Chicago, IL Depot: Grand Central Station

(HAER; Satellite, it was torn in 1971 and not developed until th 2010s.)

See Chicago Passenger Stations for an overview of all the major stations that were in Chicago and the location of this station.

(Update: David Daruszka's posting  Chicagology)

Excerpt from 1898 map from Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library

By the late 1960s, Chicago had way too many stations for the number of passenger trains still running. This station was one of the stations that was to be retired in the 1960s. The last railroad into GC was Nov. 8, 1969 because the remaining trains were switched to the Union Station. "Sitting unused, Grand Central Station's value as an architectural and engineering masterpiece was discounted by its railroad owner, who believed the value of the land for urban redevelopment to be quite substantial. As a result, the track was scrapped and the entire terminal was razed by the railroad in 1971." (Wikipedia)

The city lost a fine example of Romanesque/Norman architecture. It had a 247-foot clock tower, 225 feet along Harrison Street and 471 feet along Wells Street. Imagine it as a park district facility for the many residents that are now in the South Loop and for recreation breaks for the many workers in the financial district that need to work off some stress and stomach. The building did not have to be remodeled for office space because it already had offices to serve the railroads when they occupied it. The two story high 70x200-foot waiting room with Tennessee marble walls and Vermont marble floors could have simply been preserved as an "event space" for wedding receptions, corporate meetings/parties, etc. The 119x555-foot train shed could have become all-whether tennis/ball-park/track/golf-range/whatever facilities since it had a large arched glass and steel roof. Instead, according to the above satellite image, almost a half-century later, it is (dramatic pause) still a vacant lot!

The removal of all tracks serving this station explains why the north bascule bridge is now always in the raised position. The Baltimore & Ohio Terminal Railroad that used this bridge no longer has anywhere to go on the east side of the South Branch Chicago River. In fact, the tracks to the bridge on the west side are also long gone.

Photo from HABS ILL,16-CHIG,18--1 from il0117

Photo from HABS ILL,16-CHIG,18--2 from il0117

Photo from HABS ILL,16-CHIG,18--3 from il0117

David Daruszka updated
New York-Chicago Bullet Train Chicago Grand Central station the Baltimore and Ohio the Chesapeake an Ohio who else.
Jim Dexter New York-Chicago Bullet Train At one time, the station served the Soo Line, and in the more distant past, the Chicago Great Western.
Alan Follett Jim Dexter Also, at one time, Pere Marquette, which was merged into C&O in 1946. And for a couple of years around 1901-1903, during construction of the “new” LaSalle Street Station, Nickel Plate used Grand Central.
Lawrence Smith Alan Follett if u can locate an old track map of the area S of Roosevelt b/4 river relocation in the '30s, there is a mass of tracks S of the station and in there somewhere a connection with LS+MS to B
+OCT so NKP could access the station.

NationalArchives, cropped

Digitally zoomed in on the above photo
I like this view because it shows the freight houses that were west of the station before the river was straightened. In the bottom-right corner is the northern leaf of the double-bascule bridge that carried the B&OCT tracks to the station.

Larry Retzl posted
Photo of Grand Central Station .
Thomas White I took one from about the same angle - 45th floor of the Board of Trade building...takes hanging out the open window.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Larry's post
And of some freight houses. I tried boosting the shadows and reducing the highlights.

John Lillyquist posted three photos with the comment: "Chicago IL - Grand Central Station - April 1966     Looking north towards the depot. It was opened in 1890 and demolished in 1971, currently a vacant lot. Note the Board of Trade building at the right."

Alexander Golman: There are some new apartments recently built on its former location.

Paul Webb shared

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Brad Parker commented on John's post
How many train sheds can you spot? Chicago, 1930's.

Rick Smith posted four images with the comment:

I've never actually seen this elaborately detailed model of the B&OCT Grand Central Station, commissioned by a private customer.   Constructed in HO-scale (1:87th scale) by Custom Model Railroads (CMR of Baltimore), this miniature is the only such scaled replica of the prototype long-razed Romanesque-Revival station that I'm aware of.  I thought it might be of interest to the "Forgotten Chicago Discussion Group", in light of other recent memorable posts of this structure.

Of particular note and challenge to build were the octagonal tower corners and the expansive shed.  The model is made from laser cut and engraved acrylic, 3D-printed parts and handcrafted parts.  It was reported that it took CMR six months to complete.

[This provides some of the best views of the trainshed.]

Richard Fiedler shared

David Daruszka shared

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Rick Smith commented on his post
The Harrison-Street archways....

Brian Morgan posted
Train # 6. The Eastbound Capital Limited.
Dennis DeBruler The first time I have seen a photo of the arched train shed. Of all of the buildings that have been torn down in Chicago, Grand Central Station is my biggest regret. The last I checked, it is still a vacant lot. You can see its clock tower near the right of the background. The Pennsy freight house is on the left of the background.
[Henry Freeman taught me that the B&O had 10 freight facilities and the one on the left was #7.]

Brian Morgan posted

Grand Central in all her glory.
Henry Freeman Painting by C.L. Smith. Very talented artist.
[Again, we can see the clear span arched train shed and the clock tower.]

John Morris posted
It is August, 1968 at Chicago's Grand Central Station, with B&O's "Capitol Limited" is about to depart on its overnight trip to Washington. The station will only be in operation for little over a year, closing on November 8, 1969. The remaining C&O/B&O trains moved over to the C&NW station and operated from there until the start of AMTRAK. It was a huge architectural loss for Chicago when the station was demolished in 1971.

John J Kulidas posted
Constructed in 1890, Grand Central Station was one of Chicago's busiest railroad terminals. beneath the great trainshed, spanning six tracks, A Baltimore and Ohio's passenger train awaits the hour of departure. Year 1960 photographer, unknown. Demolition of the station started in 1969..
Michael Thaller: it was one of the least busy ones.
Stephen Karlson: Yes, Chicago & North Western could fit the remaining trains in, and the elder Mayor Daley coveted all the stations east of the river for other purposes. Fittingly the Grand Central site remained a vacant lot until relatively recently.
Rodney D Zona: Garrett IN based passenger train and engine crews worked to and from Chicago.

 

Rick Smith commented on John's post

Nice photo.

This appears more like a capture in the early or possibly mid 1950s at the latest (if even that late), rather than 1960.

By then, most B&O E6As and even the EAs had their factory-delivered pilots replaced with the more recessed ones ─ although EA Nº 51 recently was cosmetically restored with a newly fabricated original flush-type pilot. B&O had rebuilt most of its E6 units by removing the side panel windows, applying E8A-type filter grilles (Farr), surface-mounted E8-style rectangular number boards, as shown in this late-1950s photo at Armitage OH.

Patrick McGee posted
Likely backing into Grand Central station, a C&O passenger train winds through switches in the early 1960's. Frank Tribbey photo.
Brandon McShane That's a long train for the Pere Marquette. I wonder if it isn't a B&O train.
Michael Riha Correct, by this point, the C&O and B&O equipment was all in the same pool.
Jeff LewisGroup Admin C&O/B&O integrated operations began in 1963.

Gary Statkus posted
A Chesapeake & Ohio passenger train pulls out of the Baltimore & Ohio Grand Central Station, and based upon the shadows, it appears to be around mid-day. Date is probably in the mid-1960's. To the right of the Board of Trade Building, in the upper right, is the newer style now Trans-Union Building, which was completed in 1961. I tried to look up old C&O passenger schedules to identify the specific train that is depicted, but could not identify it. Any railroad buffs out there that can identify it.
Gary Statkus Everyone! Relative to the date of the photo. Notice that the 1st National Bank Building/Chase Bank, completed in 1969, is not in the photo. But it appears that the old Morrison Hotel, demolished in 1965 to make way for 1st National Bank is there with the red and white antenna. Also note that on the far right is the United of America/1 East Wacker Building, completed in 1961. So the date has to be between 1962 and 1964.
Mitch Markovitz Movements into and out of Grand Central were moved ti the C&NW Terminal in 1969 as Stu says. With the power painted in the C&O colors indicating post-consolidation, and this being in the morning, I'm saying this is B&O "The Capitol Limited" arriving in Chicago about 1968. Trains shoved back into the station.
Jon Roma Shoved back from where, Western Avenue?
John P. Pisciotto Yep
Gary Statkus Mitch Markovitz Thanks for the memory jog. I have a Kodachrome slide of a B&O train sitting in the C&NW station, taken in late summer of 1969, from the Clinton Street 'L' station.
[There is some discussion of which building the red&white antennae is on.]
William Post That train was not the Resort Special because the Resort Special ran only in Fridays during the summertime and it left after 8 pm in the evenings. The train had to be the number 8 which usually left Chicago at about 4;25 pm most of the time. The C and O passenger mainline actually began in CIncinnati and the C and O would ticket their passengers from Chicago on the BIg Four Division of the New York Central which ran out of Illinois Central station and didn't get onto the Big Four tracks until south of Kankakee. The most famous train on that route was the James Whitcomb Riley and they sometime ran through sleepers which were switched over to the C an O in Cincinnati.
William Post The C and O did have a line that went to the Chicago area from CIncinnati however it was only used by a local passenger train that went only as far as Hammond Indiana where people going to Chicago would transfer to the Chicago South Shore South Bend and Indiana rail road which was nearby.
[Consensus is that it was taken from Roosevelt Road looking North.]

Steve Andolino shared
Bill Molony The two C&O-Pere Marquette trains that departed from Grand Central Station for Grand Rapids in the 1960's were #8 that departed at 5:30 PM and #10 that departed at 10:30 PM - both well after dark. The train in this photograph is more likely B&O train #10, the Washington Express that departed Grand Central Station at 11:00 AM.
Glenn Roon This probably not Pere Marquette as they normally didn't go longer than 3-4 cars and headend cars.

Dave Arganbright posted two photos with the comment: "More and more of the classic 1930's Barriger photos have been digitized and online. Pictures of Grand Central's throat-especially during this time period-are so rare that I thought them worthy of bringing to the groups attention."
Jeffrey David James Thank you so much for bringing these photos to our attention! I have always been quite curious about all things relating to Chicago's Grand Central station. At this time, we would have seen trains of the B&O, CGW, Soo Line and C&O of Indiana? Am I forgetting any? I am also of the understanding that the Pere Marquette utilized Dearborn Station until they were fully absorbed by C&O and moved over here. Please feel free to correct me, if need be!
Bob Lalich C&O of I and predecessor CC&L never used Grand Central. IC's Central Station was used at first, until a switch to Dearborn was made in 1910. C&O of I trains returned to Central Station in 1925. Trains were cut back to Hammond by 1933.
Pere Marquette trains used Grand Central from first entry to Chicago until Amtrak. At first, PM passenger trains took the CTT/B&OCT from Pine Jct to GC. In 1915 an agreement with B&O was reached and PM trains used the B&O passenger route to GC.

Lawrence Smith The B+OCT site has great pics of the redone approach to station over the new CHI river bridge after river straightening in the early 30s. Some construction photos show how they ran trains over the SCAL bridge and temp ROW until the new BO bridge was ready.

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David Daruszka posted

Grand Central at night, looking north.

Bill Molony posted in Facebook

Museum of the American Railroad,
Dallas, Texas, 1922

Saul Smaizys posted

Saul's comment:

Skyline looking north from Roosevelt Road 1974
photo:Saul Smaizys

Just a few years after B&O tore down the station. Some of the tracks are still in place.

Roy Kessmann posted
The Soo Line "Laker" prepares to depart Chicago's Grand
Central Station for an overnight trip to Duluth. The last car
on the train is the lounge-diner. It will be carried by the outbound
train to Fon du Lac where it will be uncoupled and picked up
and used by the inbound train on the next morning.

Paul Luchter posted
Grand Central Station, Chicago (B&O) 1962

Jeff Nichols posted the following three pictures. His comment: "Trains leaving Grand Central Station. Cataloged as c. 1960. Museum of the American Railroad, Dallas, Texas" Dave Leucinger corrected: "They're off by a good decade. These engines date to the 1939-40-41 period and were replaced by the late 1940s."

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One advantage of not being able to develop the land vacated by the depot and its yards for over four decades is that it is being developed in an era when they are supposed to pay attention to making the river side pretty and useful.

Bill Molony posted
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad EMD E9A #1456, preparing to depart from Grand Central Station in Chicago with B&O train #6, The Capital Limited, circa 1965.
Val Ginter What an amazing train. And for the oldest railroad in America, the train had to go "round robin" between Chicago and Washington and New York. At least, the passengers got to see America!

David M Laz posted
Another beautiful Chicago rail station that only exists in pictures and memories, Grand Central Station. Opened 1890 demolished 1971. Anyone have any memories they can share?
David Daruzaka's comment was a blog link.

Bill Molony commented on above posting
Central Station picture post card - circa 1908.
Bill Molony posted
Bill Molony posted again
Bill Molony posted again
Post Card picture of Grand Central Station - 1922.
This station was owned back then by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the B&O had five daily arrivals and five daily departures at Grand Central in 1922.
The Chicago Great Western Railway was a tenant at Grand Central, and had four daily arrivals and four daily departures in 1922.
The Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway was also a tenant at Grand Central, and had nine daily arrivals and nine daily departures in 1922.
A third tenant at Grand Central was the Pere Marquette Railway, which had four daily arrivals and four daily departures in 1922.

David Daruszka commented on Bill's third posting
 The original photo.
Dennis DeBrulerGroup Admin The blurred horse and buggy in the lower-right corner reminds us that 1908 film did not have the ISO values that we are used to today. I noticed the blur in the photograph when I noticed that the artist put a streetcar there.

Raymond Lewis posted
CHICAGO GRAND CENTRAL STATION SINCE DEMOLISHED
Max Kaiser Jr. Film "Gaily, Gaily" was filmed there in the early 1970s after its closure.

David Daruszka commented on Bill's fourth posting
Grand Central was an underutilized architectural gem. Designed by architect Solon S. Beman, who designed the model factory town of Pullman, it stood at the corner of Harrison and Wells Streets from 1890 to 1971. Built for the Wisconsin Central Railroad it ended up in B&O ownership via bankruptcy of later owner Chicago & Northern Pacific (yes, THAT Northern Pacific). The station originally contained a hotel, which was not successful.

Lawrence Shoop posted
Grand Central Station from 1890 to 1969 Located at 201 W Harrison St.

Ravko Giderewicz shared David M Laz's photo

Mike Tuggle posted

Grand Central Station at 201 W. Harrison Street in 1969.

The station closed that years after 79 years of service.
Joseph Schlesinger One of S. S. Beman's masterpieces.

David M Laz posted
Construction of the Congress St. Bridge across the winter and the interchange with Wacker Dr. in 1956.What a difference. So many of those buildings are gone..
[I never realized the bridge was two adjacent leaves and that they were offset. Not only can you see Grans Central Station, you can see some of the freight/mail handling facilities. The surface of the bridges is a metal grate so to let wind pass through when raised. That would not only make you tires hum, it would feel like the car is being tossed side-to-side. Even a relatively heavy van would get jerked around.]

American-Rails.com posted
Baltimore & Ohio and Chesapeake & Ohio trains lined up at Chicago's Grand Central Station circa 1962. The building was razed in 1971 to sell what was believed to be valuable land for redevelopment. However, the property remains largely vacant to this day.Bob Leverknight That was a publicity photo for the impending C&O/B&O merger.
Unlike most of the mergers in the 1960s, the C&O/B&O (with the Western Maryland included by way of B&O stock ownership held in a non-voting trust) was integrated slowly over what turned out to be 24 years, culminating in CSX in 1986.Pete Darmody Don't forgot the Chessie System that included Seaboard Coast Line aka the Family Lines c. 1972Bob Leverknight Oh, I did not forget. Chessie was the marketing name for the merged C&O/B&O/WM.
They remained separate for business and tax purposes until the original company charters were dissolved starting with the WM in 81, B&O in 86, and C&O in 88.
Consolidating all those charters (such as the O&BSL, S&C,) when it was all said and done, almost 60 charters in 20 states, shifting of stocks and bonds from original issuer to CSX, some going back over 120 years, it was quite complicated.
While railroading is about "moving stuff" the maneuvering of funds makes the wheels turn.

Bill Molony posted
Grand Central Station in Chicago, as it looked back in 1963. 
It hosted the B&O's trains operating between Chicago and Baltimore, and the C&O's trains operating between Chicago and Grand Rapids.

Jerry Hongoltz posted
Grand Central Station Chicago Illinois went extinct 1971.
[I think I prefer this darker version.]

Adam Paul posted
1963: The B&O Station, AKA Chicago Grand Central. Built 1890, demolished 1969. (My colorization)
Edward Kwiatkowski shared

Rick Smith commented on Adam's post
Actually, it was vacated as a passenger station in early November 1969, with the few then-remaining B&O and C&O passenger trains having been rerouted to use C&NW's Northwestern Station, which itself was razed in 1984 and became the site of Metra's Ogilvie Transportation Center (initially the "CitiCorp Center").
Grand Central remained open only as office space until shortly after May 01, 1971 and by June of that year, pre-demolition had begun. Considered the "smallest" of Chicago's then-great six main intercity train stations, Grand Central was the first to meet the wrecking ball.

Stuart Pearson commented on the above posting
1/1/1957 Temp -10 Degrees

Henry Freeman shared Jeff Nichols' posting
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad locomotives 1456 and 2407 leaving Grand Central Station, 1965. UConnƱ Herman Lund Ʊ Like the the GP-30 in the picture too.
Henry Freeman Yes, that Sunburst paint scheme wasn't around long.
Chester Bialik Brings back a lot of old memories. I used to work on the 3rd floor of Grand Central in the Engineering Dept.[But what I noticed was the freight house under the ramp. The building gets rather short as the ramp gets near the ground! And there is a yard tower that I don't normally see in the train shots of Grand Central Station.]

David Chase comment on Jeff's posting.
[Every time I see pictures of this Romanesque building, I remember the silver lining that its destruction helped start the preservation movement. And the karma balance that the vacant lot earned no income for about half a century. I wonder what they could charge now for a wedding reception in the waiting hall if it still existed. Update: I read the waiting hall was rather small.]
Jeff Lewis shared (my Robey Yard is referenced)

Henry Freeman explains:

Grand Central was a joint passenger zone and the conditions of the agreement required the PM and Soo to provide the B&OCT with a switcher to work the station for (I think) three months out of the year. During that time, the engine was considered a B&OCT engine, which is why the little placard was added. As I understand it, the PM and SOO provided the engineers and the rest of the crew came from the B&OCT. A link to a photo of a Soo Line diesel switcher 2108 switching a B&O baggage car at Grand Central in Oct., 1961.

Marty Bernard posted four photos by Roger Puta.

1. B&O 1462 (E8A) with Train 7, The Diplomat, at Grand Central Station, Chicago, IL on August 30, 1969.

2. B&O Nappanee (5 Double Bedrooms and a Lounge) at Grand Central Station, Chicago, IL on August 30, 1969.

3. Waiting Room at Grand Central Station, Chicago, IL on August 30, 1969.

4. B&O 1452 (E8A) with Train 6, The Capitol Limited, waiting to depart Grand Central Station, Chicago, IL on December 26, 1967.

Scott Griffith posted

William A. Shaffer posted

B&O's Grand Central Station Train Shed in Chicago, IL (1.28.69) The train in the station is B&O's "Capitol Limited". (Photographer Unknown - Collection of William A. Shaffer)

William A. Shaffer posted three photos with the comment:

Grand Central Station .(Circa 1969)

Chicago, IL

(Photographers Unknown - Collection of William A. Shaffer)

Grand Central Station in Chicago, IL was the Baltimore & Ohio RR Station, not to be confused with Grand Central Station in New York City (which is a USPS Facility) or the New York Central RR Depot in New York City .(Grand Central Terminal).  

The B&O operated passenger trains out ofGrand Central Station through November 8, 1969.  The depot was razed during 1971.

Though I did not take thee images, they are an important part of my collection.  I did get to Grand Central Station before it was torn down, but it was late in the day and I did not have enough light to make an exposure.  (I did not have my tripod with me!). That particular day, I was going from train terminal to train terminal in Chicago, on foot, photographing everything I could.  My girlfriend was with me and was just about exhausted from all the walking.  Grand Central was the last terminal before we went back to Union Station to catch the train home.  I can still remember what she said to me:  "If something happens to me and my father finds out about all the terrible neighborhoods you've drug me through today, he will never forgive you!"  

And that is my story of why I never got any photos of Grand Central in Chicago!

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A video of pictures with the comment:

Take a look at Chicago's Grand Central Station. It was demolished shortly after it closed for a redevelopment that except for one building project, never really happened! See photos scanned from the February 2nd 1970 edition of the C&O-B&O employee newsletter "Chessie News."This Norman style depot is now considered Chicago's "Penn Station" which was torn down to make way for the new Madison Square Garden. Grand Central Station was built in the 1890's for Soo Line predecessor Wisconsin Central (no relation to the modern Wisconsin Central now Canadian National) and the Chicago St Paul & Kansas City (Later to become the Chicago Great Western, then the Chicago & North Western and now the Union Pacific).It was home for the trains of the Chesapeake & Ohio (through the Pere Marquette Railroad) Baltimore & Ohio and the Soo Line. "Name Trains" such as the famous B&O "Capital Limited" and the C&O's Shenandoah and Michigan based "Pere Marquettes" called Grand Central Station home. The Depot was located on the corner of Harrison & Wells and was designed by Architect Solon Spencer Beman. After it closed in 1970, the upstairs offices were still used for a short time until they too were relocated. It saw its last train on November 8th 1970. The remaining passenger trains were transferred to the newer Chicago & North Western Depot on Madison & Canal Street. There the last C&O-B&O/ Soo Line trains departed until the National Railroad Passenger Corporation , known as AMTRAK took over on May 1st 1971. The last C&O-B&O trains left the C&NW station on April 30th 1971. Today only 3 stations are in use.Union Station which is Amtrak's Chicago Station. The state operated METRA commuter trains use Union Station for operations west on the old Chicago Burlington & Quincy / Burlington Northern- Burlington Northern Santa Fe "Race track" ending up at Aurora. The ex C&NW commuter trains also operate out of Union as the C&NW depot was demolished or taken out of service.Metra uses the train shed of the long demolished LaSalle street station with commuter operations over the ex Chicago Rock Island & Pacific{ Rock Island Railroad) through Joliet and other places.Randolph street continues to be the terminal for electrified commuter operations of the ex Chicago South Shore & South Bend and Illinois Central.The main building of Dearborn street station as far as I know is still standing. This was home for the NYC, PRR, ATSF, and others. The tracks there are gone. Central Station which was home to all Illinois Central passengers trains such as the "City of New Orleans" the "Seminal" plus Gulf Mobile & Ohio trains & others is long gone. It was also a commuter stop. It was located near as I recall, Soldier Field or McCormick Place.

mkmcclure corrected the Dearborn comments:

In your description, you mention Dearborn Station. The head house remains standing and actually pre-dates Grand Central. Its demise on May 2 (not May 1--opening of Amtrak) when the last ATSF trains pulled in from the West Coast led to a single track for the Norfolk Western "Cannonball" for a decade plus. However, the EL, GTW, Wabash all ran out of Dearborn with ATSF. However, PRR used Union Station exclusively and NYC used LaSalle (true NYC) and Central Stations (Big Four). 

Randy Courier corrected the C&NW comments:

Metra's Union Pacific (ex C & NW) trains do not operate out of Union Station. They continue to run out of the same location as always, what is now called the Ogilve Transportation Center. The old station was replaced with an office tower in the 1980's. It never was taken out of service.The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad is not "ex". It is still very much in operation.There are 4 commuter stations operating downtown, Union Station, LaSalle St. Station, Ogilive Transportation Center & Millennium Park Station (formerly known as Randolph Street Station.

Brian Morgan posted
This is a picture of the very last departure from Grand Central Chicago of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's Train # 6. Capitol Limited departed Chicago's Grand Central Station at 3:50 PM Central Time set to arrive in Washington DC at 8:40 AM Eastern Time the next day at Washington DC Union Station.Loren Hatch September 1969. Not sure of the exact date. B&O/C&O trains used North Western Station for the year and a half before they were discontinued with the coming of Amtrak.Brian Morgan The B&O / C&O after 1969 operated all intercity passenger traffic out of Northwestern Station until May 1st, 1971. Amtrak Day.Brian Morgan If I am not mistaken Grand Central was built by the Chicago & Northern Pacific which during that era wholly owned Wisconsin Central. In 1882 James J.Hill also known by his rivals as " That one eyed SOB",. quoted by Jay Gould. Bought the Chicago Burlington & Quincy and in 1892 started construction of the Twin Cities Route from Aurora, Illinois connecting Savanna, Illinois in 1894. In the spring of 1895 construction started again Northwards to La Crosse, Wisconsin. In the mid summer of 1897 a connection was made in Saint Paul, Minnesota with the Great Northern Railway as well as the Northern Pacific. All Passenger operations were switched to the Chicago Union Station upon the sale of the WC to the Minneapolis, Saint Paul & Saulte Ste Marie Railroad Company aka the Soo Line.

Brian Morgan provided three more images in the comments:

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Rob Hentschel also posted

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Scott Griffith posted, cropped
[Note the train shed and clock tower in the background.]

Scott Griffith posted
Soo Like 4-6-0 2627, seen at Grand Central Station in Chicago Sept. 5, 1931 by George F. Nixon.
[Soo is a reminder that Wisconsin Central and its "sponsor" Northern Pacific were the railroads that built this station. B&O bought the Chicago area assets when Michigan Central wanted them out of Central Station and WC fell on hard times. Also, this was back when Soo was CP's WC assets instead of CP's Milwaukee Road assets.]

John Morris posted
B&O E-9 was heading the eastbound Capitol Limited out of the railroad's Chicago's Grand Central Station in the summer of 1965. The B&O occupied (and owned) this station until moving over to the Northwestern Station in 1969 prior to the inception of Amtrak. Regretfully, the station, a significant architectural gem, was torn down shortly thereafter. While going to college, I worked for the B&OCT for three consecutive summers and my employment started in this building.

David Daruszka commented on the above posting

David Daruszka commented on the above posting

David Daruszka commented on the above posting

David Daruszka commented on the above posting

David Daruszka commented on the above posting

David Daruszka commented on the above posting
Carl Venzke posted
B&O 1453 has just arrived with the Capitol Limited at Grand Central Station in Chicago, November 1, 1969. Photo by Bill Raia

David Daruszka commented on the above posting
Vanished Chicago posted
Grand Central Station, The B&O's Chicago Terminal (1890-1971)
John L Barcia shared

Bill Molony shared
Grand Central Terminal, Wells and Harrison, 1969
[This is the best view I have seen of Rock Island's piggyback yard.]
Brian Watt also posted
I found this picture on Pinterest ...Grand Central Station, 1969. This photo is part of a collection of historic Chicago photos from the archives of the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF). I find the background of this picture to be equally interesting.
[Brian posted more photos in the comments.]

David Daruszka commented on the above photo

As mentioned above, the Grand Cetnral Station forced its trains to run out of the C&NW Station two years before Amtrak took over.

Bill Molony posted
Baltimore & Ohio E8Am #1435, leading Chesapeake & Ohio train #8, the Pere Marquette, out of Chicago's Northwestern Station for its final run to Grand Rapids, Michigan on the afternoon of April 30, 1971.
David Daruszka The connection off and on the C&NW was at Rockwell Jct.
Bob Lalich I should mention that the B&OCT line that was used by B&O and C&O passenger trains crossed the Panhandle at Beverly Jct, near 90th and Hermitage.
David Daruszka The train would travel east from Beverly Junction on the Rock Island's Beverly Branch over Gresham Junction and the Rock mainline then continue eastward on the Rock's Pullman Branch:
10.1 CRI&P Crossing
10.0 Main Line Jct.
10.8 Oakdale (C&WI crossing)
12.5 Cottage Grove
13.3 Pullman Jct. (C&WI/NKP crossing)
14.5 South Chicago
15.2 South Chicago Station
15.3 Rock Island Jct. (Junction-B&O)
Walt Del Calle Going to North Western Station was probably not any longer than their own route to Grand Central Station.

Scott Griffith posted
[This would be looking southeast across the approach tracks to Grand Central Station. It is the best view I have seen of Rock Island's piggyback yard. (La Salle Street Station was the next station to the east.]

Steven J. Brown posted
Once trains of the Baltimore and Ohio, Soo Line, Pere Marquette, Chicago Great Western and others would have used those now rusty tracks to get into Chicago's Grand Central Station. This photo was taken March 4, 1988, two decades after the station was demolished.
Matt McClure CSX shuffled freight cars a couple of times a year to claim active ownership. 1992 maybe the last time the bridge came down and cars were moved.

American-Rails.com posted
Baltimore & Ohio's train #6, the eastbound "Capitol Limited," prepares departure from Grand Central Station in Chicago on the afternoon of December 26, 1967. Roger Puta photo.
[A nice view of both the train shed and clock tower.]

Robert Daly posted five photos with the comment:

On November 9 1969 B&O closed Chicago's Grand Central Station at Wells and Harrison. By then the station was only handling B&O 5 and 6, the Capitol, and C&O 8 and 9 (13 on Sunday), the Pere Marquette to Holland, Grand Rapids and Muskegon. The Capitol left at 3:40 PM and the very last departure was C&O 8 at 5:58 PM. Next day the trains were operated into North Western Station. They used that facility until Amtrak Day--the only non-CNW trains ever to use North Western Station.

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Robert Daly also posted

Pere Marquette consist was to the left of the center platform and the Capitol to the right.

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Robert Daly posted nine photos with the comment:

Views of B&O Grand Central Station taken July-October-November 1969. This Victorian gem was the work of architect Solon Spencer Beman who also designed the Town of Pullman. It opened in 1890 as part of the Northern Pacific's attempt to build a line into Chicago and eventually came under B&O ownership. Soo Line also used the station until 1963 when their trains moved to Central Station. After its 1969 closure there was an attempt to preserve the structure. Supposedly the B&O demolished it in 1971 to forestall landmark designation. The site remains vacant to this day.

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Bill Molony posted
Baltimore & Ohio EMD E9A #1456, preparing to depart from Grand Central in Chicago with B&O train #6, the Capital Limited, circa 1965.
Dennis DeBrulerGroup Admin A nice view of the arched train shed and clock tower.

Tom Shanahan shared two photos with the comment: "A couple pics of Grand Central Station in the 60's
The second pic is courtesy of Philip Weibler who listed it as taken in July, 1968"

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The first photo above provides context for this one. I didn't realize there was a baggage, REA, and/or US Mail operation between the trainshed and the river.

Scott Griffith posted
beautiful picture next GCS

Carl Venzke posted
Baltimore & Ohio E-9 1455 and Chesapeake & Ohio E-8 4012 at Grand Central Station in Chicago, Illinois on February 27, 1966, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler

David Daruszka posted
Due to its small size, its age and perceived obsolescence, Grand Central was the target of a long-term political effort by the city government to encourage consolidation of passenger terminals in the south Loop. It was ultimately this political effort that sealed the fate of Grand Central, described in 1969 as "decaying, dreary, and sadly out of date".
Lenny Hendricks not many slip switches for a terminal in a big city, but like you said, it was small for a big city like Chicago. B&O had their own passenger station in Philly and it stayed open until B&O ended all passenger service east of Baltimore in 1958.
Dennis DeBrulerYou and 1 other manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Chicago Railroad Historians. The current weed field is so much better. Can you imagine what a wonderful "event space" that depot would be today in a world where the Field Museum, Joliet Union Depot, etc. are rented for weddings?

David Daruszka added twelve photos with the comment: "Grand Central Station 1889-1971."

Paul Jervert shared

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In October 1889, a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Central Railroad began constructing a new passenger terminal at the southwest corner of Harrison and Wells Streets (then called Fifth Avenue) in Chicago, to replace a nearby temporary facility. The location of this new depot, along the south branch of the Chicago River, was selected to take advantage of the bustling passenger and freight market traveling on nearby Lake Michigan.

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Architect Solon S. Beman, who had gained fame as the designer of the Pullman company neighborhood, designed the station in the Norman Castellated style and chose brick, brownstone and granite for the construction. The structure measured 228 ft. along Harrison Street and 482 ft. along Wells. Imposing arches, crenellations, a spacious arched carriage-court facing Harrison Street, and a multitude of towers dominated the walls.

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Its most famous feature, however, was an impressive 247 ft (75 m) tower at the northeast corner of the structure. Beman, an early advocate of the Floating raft system to solve Chicago's unique swampy soil problems, designed the tower to sit within a floating foundation supported by 55 ft. deep piles. Early on, an 11,000 lb. bell in the tower rang on the hour. At some point, however, the bell was removed, but the tower (and its huge clock, 13 ft. in diameter—at one time among the largest in the United States, remained.[3]

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The Chicago and Northern Pacific Railroad, a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific Railway, formally opened Grand Central Station December 8, 1890. Seeking access to the Chicago railway market, the Northern Pacific had purchased Grand Central and the trackage leading to it from the Wisconsin Central with the intention of making the station its eastern terminus. When it opened, Grand Central hosted trains from the WC (which connected with its former trackage in Forest Park, Illinois), and the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad (M&NW), which made also a connection at Forest Park. By December 1891, the tenants also included the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and in 1903, the Pere Marquette Railway also started using the station.

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The interior of the Grand Central Station was decorated as extravagantly as the exterior. The waiting room, for example, had marble floors, Corinthian-style columns, stained-glass windows and a marble fireplace, and a restaurant. The station also had a 100-room hotel, but accommodations ended late in 1901.

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The smallest of Chicago's passenger rail terminals, Grand Central Station was a relatively quiet place, even during its heyday. Grand Central never became a prominent destination for large numbers of cross-country travelers, nor for the daily waves of commuters from the suburbs, that other Chicago terminals were. In 1912, for example, Grand Central served 3,175 passengers per day—representing only 4.5 percent of the total number for the city of Chicago—and serviced an average of 38 trains per day (including 4 B&O suburban trains). This number paled in comparison to the 146 trains served by Dearborn Station, the 191 by LaSalle Street Station, the 281 at Union Station, the 310 by the Chicago and North Western Terminal and the 373 trains per day at Central Station.[8]

The station could be a lonely place between train arrivals and departures. Even those events did not guarantee large crowds of travelers. As rail travel contracted Grand Central became a ghost station haunted by the dreams of its builders.
Bob Lalich This is a rarely seen angle of GC. Note the junction of the streetcar tracks. One route went west over the GC station tracks and river along Polk St.David DaruszkaDavid and 1 other manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Chicago Railroad Historians. And the B&O hasn't slapped their logo on the clock tower yet.

Richard Mead commented on Photo 6
 Photo from Chicagology
Paul Jevert I loved the European style trainshed with the tall iron gates to the track area and the "glass house" right inside the concourse area ! Looked like "Gare Grand Termimus" in Paris !

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Not as famous as the clock tower but equally architecturally unique was Grand Central Station's self-supporting glass and steel train shed, 555 ft × 156 ft × 79 ft, among the largest in the world at the time it was constructed. The train shed, considered an architectural gem and a marvel of engineering long after it was built, housed six tracks and had platforms long enough to accommodate fifteen-car passenger trains. The final construction cost totaled over one million dollars.

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The station did host some of Baltimore and Ohio's most famous passenger trains, including the Capitol Limited to Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, however, the circuitous trackage leading to the station from the east forced these trains miles out of their way through the industrial southwest and west side of the city. Other tenants such as the Soo Line Railroad (which purchased the WC in 1909), the M&NW (which became known as the Chicago Great Western Railway in 1893), and the Pere Marquette Railway (which merged into the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1947), were nowhere near the scale of B&O's operations in the intercity passenger rail market.

Central Station also served as a terminal for at least two suburban commuter lines. One, operated by the Wisconsin Central, operated trains west of Grand Central Station to Altenheim.[14] The second began service in 1900 by the Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad, and continued when B&O purchased the line in 1910. It operated six trains a day between Grand Central and Chicago Heights, stopping in Blue Island, Harvey, Thornton and Glenwood. The line was unsuccessful and ended as early as 1915.[15] None of the other tenant railroads operated commuter trains from Grand Central Station.

The B&OCT, which provided crucial switching and terminal operations within the Windy City not only for its parent but also numerous surrounding railroads. It was formed in 1910 when the B&O acquired the bankrupt Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad.

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The lightly used terminal became even quieter in the years following World War II, with Grand Central serving 26 intercity passenger trains, down from nearly 40 at its busiest. Passenger trains were dropped and service was curtailed, and by 1956 the Chicago Great Western, which as late as 1940 had run six trains per day in and out of Grand Central ceased operating passenger service into Chicago. As a result, by 1963 only ten intercity trains remained, of which six were operated by the Baltimore and Ohio. The number of passengers that used the remaining service shrank proportionately: by 1969, the year the station closed, the station only served an average of 210 passengers per day.

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Due to its small size, its age and perceived obsolescence, Grand Central was the target of a long-term political effort by the city government to encourage consolidation of passenger terminals in the south Loop. It was ultimately this political effort that sealed the fate of Grand Central, described in 1969 as "decaying, dreary, and sadly out of date".Lenny Hendricks not many slip switches for a terminal in a big city, but like you said, it was small for a big city like Chicago. B&O had their own passenger station in Philly and it stayed open until B&O ended all passenger service east of Baltimore in 1958.Dennis DeBrulerYou and 1 other manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Chicago Railroad Historians. The current weed field is so much better. Can you imagine what a wonderful "event space" that depot would be today in a world where the Field Museum, Joliet Union Depot, etc. are rented for weddings?

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Faced with decreasing passenger numbers and intense political pressure to consolidate, the railroads operating into Grand Central Station re-routed their trains into other Chicago terminals, beginning with the Soo Line into IC’s Central Station in 1963. The remaining six Baltimore and Ohio and ex-Pere Marquette trains last used Grand Central Station on November 8, 1969 and were routed into their new terminus at the Chicago and North Western Terminal the following day.

In a surprising move, somewhat uncharacteristic of the B&O (which became known for saving historic structures and equipment), elected to raze Grand Central Station to sell the perceived-valuable land beneath it.in Amazingly, the ground failed to sell, for decades. It was thought the property would be prime for new condos, apartments, and office buildings but ultimately none of this came to be. The Baltimore & Ohio retained the property through the Chessie System era and later when CSX Transportation was created in 1987. Only in 2008 did the ground finally sell to a real estate agent although virtually the entire property remains a vacant lot today.

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While real estate development booms in the surrounding area with new construction and residential, the land that the station occupied remains vacant and virtually undeveloped. Betrand Goldberg’s River City does occupy an area south of the station proper, but it too never developed into the larger project envisioned by its architect.

In fact the 1970’s were a sad period in the destruction of some of the greatest gems in Chicago’s architectural history. Perhaps if the station had survived it would be anchoring a new development much like Dearborn Station did. Sadly it was relegated to the landfill of history.

David Daruszka shared
Here's a two-fer. CSL streetcar and Grand Central Station.
Bruce Moffat post
Wells at Polk looking north. A Chicago Surface Lines streetcar climbs the ramp to Polk to cross the Chicago River on the Blue Island-26th route sometime in the 1940s.
Dennis DeBrulerYou and 1 other manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Chicago Railroad Historians. Back when Polk Street still had a bridge across the river. The curved roof on the left is part of the clear-span train shed of Grand Central. This intersection is now the southwest corner of the vacant lot left by the destruction of the station. River City was supposed to build further north into that area, but they ran out of money. https://www.google.com/.../@41.8721179,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3

Jeff Worones posted
B&O Grand Central Station. 8-24-1969. Photographer unknown, Jeff Worones collection.
Dennis DeBruler This view helps one appreciate how high that arched train shed was.

David Daruszka commented on Jeff's posting

Bob Olsen commented on a posting

Bill Molony shared

Grand Central Terminal, Wells and Harrison, 1969

Brian Watt also posted

I found this picture on Pinterest ...Grand Central Station, 1969. This photo is part of a collection of historic Chicago photos from the archives of the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF). I find the background of this picture to be equally interesting.

Dennis DeBruler posted

I was updating my notes concerning freight houses that were in the South Loop and I came across this photo. It is worth sharing.
Of course we have the intended subject of the Grand Central Station and its huge clear-span train shed. But note the Rock Island tracks in their 12th Street Yard for piggyback service. Even more interesting is the land south of Roosevelt that has no tracks and is being used for trailer storage. This is the original route of the South Branch of the Chicago River. It was filled in after the South Branch was straightened. It doesn't have tracks because it is "new land" that was created decades after the tracks were laid for Grand Central Station, La Salle Street Station, and Dearborn Station. (The original reason for straightening the river, creating more north/south roads through the area, never happened. I had assumed the river was straightened to help navigation. But I learned that was not the case. Thinking some more about it, if a ship can get around Wolf Point, it can get around the curves that used to be in the South Branch.)
This is one of the photos where, the more you look, the more history you find. Note all of the fire protection water towers that were still on top of the buildings and the Chicago Housing Project buildings in the background. We have already discussed in thi group the conversion of the Meadow Gold Butter cold storage building into condos. I can't figure out what the smokestacks were for that are to the right of the "butter house."
All Things Chicago posted
📷: Raymond L. Moldenhauer Collection
All Things Chicago shared

Urban Remains posted four photos with the comment:

original hardbound building dedication book for s.s. beman's grand central station (completed 1890, demolished, 1971). i selected a few pages showing the original ornamental ironwork (likely fabricated by winslow brothers) and cavernous waiting room.
beman's work is slowly growing on me. like the pullman building, i'm angered grand central came down. at least one can stroll over to the fine arts building to admire a fine example still standing.
courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art institute of chicago.

Stephen Jones The station was originally commissioned and built by the Northern Pacific Railroad. The NPRR intended to enter Chicago by way of the Wisconsin Central Railroad, which it controlled. NPRR lost the Wisconsin Central in the 1893 depression, and the station along with it. The Baltimore & Ohio acquired the station in 1910.

Solon S. Beman, who designed and planned Pullman was the architect.

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Urban Remains posted four photos with the comment:

original 1890 inland architect and news record chromolithograph of s.s. beman's grand central station and clock tower. the nearly 250-foot tower was built first to avoid unequal settlement.
the station and tower rested on a floating raft foundation consisting of steel rails and concrete supported by wood piles (measuring over 50 feet in length) driven to hard-pan clay.
beman's grand central station was destroyed in 1971. additional images of its demolition were taken by richard nickel.
courtesy of ryerson and burnham, art instate of chicago and bldg. 51 archive.

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Steve Lewandowski posted
I went to a sale in Oak Park early this morning and was fortunate to find some vintage negatives, circa late 1960's to early 1970's. I actively seek old film, slides, negatives and the like. Lo and behold, in the pile was a film negative of a Local 150 Operating Engineer running the crane during the demo of the old Grand Central Station which was located on 201 West Harrison. Built in 1890, she was demolished in 1971 after serving the Chicago and Northern Pacific, the Chicago Great Western, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for more than 80 years. People from across the country came to this station when arriving in Chicago for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. We have lost so many architectural treasures in Chicago but fortunate that we saved what we did. The arc that you see is the remains of the train shed.
Ken Dye Any pictures of the "grand hall" waiting room?
Ken Dye never mind: http://loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Photograph%3A%20il0117...

Charles Valentino shared
Charlie Benoit And now it's more uninspired glass condos. If only there hadn't been such a rush to demolish and let the land sit vacant for half a century.
Mark N. Goedert The Oak Park Society of Model Engineers have a scratch built model of this train station on their layout. It is an impressive sight with working trains under the shed. The club welcomes visitors. https://www.opsme.org/

Michael Riha shared
Chicago's smallest and least used passenger terminal was also notable for how it was hastily it was demolished, only to have the land sit vacant for decades.
David Daruszka The CSX continued to pay taxes on the land and station as it was assessed as "improved" property. Removing the building lowered their tax burden, as well as the cost of maintaining the structure. There was no attempt by the city, or any preservation group, to step forward to save the station. If anyone asks me the question as to why this building was demolished I tell them that the railroads were not in the preservation business. As to the land sitting vacant, as far as I know there was no credible project for developing it. I'm sure the CSX would have been more than happy to sell it off. The recent residential housing boom in the downtown area, and renewed interest in the Chicago River as a selling point, has changed that. We can mourn those things that were lost, but the city moves on.
Joel J. Sieracki The new development there is called Grand Central. We installed a large banner at the location late last year.
Jon Roma Those who weren't around in the Seventies and early Eighties probably would be stunned to learn that some of the vibrant neighborhoods close to the Loop were once somewhat depressed (and depressing) areas. Every individual's definition of "sketchy" differs, but even State Street ("that great street") started to attain a slightly sleazy character south of Van Buren.

Likewise, west of Union and North Western stations (beyond Clinton St.), the area began to deteriorate – this was Chicago's skid row, and there were a lot of cheap hotels for transients and winos.

The Near North Side was probably the best of the three areas outlying the Loop, but there were a lot of warehouses and other downscale businesses that made it wise to be attentive to one's surroundings, particularly on weekends and at night when there wasn't much pedestrian traffic. Even as far north as Clark & Division, the neighborhood was borderline.

I'm sad that we lost a lot of the old buildings – especially the train stations, but I'm heartened that these neighborhoods are thriving today, and that people are moving TO the city rather than AWAY from it. Even the Loop at night is remarkably more hospitable an environment than it was in the Seventies.

And David Daruszka is absolutely right. Though every railroad owns plenty of real estate, that property was purchased to provide facilities that allowed them to earn a profit moving passengers and freight. Once a building or plot of land no longer produces anything of value to the railroad, it's dead weight for them.

If any of those lost stations were shuttered today, I think there'd be some chance of saving them, but that would have to be private investors or a public authorty – it would be nothing more than a distraction to the railroads.

Steve Lowandowski posted
Demolishing the B & O station Chicago Illinois. The arched area is the remains of the train shed. Sadly, the city was in a rush to demolish this beautiful structure and then the lot sat vacant for decades.
Jon Roma The city didn't demolish the building; the station's owner (the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad) did.

Either way, if I had to choose only one of Chicago's glorious old downtown railroad stations to save, it would have been this one, which I never got to experience first-hand. Of the stations I did get to experience, North Western Station would have been the one I'd vote to save.

Alas, not one of Chicago's downtown terminals was saved intact.
Jon Roma When the B&O saw the handwriting on the wall for the passenger train, they moved over to North Western Station via a relatively easy and straightforward reroute. That decision rendered this station surplus to them. Not only were they not in the business of preserving buildings they no longer needed, but they didn't want to pay taxes on those buildings.

I think it was much later that Chicagoans began to become aware of all the railroad history that vanished as the terminals one by one got modified or eliminated.
David Burhenn Building designed by Solon Beman, who also designed Pullman, Illinois, the former Pullman building on S. Michigan Avenue and a large addition to George Pullman's house on S. Prairie Avenue. Beman was a prolific Chicago architect who was responsible for other office buildings and a number of Christian Science churches.

Stuart Pearson commented on a post
1./1./57 was when I took this image. The 0-8-0 Switcher on the Left was making up the Capitol Limited. The Temperature (without Windchill) was MINUS 10). My Camera at that time was a Fixed Lens Aires IIIC, the Lens was a 50MM F1.9. My Film was Ekachrome which I didn't use much.

Stuart Pearson commented on a post
Here's another image from that day.

Philip Wizenick shared a post by Lee Bey of five photos. Lee's comment: "Five fantastic Richard Nickel photos of Chicago’s late, great Grand Central Station, which stood at Harrison and Wells, just before its 1969 demolition. (Photos from the Art Institute of Chicago)"
Andre Kristopans Nickel photographed many soon to be demolished buildings. He was killed when part of the Old Stock Exchange fell in on him.
Jerry Hund Let’s not forget the Chicago Great Western used this station as well.
Bill Edrington So did the Wisconsin Central/Soo Line, except for two periods when they used the IC's Central Station instead. In fact, the WC built Grand Central Station as a Chicago terminal for passenger trains of the Northern Pacific, which controlled the WC at the time. After NP's control of the WC ended, WC went through tough financial times; eventually sold the station to the B&O; and later returned as a tenant (which CGW also was).
Andre Kristopans Also Pere Marquette later C&O. SOO moved to Central early 1960's, B&O/C&O to North Western when GC closed.

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Brian A Morgan posted two images with the comment:

This is a painting of the lead tracks of Grand Central Station Chicago. The track diagram is of the 1927 re-lignment of the South Branch of the Chicago River. The Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railway operated along the East Bank of the South Branch of the Chicago River to Grand Central. On the West Bank is the trackage of The Chicago & Union Station Railway to Chicago's Union Station. The trackage East of the Grand Central Lead tracks are the lead tracks to LaSalle Street Station which was owned by the Rock Island Lines and the New York Central ( Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Division.) with the Nickel Plate Road as a tenant of La Salle Street Station.

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Marty Bernard posted four photows with the comment:

Switching From Grand Central Station to CNW Terminal in Nov. 1969

Well, we are lucky today! Bill Howes just sent me a few hundred of his slides to scan and post. I did a bunch of his a year or two ago, so you know we are in for a treat. And this first post is really neat.

Grand Central Station in Chicago was closed in November 1969 and B&O's "Capitol Limited" moved to CNW's Terminal for a year and a half until Amtrak Day when the train was moved to Chicago Union Station.

Here's Bill's story about these four slides:
"For the benefit of people wanting to ride the last "Capitol Limited", Train 6, from B&O's Grand Central Station in Chicago and the first Capitol Limited, Train 5, into the Chicago & Northwestern Passenger Terminal, we put three cars -- PV "Wayside" (former B&O office car 905), a Slumbercoach, and a Coach -- on the rear of Train 6 on November 8, 1969 leaving Grand Central (as shown in first three photos), turned them during the night at Willard, Ohio, and put them on rear of Train 5 headed for its first entry into the Chicago & Northwestern Passenger Terminal on November 9."

Captions with photos.

[Yesterday I asked Bill this question, "Did the Capitol disappear on Amtrak Day and later become reincarnated?"

His reply. "Yes, Amtrak initially dropped the Capitol Limited in favor of a Washington section of its New York - Chicago Broadway Limited. The Washington Section ran between Harrisburg and Baltimore - Washington via the PRR.s Port Road (through Port Deposit, MD and Columbia, PA). The Capitol Limited name and route between Washington and Pittsburgh via the B&O through Cumberland, MD was restored by Amtrak in 1981. West of Pittsburgh, Amtrak has generally run its Capitol Limited to Chicago via Cleveland using trackage of the former PRR and NYC."]

Marty Bernard shared 

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1. B&OCT Yard Engine switching private car "Wayside" and the "Capitol Limited" on its last day of operation at Grand Central Chicago, November 8, 1969

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2. The Capitol Limited's last day at Grand Central Station

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3. B&O's last "Capitol Limited", Train 6, pulling out of Grand Central Station, Chicago on November 8, 1969
Greg Brown That looks like an SP “Econobaggage” on the head end. Those cars really got around...
Rodney D Zona Old B&O RR Willard, OH based passenger train crews worked to and from Chicago. Garrett, IN based engine crews worked to and from the Windy City. In photos 2, 3 and 4.

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4. B&O E8A 1461 brought the first "Capitol Limited", Train 5, into CNW Terminal on November 9, 1969
Doug Bess Originally C&O 4011.

Karl Beetschen posted two photos with the comment; "Took this through a window in downtown Chicago. Central Station with a B&OCT gondola. Found it interesting." [It is a photo of a photo. That is why we see horse drawn wagons.]

Andrew Stiffler: It'd have to have been taken from whatever used to be on the NW corner of Harrison and Franklin; the cloverleaf from Congress Parkway/Ida B. Wells Drive is there now.

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Stuart Pearson posted
I captured this image 66 years ago on New Years Day. It was one of. those WINDY BONE CHILLING DAYS IN CHICAGO. WHERE THE THERMOMETER READ A -10. The Locomotive on the Left was busy making up the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Passenger Train T\he Capitol Limited while the other one was making up. a Freight Train.
Stuart Pearson shared
David Daruszka: To my knowledge no freight trains began or ended at Grand Central Station, the location of this image.
Karl Beetschen: David Daruszka thought passenger trains were serviced at Robey Street ?
Larry Candilas: Wasn't 1957 a little late for B&OCT to be using steam, especially downtown?
David Daruszka: No, they were still using some steam.
Ray Weart: Larry Candilas The B&OCT steam switch engines (0-8-0's) were about the last "Revenue" steam engines to run in the Chicago Terminal. They switched Grand Central Station into 1958. They may well have been the last steam run on the B&O System.
Stuart Pearson shared

David Daruska commented on Karl's comment
They were, but this is not Robey Street. Serviced cars were brought from Robey by switch engines to the station, ergo the switch engine in the picture. The yard and station were switched by the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Co., a subsidiary of the B&O.
Karl Beetschen: David Daruszka just zoomed in and seen board of trade building!

Jeff Nicols posted
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad locomotives 1456 and 2407 leaving Grand Central Station, 1965. UConn
Paul Jevert shared
B&O leaving Grand Central Station Chicago (1965)

Dennis DeBruler commented on Stuart's post
This is what it looked like around the Grand Central Station back then. Of course, all of the tracks that fed the station are now gone. That is why the northern heel-trunnion bridge is now always up.
1963 Englewood @ 24,000

Dennis DeBruler commented on Karl's comment
The engines were serviced at Robey (today's Damen) Street Yard. The coaches were serviced at Lincoln Street Yard, which was just east of the Robey Street Yard.
(This B&OCT group is private, so I don't know if this link will work.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/535114236561326/permalink/1006997099373035/)

Soo switched to Grand Central in 1963 for two years so IHB saw passenger trains four a couple of years, comment by Harold on a posting:
Harold J. Krewer BTW, the IHB DID host passenger service briefly in the 1960s: Soo Line's Laker used the IHB from Franklin Park to the IC at Hawthorne to reach Central Station from 1963 (when Soo vacated Grand Central) to 1965 when the train came off.


Scott Griffith posted clippings from a Dec 30, 1945 article.

Joseph Petric Flickr 1969 Photo, overview of train shed and head house. (source)

A photo album that includes exterior and interior shots. (source)

3 images

Dearborn Street: Santa Fe, C&EI, Monon, Erie, GTW, Wabash, C&O (initially)

Grand Central: B&O, GTW, Pere Marguette, Wisconsin Central (Soo), C&O (later)

Central: IC, Big Four (initially), Michigan Central (initially)

La Salle Street: Rock Island, Nickel Plate, C&EI, LS&MS, Big4 (later), MC (later)

Chicago & North Western: C&NW

Union Station: Pennsy, CB&Q, Milwaukee, Chicago and Alton (GM&O)