beardstown Subdivision as it crosses over the Illinois Subdivision. From what I gather from the web, CSX closed the Illinois Subdivision through here at one point and used it for car storage, but then I find references to the line being used now by The Prairie Line, a shortline out of O'Fallon, IL (I'm now told the shortline hasn't materialized yet). BNSF still owns and uses the Bardstown Sub. I'm also told that the diamond was removed in 2019, at least temporarily. In the past this tower controlled the movements of trains on the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad along with the B&O Railroad. It was closed sometime in the 1980's and from what I can find on the web it was torn down in late 2014. I've also found reports where it was bought by a collector and moved. Whichever is correct, this picture isn't to be replicated again today since the tower is now gone. If you'd like to read a great piece on the tower, check out this article on The Trackside Photographer by Tom Gatermann, who visited the tower the same year as me. http://thetracksidephotographer.com/tag/shattuc-tower/ Photograph the towers when and where you can as they continue to disappear from the railroad landscape.

BNSF 2819 heads past the old interlocking tower at Shattuc, Illinois

May 1, 2005 – Blast From The Past – BNSF 2819 heads past the old interlocking tower at Shattuc, Illinois on BNSF’s Beardstown Subdivision as it crosses over the Illinois Subdivision.

From what I gather from the web, CSX closed the Illinois Subdivision through here at one point and used it for car storage, but then I find references to the line being used now by The Prairie Line, a shortline out of O’Fallon, IL (I’m now told the shortline hasn’t materialized yet). BNSF still owns and uses the Bardstown Sub. I’m also told that the diamond was removed in 2019, at least temporarily.

In the past this tower controlled the movements of trains on the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad along with the B&O Railroad. It was closed sometime in the 1980’s and from what I can find on the web it was torn down in late 2014. I’ve also found reports where it was bought by a collector and moved. Whichever is correct, this picture isn’t to be replicated again today since the tower is now gone.

If you’d like to read a great piece on the tower, check out this article on The Trackside Photographer by Tom Gatermann, who visited the tower the same year as me.

http://thetracksidephotographer.com/tag/shattuc-tower/

Photograph the towers when and where you can as they continue to disappear from the railroad landscape.

May 1, 2005 - Blast From The Past - The conductor on a Union Pacific freight walks past the American Flag on his engine in the yard at Salem, Illinois. According to the Union Pacific Website: When we added the flag to our locomotives more than a decade ago – at the suggestion of an employee after 9/11 – we followed the tradition of having the Union (the blue field of stars) lead the way, such that on the right-hand side of the vehicle ("passenger side"), the flag would appear reversed. Further, the flag was painted to convey the motion of forward movement as if it were billowing with the speed of the locomotive. Having the Union forward on both sides is the overwhelming choice anytime the flag is portrayed on a transport vehicle, from NASA space shuttles to Air Force One.

The conductor on a Union Pacific freight walks past the American Flag…

May 1, 2005 – Blast From The Past – The conductor on a Union Pacific freight walks past the American Flag on his engine in the yard at Salem, Illinois.

According to the Union Pacific Website: When we added the flag to our locomotives more than a decade ago – at the suggestion of an employee after 9/11 – we followed the tradition of having the Union (the blue field of stars) lead the way, such that on the right-hand side of the vehicle (“passenger side”), the flag would appear reversed.

Further, the flag was painted to convey the motion of forward movement as if it were billowing with the speed of the locomotive. Having the Union forward on both sides is the overwhelming choice anytime the flag is portrayed on a transport vehicle, from NASA space shuttles to Air Force One.

February 20, 2020 - As one leaves a station and the other arrives, two Chicago Transit Authority trains make their way past each other on the downtown Chicago "L" loop in Chicago, Illinois.

Two Chicago Transit Authority trains…

February 20, 2020 – As one leaves a station and the other arrives, two Chicago Transit Authority trains make their way past each other on the downtown Chicago “L” loop in Chicago, Illinois.

February 22, 2020 - The afternoon Iowa Interstate local, with unit 502, backs through Blue Island Junction at Blue Island, Illinois, as they head to CSX Barr Yard to do interchange work. According to Wikipedia: The railroad was formed on November 2, 1984, using former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad tracks between Chicago, Illinois, and Omaha, Nebraska. It was in partnership with real estate firm Heartland Rail Corporation that the IAIS was able to operate. Heartland purchased the right-of-way and infrastructure for $31 million (of which, $15 million was a loan from the Iowa Railway Finance Authority), and then leased it to IAIS for operations. The IAIS and the railroad infrastructure were purchased from Heartland by Railroad Development Company of Pittsburgh, PA in 2003. In recognition of the railroad's Rock Island Railroad heritage, the IAIS logo uses a shape similar to the original railroad's logo and has also painted two of its General Electric ES44AC locomotives (513 and 516) in Rock Island inspired paint schemes. When the IAIS took control of the track, the former Rock Island signal system was already damaged beyond repair due to sitting dormant for several years. Operations on the railroad are primarily controlled by track warrants rather than signals as a result. Trains are dispatched from the company's HQ in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where a new dispatching office was completed in 2016. IAIS uses Wabtec's Train Management and Dispatching System (TMDS), the same dispatching software used by several Class I railroads, including the BNSF and KCS.

Iowa Interstate local, with unit 502…

February 22, 2020 – The afternoon Iowa Interstate local, with unit 502, backs through Blue Island Junction at Blue Island, Illinois, as they head to CSX Barr Yard to do interchange work.

February 19, 2020 - An southbound Metra train arrives at the Jefferson Park Metra Station with engine128 leading during the evening rush hour from downtown Chicago, Illinois as the golden light of the day begins to fade from the sky.

An southbound Metra train arrives at the Jefferson Park…

February 19, 2020 – An southbound Metra train arrives at the Jefferson Park Metra Station with engine 128 leading during the evening rush hour from downtown Chicago, Illinois as the golden light of the day begins to fade from the sky.

February 20, 2020 - Chicago Transit Authority brown line train 414 to Kimball makes its way on the downtown Chicago "L" loop as a green line train waits for a clear at CTA Tower 12 at the Van Buren & Wabash junction, as they head toward the Adams/Walbash Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago Transit Authority brown line train 414…

February 20, 2020 – Chicago Transit Authority brown line train 414 to Kimball makes its way on the downtown Chicago “L” loop as a green line train waits for a clear at CTA Tower 12 at the Van Buren & Wabash junction, as they head toward the Adams/Walbash Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois.

February 20, 2020 - A Chicago Transit Authority Green Line train heads toward the loop in downtown Chicago, Illinois as the late afternoon light plays on the building behind it.

Chicago Transit Authority Green Line train…

February 20, 2020 – A Chicago Transit Authority Green Line train heads toward the loop in downtown Chicago, Illinois as the late afternoon light plays on the building behind it.

February 20, 2020 - A slightly different viewpoint of a Chicago Transit Authority Pink Line arriving at the State/Lake Street "L" station as it makes its way around the downtown loop in Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago Transit Authority Pink Line arriving at…

February 20, 2020 – A slightly different viewpoint of a Chicago Transit Authority Pink Line arriving at the State/Lake Street “L” station as it makes its way around the downtown loop in Chicago, Illinois.

February 22, 2020 - Indiana Harbor Belt 4015 and 4017 approach the diamond at Dolton, Illinois on track two as they head west on the Indiana Harbor Belt line where they cross over the Union Pacific Villa Grove Subdivision headed back toward their Blue Island yard.

Indiana Harbor Belt 4015 and 4017 at Dolton, Illinois

February 22, 2020 – Indiana Harbor Belt 4015 and 4017 approach the diamond at Dolton, Illinois on track two as they head west on the Indiana Harbor Belt line where they cross over the Union Pacific Villa Grove Subdivision headed back toward their Blue Island yard.

February 22, 2020 - BNSF 7098 leads an west bound autorack train through Blue Island Junction on the Indiana Harbor Belt line at Blue Island, Illinois as a CSX Intermodal heads east on the Joliet Subdivision District.

BNSF 7098 leads an west bound autorack…

February 22, 2020 – BNSF 7098 leads an west bound autorack train through Blue Island Junction on the Indiana Harbor Belt line at Blue Island, Illinois as a CSX Intermodal heads east on the Joliet Subdivision District.

February 20, 2020 - The motorman on the 712 to Midway navigates his train set through the canyons of downtown Chicago, Illinois as it makes its way around the loop on another day of moving people.

The motorman on the 712 to Midway…

February 20, 2020 – The motorman on the 712 to Midway navigates his train set through the canyons of downtown Chicago, Illinois as it makes its way around the loop on another day of moving people.