Elgin, IL: C&NW West Elgin Depot and Water Tower

Water Tower: (Satellite, thanks to Romanitas' comment, the round white circle is the base of the water tower.)
See below for a satellite view of the depot's location.

C&NW had two depots in Elgin. The West Elgin Depot was on the original G&CU mainline after it crossed the Fox River whereas the East Elgin Depot was on the Lake Geneva Line. That branch left the mainline in the south part of Elgin at the Fox River Switch.

Carl Venzke posted
On the west side of Elgin, Illinois. It's next stop will be Gilberts and then Union Illinois on its way to Rockford. This right of way is the original Galena and Chicago Union Railroad right of way on the way to Freeport. Note the water tower and the train order semaphores.
C&NW Historical Society posted
This train has just crossed Illinois Route 31 on the west side of Elgin, Illinois. It's next stop will be Gilberts and then Union Illinois on its way to Rockford. This right of way is the original Galena and Chicago Union Railroad right of way on the way to Freeport. The road never made it to Galena.
Brian Berthold posted
Jim Kelling shared
Colin Harding: According to my 1940 Official Guide on the C&NW.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Brian's post
This was the C&NW. In this 1939 aerial photo, the red rectangle is around the tower and its shadow and the yellow rectangle highlights the depot. The location of the base of the water tower is here: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0350983,-88.2867651,31m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu

Carl Venzke posted

Also Elgin, IL - unknown date or photographer.

Dennis DeBruler Thanks to a comment by Romanitas Press in a blog, I've learned that the concrete base still stands.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4...
The tracks to the left are a team track and a house track:
https://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/.../west-elgin-il-c...
This train is inbound.
Brian Berthold posted
Juan Antonio Troncoso-Munoz posted

G&CU/CNW West Elgin Station

Ever heard of West Elgin?? Did you know there was a railroad station at the hill between illinois route 31 and milwaukee avenue(now east highland avenue)? The CNW once had a passenger and freight station on the original Galena and Chicago Union line from turner junction(West Chicago)towards belvedere,rockford and freeport on the hill to the left of the fox river and the milwaukee road Elgin station
After passenger service ceased on the line the station sat unused for some time,then freight bussiness dried up too in the area.it was demolished in 1973, today its just an empty space and the only reminder of what once was is the abandoned water tank base and a single track that still sees use mostly to the chrysler factory at belvedere and a few other industries along the way

William Shapotkin collection @ CNWHS

Brian Berthold posted two photos with the comment: "Galena & Chicago Union, Chicago Northwestern West Side Depot Elgin IL pics were found on web and saved years ago."

Dennis DeBruler: Probably seven or eight years ago, https://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/.../west-elgin-il-c...[this webpage] (I had duplicate posts.)

Wes Lloyd: I do believe the water tower foundation is the only thing left there now. Can be seen from the route 31/ State street crossing.

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Brian Berthold commented on Wes' comment
ya .. if one would walk this area you MIGHT find something from station but i think its pretty well gone

Mark Llanuza posted
This is CNW West Elgin station Did you know there was a railroad station at the hill between Illinois route 31 and Chicago street? The CNW once had a passenger and freight station on the original Galena and Chicago Union line West Chicago ) towards Belvedere, Rockford and Freeport on the hill to the left . After passenger service ceased on the line the station sat unused for some time then freight business dried up too in the Elgin area only the Elgin can company was left .It was demolished in late 1973, today its just an empty space and the only reminder of what once was is the abandoned water tank base and a single track that still sees use mostly trains Monday through Friday one each way a day to the old Chrysler factory at Belvedere and a few other industries along the way .I went there in May of 2023 to try to match up as close as possible what it looks like today .Some trees are in the way but the old cement base is still there i matched it up to the older photograph (unknown date & unknown photographer) to what it looks like today .This is right along route 31 (State street).
Kevan Davis: What is the traffic like now that the Belvedere plant is not running?
Mark Llanuza: Kevan Davis it’s a distribution center for automobiles take a truck in loader at autoracks Monday through Friday. The trains are pretty big size, but the plant is close down.

Mark Llanuza posted
Its Jan 1973 my last year of high school during then we had open campus we could leave and head downtown to Elgin to have lunch with many choices to eat .Prince Castles hamburger's or Yankee Doodle Dandy and famous Woolworth soda fountain .We always had are camera with us because i was in the AV Dept and photography .On this day we shot the CNW station next the Elgin can company I'm not really sure if it was called that but it still had old CNW Reefer cars .This station was on top of the hill near Chicago Street Elgin IL CNW Freeport- Belvidere line
Mark Kaspar: Great shot! Hard to believe the wooden reefers were still in service in ‘73!!
Mark Llanuza: Mark Kaspar at the time I don’t remember them using ice for those cars. They were just easy to put cans inside of them. It might’ve been the only box cars they had but they use them all the time.

 

Craig Homberg commented on Mark's post
https://tile.loc.gov/.../ser.../full/pct:25/0/default.jpg...

Mark Llanuza posted
Its Jan 1973 my last year of high school during  then we had open campus we could leave and head downtown to Elgin to have lunch with many choices to eat .Prince Castles hamburger's or Yankee Doodle Dandy and famous Woolworth soda fountain .We always had are camera with us because i was in the AV Dept and photography .On this day we shot the CNW station next the Elgin can company at the far right I'm not really sure if it was called, you can see the conveyor belt for the can company  at the right   .This station was on top of the hill near Chicago  Street Elgin IL .The houses in the background is Chicago street .This is  CNW Freeport- Belvidere line were looking north with a siding along the left side of the station.
Craig Holmberg: http://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/.../west-elgin-il-c...
Mark Llanuza: Craig Holmberg thank you for adding this cool history

Looking at Carl's second photo, I now notice that the base was made of concrete instead of wood. Like coaling towers, it stands as a testament to the strength of reinforced concrete.

Street View, Nov 2018
Romanitas caught a view during the Summer (Jul 2017).

The lower-right corner of this excerpt is about where the photographer was standing for the second photo. The red rectangle is around the tower and its shadow. The yellow rectangle shows the depot.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILAP, at photo resolution

This topo map shows the depot and its house and team tracks still existed in 1962. It also is another demonstration that 1:24,000 scale maps are an approximation of track layout. Carl's second photo shows that a spur came off the mainline, and then that spur split into a stub track and a track that went all the way around the other side of the depot. I believe that a track on the other side of a depot that connects at both ends with the mainline is called a house track. I know Downers Grove had one of those. The stub track would be a team track.

USGS, 1962 Elgin, 1:24,000

An excerpt comparable to the 1939 aerial shows that the land for the depot and support tracks is now a well maintained vacant lot.

Satellite

Now that I know about the house track, you can see the extended bridge abutments that used to support a bridge for the house track.

North Side

South Side
[I wonder where that big chunk of concrete used to be and how long it has been lying there.]