Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Harvard, IL: C&NW North (RD) Tower, Depot, Roundhouse and UP Coach Yard

Tower: (Satellite, It was just to the left of where the tracks cross Diggins Street down by the curved track.)
Roundhouse: (Satellite, they did a really good job of tearing out the roundhouse foundation.)
Yard: (Satellite, the commuter trains are parked downtown during the day)

C&NW Historical Society posted
This Harvard, Illinois view of the north "tower" in Harvard taken in 1908 shows the tracks on the right headed to Janesville, Wisconsin while those on the left curve past the roundhouse and coaling tower headed to Chemung, Illinois (Deans still produces products there.) and Caledonia to Rockford, Illinois. This is where the old K-D Line curved off the line to Janesville. Tracks are still used to a grain loading facility west of Harvard. This Stecher photo held at the archives of the C&NW Historical Society.
McHenry County Historical Society posted
Looking west at Tower RD on the west end of the railroad yard, Harvard, 1908. The line to Janesville is straight ahead and the line to Chemung and Beloit goes to the left.
Thomas G. Morin: the line to the left was the original Rockford and Kenosha railroad. at caladonia the rails went through a rock cut which is now known as Rock Cut State Park and then went through Loves Park before reaching its terminal in downtown Rockford. most of the line was torn up in 1939.
Brian Keith Landis: Check out my Harlem Township in Winnebago County book its has so real nice pictures of when the rails where taken up that ran though Rock Cut State Park they where taken up in 1937
Raymond Storey shared

Note the curve in the signaling rods. That must have made it even harder to move the levers. Also, they don't seem to be controlled by the tower in the picture.

The picture's posted link should be public, and I recommend following it because the comments added by some railroaders are interesting.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP
 
Andy Zukowski posted
Northwestern Train Depot in Harvard, Illinois, 1948
David Daruszka shared
 
Ben Mullins commented on Andy's post
Actually this is a better picture. The western terminus of the Metra/Union Pacific Northwest Line from Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago. Also has an outlying point here where the train sets are inspected and light repairs are made before their next calendar day of revenue service.
 
Ben Mullins commented on Andy's post
his is what it looks like today.

William Brown posted
From the J Quinn Collection, RTA Locomotives in the Harvard, Illinois Coach Yard in September 1983.
David Daruszka: Last train out was one of the first trains in. The crew slept on the train during the layover. Making up a bed with the seat cushions was an artform. I actually slept through a good sized derailment of a freight train in the yard one morning.

When I saw how few tracks are in the yard in the satellite image, I checked Metra to verify that Harvard is still the terminal station for this UP-NW.

I'm surprised that the cartographer did not do a better job with the roundhouse and the number of tracks. The historic aerial photo shows that there was a large roundhouse next to Park Street.
1937 Harvard Quad @ 24,000



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