Saturday, December 2, 2017

Rockford, IL: IR/CB&Q + ICE/Milw Rockford Yard

Roundhouse: (Satellite, it is now a clump of trees)

Martin O'Connor posted
CMStP&P 4-stall Roundhouse, Rockford, Illinois.
Not sure if this was originally CM&G near Harrison St, or a different Milwaukee Road engine house.
https://www.lakestatesarchive.org/FR-Ritzman-Collection/CMStPP-Structures/i-4wJF6BH
Tyson Park: That's the former MILW engine house located between Cedar and Short Elm and alongside the north fork of Kent Creek in Rockford. You can see the Short Elm bridge over Kent Creek in the background on the right. It is still there. CP recently installed a runaround track in this area.
Martin O'Connor: It was in the Upper West Milwaukee Road Yard, so I don't think CM&G ever reached that location.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104rm.g02127195101/
Paul Krueger: Martin is correct. The CM&G didn’t cross the Rock River. I think they had a two track shed in the middle of the wye near Harrison Street.

Satellite
While researching the bridge across the Kishwaukee River, I followed the IR+ICE route north into Rockford. The route continues into Rockford past Gunite Corporation, which it evidently still serves, and then joins CN/IC to get to this yard in Rockford. IR terminates here, but ICE continues north into Wisconsin.

This joint branch used to cross the IC and go north to its own bridge across the Rock River and then past its own CB&Q+Milwaukee depot between Main and Winnebago Streets to access this yard.

Tyson Park posted some comments:
IR was busy in Rockford today. A crew shuffled around cars at the former CB&Q yard off Main Street, then headed over to Behr with both engines. After working Behr the train went south and dropped off all of its cars on the siding at Camp Grant. The two engines then ran light all the way through Davis Junction headed south toward Flagg Center. I was surprised they did not work Ring Container as they were carrying covered hoppers with them that they dropped off at Camp Grant. Was ex-UP 2525 or 3500 due for service? Interesting to see IR using the line from DJ to Flagg Center after Omnitrax filed to abandon it in 2019. Also was one of the fans in a white Chevy pickup track off Main Street watching the action earlier today?
You really have to watch where you are in Rockford. A high crime area for sure. Then you have the homeless camps along Kent Creek and under Winnebago Street by the tracks that CP and IR use. I've gotten approached by strange people in Rockford while waiting to get pictures including today by a strange man on a bicycle with wooden boxes attached to it. He stopped me at Airport Road and the tracks while I was waiting, asking if I was lost. I said no, I am waiting for a train to get pictures. He wanted to talk about how he randomly finds tools. He seemed hard of hearing and I didn't know what his intention was but fortunately he left on his own. Another man followed me one time to where I was waiting at Kilbuck Creek to get a picture of a CP train crossing the bridge and kept chatting me up. He kept following me so I walked quickly to my car and left.

Jeff Kehoe posted
Since so much of our CM&G involves Rockford, here's what the town looked like in 1891, before the Gary was built. The yards of the Chicago Milwaukee & St.Paul are where the * is located.
John Mann The MILW and CB&Q station was in the ground floor of the Emerson Talcott building which was right where the star is. ET moved farther West and built a new plant that became JI Case.
Paul Krueger That was the lower yard, where the freight house was located. The upper yard was to the right, out of the picture. The roundhouse was there.
Paul Krueger Note the covered bridge that the Burlington (and MILW) used to cross the Rock River

American-Rails.com posted
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy's weed-choked yard in Rockford, Illinois is seen here in August, 1965. Pictured is 2-8-2 #4960 which pulled many excursions at this time. Roger Puta photo.
Bill Molony shared
Marty Bernard posted
CB&Q Mikado 4960 in Rockford, IL Yards, August 1965. Roger Puta photo.
Sam Sandoval: C.B.& Q. No. 4960 New Home Grand Canyon Scenic RR .
 




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