Monday, January 8, 2018

Chicago, IL Depot: C&WI (Little) Englewood (63rd)

(Satellite, I can't believe that the platform cover still stands. I know of a lot of stations that are still used, but the platform covers have been removed. For example, Downers Grove Main.)

This is sometimes known a "Little Englewood" to distinguish it from the Englewood Union Station. It was used by the five railroads that owned the Chicago & Western Indiana.

BRHS posted
Englewood Station was constructed in 1903 by the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad Company.
It was a scheduled stop for the intercity passenger trains of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, the Wabash, the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville and the Erie, as well as the Chicago & Western Indiana's suburban trains operating between Dolton and Dearborn Station in Chicago.
This station stood on the south side of 63rd Street and on the east side of the C&WI's tracks.

Brian A Morgan posted
Englewood Station was constructed in 1903 by the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad Company.
It was a scheduled stop for the intercity passenger trains of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, the Wabash, the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville and the Erie, as well as the Chicago & Western Indiana's suburban trains operating between Dolton and Dearborn Station in Chicago.
This station stood on the south side of 63rd Street at the intersection of West 63rd Street and South Wallace Avenue and on the east side of the C&WI's tracks.
Alan Kline: Interesting that while the building is gone, one platform shed remains, with another in ruins on the east side of the ROW. I’m guessing that the C&WI commuter service continued after the building was demolished?
Robert Fiedler: Alan Kline There are still two crumbling platform canopies there. C&WI commuter trains were gone by 1965 or 66. I still use the Metra line twice a month and have ridden it from time to time in the past, starting in 1974. I don’t remember any trains stopping there any of that time.
William Schenold: I made a station stop there once on the Bluebird. I was actually at the throttles of the E8. I was only maybe fourteen at the time. If you want to read the story go to TRAINS magazine April 2005.

Bill Molony posted

I never realized that this station was close to a major commercial area until I saw this post.
safe_image for Flashback: Englewood’s shopping district rivaled that of the Loop — but it fell victim to rise of suburban malls, white flight
The heart of the Englewood shopping district on Chicago's South Side, photographed looking north on Halsted Street from the 63rd Street elevated train platform, circa May 1945. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)

David Daruszka commented on a posting
"Little Englewood" 1975. The adjacent 63rd Street shopping and entertainment district was a destination in and of itself.
David Daruszka Looking south from the center platform.
[The girder is for the 63rd street overpass.]

BRHS posted
Wabash Railroad class J-1 4-6-2 Pacific #667, arriving at the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad's Englewood Station - 63rd Street and Wallace Avenue on the south side of Chicago, with Wabash train #11, the southbound Banner Blue, on the morning of April 14th, 1946.
Photographer unknown.
From the Wabash Railroad Historical Society collection.

Don Wetmore commented on BRHS post
Amazingly those umbrella sheds are still standing even though a train hasn't stopped there in decades.
[Street View]

The sheds can be seen from 63rd as well.
Street View

BRHS posted
Englewood Station entrance sign.

David Daruszka commented on a posting
C&EI making a station stop at "Little Englewood".
Bob Lalich Nice shot David! I like the 65th St signal bridge and the Robert Hall store in the background.
David Daruszka commented on a posting
63rd Street, tracks in the background.
David Daruszka commented on a posting
This photo of "Little Englewood" shows the elevated rapid transit line it connected with.
1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP
It was south of 63rd on the east side of the tracks. The platforms went under the Green Line and the "L" station connected with the train station. The "L" station is now at Halsted.

I included the curved tracks in the aerial photo because that is the vantage point for the above photo. I can't figure out where those curved tracks go to.

David Daruszka commented on a Daly posting
Englewood Station in red circle.
David Daruszka posted
The original C&WI Englewood Station. Track elevation work is taking place and the station will be replaced once it is completed.
From a posting, a comment provides a link to a 1981 Flickr photo. Another comment is a link to a Flickr Gallery. Additional comments on that posting:
Cameron Applegath Wonder what that MOPAC is doing there.
Stuart B. Slaymaker MoPac bought the C&EI in 1968.
Dave Andreides Canal st was our intermodal yard for a long time C&EI then the Mopac.
Denis Johnston This area was a thriving community with much commerce and industry before the 60's. Its has since suffered extreme economic distress.

David Daruszka commented on a posting concerning this station
Looking west from the station.
Bill Molony posted
Monon EMD F3A #84B arriving at Englewood Station with train #5, The Throughbred - 1950.Larry Ellis Reed Particularly interesting is that James M. Barringer III, as President of the Monon, sensed a good bargain in buying up war-surplus Army hospital cars and rebuilding them as coaches, diners and lounge cars for the new generation of passenger trains such as the Hoosier and the Throughbred.
Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad Historical Society posted
Northbound Meadowlark at 63rd Street in Chicago. William Clark photo: Classic Trains collection.
Bob Lalich Nice photo! The train is southbound though. There is a locomotive seen in the distance on a track that was normally used by NB freights. I can't quite make out the paint scheme.
Robert Gibson Jr. Afternoon shot instead of morning
Christian Goepel posted
Unconfirmed southbound C&EI passenger train stops at the Englewood station on the C&WI on the south side of Chicago circa 1951. CTA Englewood Branch and “L” Station overhead. Allegedly, photo was made by R.L. Borcherding.
Scott Greig Parnell "L" station, closed July 30, 1949.Bob Lalich Yes, the train is definitely SB.


Bill Molony posted
Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad Alco RS1 #260 at Englewood Station, located at 63rd Street and Wallace Avenue on the South Side of Chicago. I believe that this photo is from the late 1960's; also, it was of an officer's special, and not a regular C&WI revenue passenger train.
Dave Andreides Haven’t seen anyone up on the tracks there in a long time since the business left canal st they have no reason to go up there! Only time we go up there now is to drop off or get a repo train! Late 90s it was crazy how they were hitting the intermodal trains! It was like window shopping going up to 80th st on the Ford run!

Gregory C Ganz Transfers used to go up there on the C&WI all the time... 37th st., freight house, Canal St., Erie, Ft.Wayne on the Pennsy, set out Soo Lines and Wabash's, head to the C.J. what a change ....We used the C&WI so much that you had to go up to Dearborn Station and take a separate promotional exam on the C&WI... I still remember mine, R.L. Henry gave it to me and he was the Chief Dispatcher... You had to walk the entire Dearborn station and train shed and be able to identify all the rails... Back when railroading was fun 
David Daruszka's photo manipulation of a posting by Bill Molony
Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad 2-6-0 Mogul-type #211, pausing at Englewood Station with a commuter train on December 20, 1940.
Bill Molony posted
Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville 4-6-2 Pacific-type #440 at Englewood Station, 63rd and Wallace on the south side of Chicago, on June 22, 1940.
[Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville was the official name for the Monon.]
Bill Molony posted
In August of 1956, I was on the platform of Englewood Station at 63rd and Wallace on the south side of Chicago with Mom's Brownie camera, ready to photograph whatever came by.
A northbound Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad freight came by, and as I was photographing the C&EI transfer caboose, a southbound Erie Railroad EMD NW2 switcher nosed in to the picture.
Dennis DeBruler I'm glad you had use of a Brownie. You don't see too many shots from "Little Englewood."
Chuck Roth Is the platform on the east side of the tracks?
Dennis DeBrulerYou and 1 other manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Chicago Railroad Historians. If you scroll about half way down, David marked a map with a red circle that shows the station was east of the tracks. http://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/.../chicago-il-depot...
Bob Lalich Chuck Roth - there was a platform on the east side of the tracks for commuters. The easternmost track was used primarily by commuter trains. There was another platform between the passenger main tracks for intercity passengers. Bill's photo was taken from the intercity platform. The photos in the blog above illustrate the layout very well.
Bill Molony Englewood Station was owned by the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad. It was a stop for the C&WI's suburban trains, as well as the long distance passenger trains of the Wabash, the Erie, the Monon, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois and the C&O of Indiana.
William Shapotkin posted two photos with the comment: "Here are two pix of the MONON at Chicago's 63rd St ("Little Englewood") station on the C&WI. Loco #82 is seen leading a N/B train at 63rd, while loco #84 is seen leading a S/B train at 63rd. Undated, based on the paint job, these pix are both taken in the 1950s."

1

2

Bill Molony posted
Wabash Railroad class M 4-8-2 Mountain-type #2823 arriving at the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad's 47th Street Station with an intercity passenger train - undated.

John L Garcia shared a different post by Bill Molony

Bill Molony posted
The Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad's Englewood Station as it looked on April 14, 1924.
At that time, it was a stop for the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad's commuter trains that operated between Dolton and Dearborn Station.
Englewood Station also was a stop for the intercity passenger trains of the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railroad, the Erie Railroad, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad, The Wabash Railroad and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad of Indiana.
Lawrence Smith what is the spur in the foreground on pilings?
Bob Lalich That was a coal yard. Back then, coal was the primary heating fuel and the railroads in the city were lined with coal yards.
Lee Jones Shame its all gone except for Metra.
Joel J. Sieracki The CTA still crosses over and NS runs transfers on the C&WI.

BRHS posted
This photograph of the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad's Englewood Station is from about 100 years ago.
This station stood on the east side of the C&WI tracks and the south side of West 63rd Street on the south side of Chicago.
It was a scheduled stop back then for the passenger trains of the Chicago & Western Indiana, Chicago & Eastern Illinois, the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville, the Erie and the Wabash.

Bill Molony posted
Englewood Station, located at 63rd Street and Wallace Avenue on the south side of Chicago, was owned and operated by the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad, and was used by the intercity passenger trains of the Wabash, the Erie, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville and the Chesapeake & Ohio of Indiana railroads, and the suburban trains of the Chicago & Western Indiana. - undated.
From the Blackhawk collection.

Bill Molony shared
Joseph Tuch Santucci: That El line was abandoned I believe in the 60’s. Kids used to go up there and throw rocks at the trains operating over the C&WI. Had them clobber us one day and took out one of our front windows back in the days before the FRA required Part 223 glazing.
John Eagan: Joseph Tuch Santucci Tuch do you recall an L&N GP38-2 sitting at Yard Center with rain gutters all piled up in front of the fireman’s door? I was told these were from this station, they had somehow got in the gauge and the train did the rest.
Joseph Tuch Santucci: John Eagan no I must have missed that one. I had a trainmaster trainee riding with me one time and we warned him that Englewood was the “war zone” as we were frequently rocked there. He didn’t take us serious until we approached the CTA bridge and there were like half a dozen kids up there locked and loaded. When the missiles started flying he freaked out, climbed frown into the nose and hid. I believe we had a GP18 in the lead. And me of the projected “missiles” hit the center windshield and it frosted right up. He did not come back out until we arrived at 37th Street yard. He dropped off at the office and we never saw him again.

Turk Meyers posted
Abandoned station in Englewood at 63rd and Lowe [Taken in April, 2019]
Charles Harris The GTW Turned off the Chicago & Western Indiana at a location called Grand Trunk Junction formerly located at 49th and Halsted and continued West till it reached the Elsdon Yard. This section of the GTW was called the Elsdon Subdivision of the Chicago Division. ( Dearborn Street Station to the Elsdon Yard complex.) The South Bend Subdivision operated from the Elsdon Yard to Battle Creek, Michigan.

Bob Lalich I'm not 100% certain of current ownership, but the former C&WI tracks at 63rd St are used by Metra, Amtrak, UP and NS. In C&WI days, there were three passenger tracks, two freight mains, a secondary freight track for industries and switching, and a large team yard at Englewood.
Lawrence Smith found a 1939 C+WI ETT - there were about 40 pssgr trains/day through here then incl the suburban trains. Plus freights. Not counting the multiple sections of the florida trains in the winter. In WW2 I'll bet there were many more.Jon Roma No doubt, Lawrence Smith. I have a digitized C&WI employee timetable in PDF form on my website at https://www.jonroma.net/.../C%26WI.%20Timetable%2078....

Naturally, the timetable schedules only include regular trains, most of which on the
 C&WI were passenger. It would not include all the transfers, equipment moves, etc. that ran without a schedule. Any movement of passenger trains beyond the normal would have been run as extras or as sections of a scheduled train.

The only way to get a pure picture of what the traffic levels really were would be to find a train sheet – either the one maintained by the train dispatcher or one of the towers (like 47th Street). That would be a find!

Jon Roma The Englewood Station where the NYC and PRR lines curved to parallel each other in the southeasterly direction was located at 63rd and State.

Each of the trunk line railroads serving the south side had a station at 63rd Street.


IC's was at 63rd near Dorchester and was used by IC suburban trains, and the intercity trains of IC, Michigan Central, and the Big Four. The suburban station remains, and is used by Metra Electric service.

PRR, NYC, Rock Island, and Nickel Plate used the Englewood station I just mentioned above, which was at 63rd and State.

The C&WI, C&EI, Wabash, Erie, and Monon used the Englewood station (sometimes referred to as "Little Englewood" in deference to the more important station at 63rd and State) near Wallace St.

The Baltimore & Ohio and Chesapeake & Ohio (former Pere Marquette) used a station at 63rd and Bell.

The Grand Trunk Western had a station at 63rd and Central Park.
[Someone else described the GTW location for 63rd. But there is controversy about it still standing.]
Three more photos posted by Turk as comments on his post.
a

b

c

Bill Molony posted
On the right is a northbound Chicago & Eastern Illinois transfer freight train.
On the left is a southbound Erie Railroad EMD SW7.
Englewood Station - August, 1956.

William Shapotkin posted
We are at 63rd/Stewart at the 63rd St (known as "Little Englewood" to the railfans) Station on the C&WI as S/B WABASH psgr trn #21, the BLUE BIRD arrives and prepares to board psgrs for Decatur, St Louis and point between. Visible above is the ENGLEWOOD 'L' and (to left) the Southtown Theater.
View looks north in this photo dated July 1947. Photographer Unknown/William Shapotkin Collection. (Neg 041)
William Shapotkin posted
(same comment)
[Comments on both posts identify this as an Erie locomotive. Specifically, heavy USRA 4-6-2.]

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