South Bend, IN: 1930 CP487/Bend (HF) Tower: CN+CP/GTW vs NS+CP+Amtrak/NYC/LS&MS

(See below for satellite)

Gary Sturm posted
Penn Central #6087 with Union Pacific engines trailing passes BEND Tower eastbound at South Bend, Indiana, Indiana in 1974.
Dennis DeBruler That was a long tower. It must have had a lot of levers.
https://www.google.com/.../@41.6694365,-86.../data=!3m1!1e3

Satellite it was along South St. between Scott and Taylor Streets on the north side of the tracks [IndianaRailroads]

It set next to the west end of the platform for Union Station.

Mark Hinsdale posted
In January, 1980, an eastbound Conrail manifest train passes "HF" (renamed "BEND") Tower in South Bend, Indiana. This section of Conrail's busy Buffalo to Chicago main line also hosted Grand Trunk Western trains between Michigan points and Chicago, which shared trackage with Conrail across a one mile long grade separated corridor through South Bend. That same arrangement still exists today, between successors Norfolk Southern and Canadian National. January, 1980 photo by Mark Hinsdale
Mark Hinsdale shared
Mark Hinsdale shared

Richard Roberts shared
Inside South Bend tower.

Joe Barron posted four photos with the comment:

This is the railroad control tower in South Bend, about 1929. There were a lot of improvements in rail service in South Bend at this time. The track originally had been at street level. It was elevated in 1928, as we see it today, and this tower controlled the switches for the track in that area. The westbound locomotive in the photo is a New York Central "Pacific" class pulling a passenger train. It was during this time that Union Station was built too.

Joe Barron The tower was located just west of Union Station on the north side of the tracks. It was removed in the late 90's after track realignment and switch upgrades.
Don Laskowski My dad worked on Nycrr and called this The J-K tower. It controlled all the rr switches from High street west to beyond Olive St

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New York Central control tower at South Bend. Photo credit Bob Albert Collection.

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The control levers inside the tower. These controlled the switches in the rail yard.

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This display shows the status of the switches of the yard at South Bend.

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The foundation and steps are all that remain of the South Bend tower. The building was on the hillside along the north side of the tracks on South Street, just before Scott Street.

Gary Sturm posted five photos with the comment: "BEND Tower in South Bend, Indiana in 1977."
Brian Michael What railroad was that PRR or NYC RR.
Dennis DeBruler Looking at my 2005 SPV Map: NYC. It was west of Union Station. And I noticed that GTW used the NYC tracks through town between Arnold Street and High Street Junctions.
https://www.google.com/.../@41.6694648,-86.../data=!3m1!1e3

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Bob Finan updated
Grand Trunk Western #4906 West passing BEND Tower at South Bend, Indiana in 1977. Gary Sturm Photograph © 1977.
Brian A Morgan: Once past High Street the GTW is back upon home rails.
Brian A Morgan: Charles Geletzke Jr. Looks like the train is Westbound. That's the Studebaker Plant behind the consist.

Darren Reynolds posted five images with the comment: "NYC "HF" tower (Bend) 

South Bend, Indiana."

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Bruce Wukovits posted two images with the comment:

Conrail Bend Tower stood near South Street in South Bend Indiana into the 90's. An important control and communications link for Conrail and Grand Trunk Western trains using shared trackage here. Control now automated and communications handled out of Elkhart. Only foundation remains.

Photo by Conrail Historical Society taken by Doug Davidson

For rare scanner audio of Bend Tower talk in action see https://youtu.be/qetPnnAe_WM

Tim Shanahan shared

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MichiganRailroads
"'HF' Tower was built in 1930, when the GTW abandoned their own line through downtown South Bend. This was the original crossing of the GTW and NYC. It was upgraded with a new tower and interlocking machine and became a junction rather than a crossing....The new interlocking plant was constructed by General Railway Signal Co. and was a Model 5-B electric interlocking machine, having 259 working 'pistol-grip' style levers and 9 spare levers in a 304 lever frame. 36 levers in this machine were reserved for a planned extension to operate the 'MC Connection' via remote control, to be installed in 1935. The model board was 24 feet long."

10 photos including several interior shots and train order action

A comment on one of the photos: B Tupper Upham: Next to CT in Cleveland, and GCT, it was one of the biggest in the NYC system.

Chicago, IL Depot: B&O South Chicago Station and BRC Yard and Team Tracks Office

(Satellite)

Rod Truszkowski commented on a posting: "It was on commercial ave. Just between 94th and 95th streets on west side of street. Went by it many times before it was torn down and stairway was filled in."

Maureen McDermott Marella posted
B&O South Chicago Station
Mark Losiniecki On Commercial, just north of the viaduct (94th ish) you will notice a large ramp/driveway and I believe still visible concrete bumping posts. That was a small passenger yard. I have always heard it called the Rock Island South Chicago Branch, I believe RI had a yard and station there, and the B&O also had a station there.
Bob Lalich Yes, the station was at 94th and Commercial, and reached via stairs from the viaduct. The concrete bumping posts were at the end of what were known as team tracks. They were public loading/unloading tracks for freight, operated by the Belt Railway of Chicago. The B&O line farther north in South Chicago was the original mainline, which was downgraded once arrangements were made to use the Rock Island South Chicago Branch.
[Bob Lalich Flickr]

Charles Nosich also commented on a post
This is the passenger train station , enter in the 95th & Commercial av. viaduct.. I remember there being a neon sign.
Bob Lalich Charles Nosich - the neon sign was memorable. I have been searching for a photo of it. No luck yet.

1938 Aerial Photo from ILAP

This would be after the B&O got kicked out of the IC station by MC and they had to quit using their original route into Chicago. They switched to going west on the Rock Island to the Beverly Junction Junction where it curved north and joined the B&OCT to get to Grand Central Station, which they bought from a bankrupt Wisconsin Central, which was a proxy for Northern Pacific interests to get access to the Chicago market.

Susie Sackheim Cohen posted a question about the tracks along 95th Street.
Bob Lalich The tracks on the viaducts belonged to the Belt Railway of Chicago and the Rock Island. The Rock Island South Chicago Branch was built when the Calumet River was opened to navigation and was developed for industry around 1875. The BRC followed in 1881. Besides freight trains, the Rock Island branch hosted passenger trains of the B&O and C&O. There was a passenger station at Commercial Ave until 1971. The Rock Island went out of business in 1980. Some of its tracks are still operated by Chicago Rail Link. BRC is still operating.

William Shapotkin posted
On the left side of the photo is the platform for the B&O South Chicago Station that was recently discussed in this group. Here is a view of this stretch of track looking the other way.
Maureen McDermott Marella posted:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/120664941289363/permalink/1798219683533872/

According to some of the comments, this was a BRC yard office. It also handled the team tracks that were northwest of this office.
Robert Daly posted three photos with the comment: "Belt Railway of Chicago station and office at 93rd and Commercial, June 14, 1014. Did BRC ever operate passenger service to this station?"

Mark Bilecki Sr.: Funny, the caboose in the picture is now at the IRM.

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Sara Anderson Olson commented on Robert's post
[Street View]

Marion, OH: Union Depot: Hocking Valley plus Erie & Big Four plus Pennsy

(Satellite)

Elaine Luck posted
Marion Ohio, Marion County, PU1909. Union Depot.
[Big Four would be in the foreground. The man is standing next to the CSX/Hocking Valley tracks. The photographer appears to be standing on the Erie tracks. The Pennsy tracks were on the other side of the depot.]

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻: 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘀𝘆𝗹𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮 and Ohio posted
Union Station • Marion Ohio • Circa early 1900s!

Verine Bianca posted
Marion Union Station, Marion, Ohio, 1974
Pamele Moskie shared

I'm glad it has been preserved because I guessed the wrong place according to a 1959 aerial photo. The CSX/Hocking Valley is on the west side, the NS/Pennsy is on the east side. Both the Erie and Big Four went along the north side with Big Four closest to the depot. CSX uses Erie through here and to the east. They use Big Four to leave town to the west.

Satellite

 

Raymond Storey posted
MARION OHIO

MP Rail Photography posted

M331 passes M204 as it works the yard in Marion, on the CSX Mt. Victory Subdivision.

June 26, 2022

Marion, Ohio

Power:

CSX 3141 - ES44AH

CSX 3183 - ES44AH

#railway #dronephotography #railwayphotography #trainphotography #trains #dji #csx

MP Rail Photography shared

MP Rail Photography posted

A CSX empty ethanol train with KCS power passes the Marion Union Station as it heads westbound on the CSX Columbus Subdivision.

March 12, 2023

Marion, Ohio

Power:

KCS 4696 - ES44AC

KCS 4831 - ES44AC

#railway #dronephotography #railwayphotography #trainphotography #trains #foreignpowerfriday #dji #KansasCitySouthern #csx

[Note the AC Tower in the background.]
MP Rail Photography shared

Joseph Hunnel commented on the above share
Looks familiar

Bill Edrington posted seven photos with the comment: "I had the good fortune to stop at Marion Union Station and AC Tower today [May 24, 2025] while a member of the Marion Union Station Association was there.  It was the first time I had ever set foot inside the depot, which once served passenger trains of the Big Four/NYC/PC, the Erie/EL, the C&O (previously the Hocking Valley) and the PRR (whose Columbus-Sandusky line was sold to the N&W in 1964)."

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Marion Union Station as seen from the south

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Waiting room and ticket office

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Ticket office

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Baggage wagon from the Big Four depot in Delaware, Ohio

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Train bulletin showing passenger trains stopping at Marion as of May 1, 1958. Major cuts in NYC passenger service from Cleveland to Indianapolis and St. Louis were looming on the horizon.

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Train bulletin from Delaware, Ohio showing trains stopping there as of May 1, 1961

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See the agent, or risk missing your train.

Collingwood, ON: Collingwood Ship Building

(Satellite)

While reading the CarlzBoats Blog, I noticed that a lot of the ships built for the St. Lawrence Seaway trade where built in this shipyard.

Brian Westhouse Flickr
Shipyards Collingwood, Ontario
unused postcard
Aerial view of Shipyards
published by Peterborough Post Card Co.
H.R.Oakman
[Click the "next arrow" because it shows a boat launching.]

Marine Historical Society of Detroit posted

Aerial view of Collingwood Shipyards, circa 1959. Unknown photographer. Peter VanderLinden collection/MHSD.

Largest vessel floating is the Menihek Lake, under construction.  Bricoldoc at bottom of photo. Tug, the other N.M. Patterson and Sons vessels, and the new hull under construction on the ways, are not identified on the photo.

Andy Torrence posted
En Garde, x4, counting all the shipyard cranes.  Algoport launch, May 7, 1979, Collingwood Shipyards.  Photo by Fritz Schuller, I believe.  Andy Torrence collection.

Chris Turner posted
Collingwood, ON….1972. The Algoway.

pinterest from a collection
Old Ontario Series posted
Mike Harlan shared

Unfortunately, when reading about more modern ships built for the St. Lawrence Seaway trade, they were built overseas. The most modern ones were built in China and used the Panama Canal to get to the St. Lawrence River. The satellite image confirmed that this shipyard is now closed.

When I asked when it closed in a Facebook posting, I got the answers:
Carl Burkett Dennis DeBruler Collingwood was closed in 1986 and the last ship they built was the 736’ gearless bulk carrier PATERSON which after being bought by CSL, became known as PINEGLEN. Her story:
http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2015/11/gearless-bulk-carrier-pineglen_10.html
Sal Greco Carl Burkett the last ship was the ice breaker Sir John A McDonald. [This boat may have also been named Sir Wilfrid Laurier.]

Springfield, IL: Shops Tower: C&IM vs. Wabash and C&IM Depot

(3D Satellite)

This is at the north end of the C&IM Yard.

Rick F posted
Here is photo that I copied a long time ago and thought I would share with everyone. Shops tower and former passenger station in Springfield.

Steven Kent posted
C&IM cross Wabash at Shops Tower Springfield, Illinois

The tower still stands!

Street View

Kyle Barnhart posted two photos with the comment: "BNSF 9213 leading Kincaid empties coming through Shops yesterday, 2/19/24."

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Springfield Rewind posted two photos with the comment: "Chicago & Illinois Midland Tower by Pillsbury on July 4, 1969 and now."

Tom Tarsch shared

Rick F: The lights on the top of the tower were used in the days before the flashing crossing lights to light up the road crossings so that people wouldnt run into the black coal cars. The used these at Cimic and also where Rt 66 had a grade crossing with the C&IM west of Cimic.

Kristopher Isaac Barrington shared

[More than one comment asked if Pillsbury is closed. The answers say "yes."]

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Tim Howard commented on Kristopher's share
Photo taken at Springfield, IL on August 15, 1965. Marty Bernard photo (hope its ok I posted here)

The West End Spr/Hann dist page posted
C&IM passenger train makes a station stop at Springfield. The loco is sitting on the Wabash main. The C&IM operator controlled this interlocker in the tower behind the engine. The tower still stands but the interlocker is now controlled from a dispatcher in Vermont.
Stan L. Maddox: Respectfully, the locomotive is on the C&IM main. All the tracks running parallel to the C&IM depot, whose roof and chimney are visible in the background, are C&IM. The Wabash tracks are running towards the photographer, in the lower left corner.
Andrew Roth shared, same description
Ryan Crawford: This is really neat. This looks like the afternoon northbound passenger train getting ready to depart. CIM had 2 passenger trains each way per day until about 1950. I don’t have a tt in front of me, but I think this would be train #8.
Rick F: Ryan Crawford #8 leaving Springfield at 3pm headed to Pekin .
Kristopher Isaac Barrington shared
[Stan corrected this post as well.]

Dave Durham posted two photos with the comment: "C&IM in it's HeyDay...C&IM RR collection, ALPLM."

Richard Fiedler shared

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[The Powertown Depot]

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Dave Durham commented on his post