2 pics of Chicago RR yards

[spokelips 21]

Someone was asking about Ind. RR layouts on here, so I went to Google Earth and checked out Chicago's.

Here's 2 pics of what I found.  I hope they aren't too big.  Note: #2 has an old roundhouse.  I was kind of surprised to see it.

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[APSMS 1,892]

That thing in #2 would be a turntable.

 

A roundhouse is where you store locomotives, and it usually goes around a turntable.

[Msprintz 25]

That is indeed a turntable in picture #2, most likely a hold out from the steam era when turntable were used to turn locomtives. Most turntables have been removed due to the ease of which a diesel locomotive can be turned and serviced. Sadly that has also led to the demise of the roundhouse another structure associated with turntables, few if any exist except for museums and the few active holdouts.

[spokelips 21]

I stand corrected...

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

It is really too bad that the age of steam has been done in almost completely in my lifetime.  I suspect that people under 30 wouldn't even recognize a steam locomotive if they saw one.

[SockoJr53 51]

It is interesting to see how big the railyards USED to be, looking at your first pic, I assume the mostly vacant area to the right was all active railyard, and it looks like they downsized over the decades once rail traffic declined in the US.

[APSMS 1,892]

It is really too bad that the age of steam has been done in almost completely in my lifetime.  I suspect that people under 30 wouldn't even recognize a steam locomotive if they saw one.

The only reason I'd disagree with this is because trains in popular media are almost always steam engines. Nobody silhouettes a diesel engine because it looks like a box, but a steam locomotive is instantly recognizable.

 

The young generation may not know what a steam engine runs on, but then again, I'm guessing a large majority of the population has no idea how any locomotives work period, so the argument is a bit moot.

 

Most of my friends (the guys, anyways) are car/train/machine nuts, so we're all at least passingly familiar with what a train is.

[SimCoug 5,972]

Thomas the Tank Engine will keep steam trains alive for countless future generations...

[AcmeSigns 97]

It is really too bad that the age of steam has been done in almost completely in my lifetime.  I suspect that people under 30 wouldn't even recognize a steam locomotive if they saw one.

I had the opportunity to letter our local steam train.

Trivia...'Poncho' (the nickname for our steam engine, a 2-8-2 Baldwin) was the engine used in the movies 'Emperor of the North (Pole)' and 'Stand by Me'.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yreka_Western_Railroad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_of_the_North_Pole

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_by_Me_%28film%29

[APSMS 1,892]

Thomas the Tank Engine will keep steam trains alive for countless future generations...

One of my favorite shows growing up (I really hate the new episodes for being really dumb--a train getting lost in the fog? Really?!?).

 

I got a collection of all the original stories when I was six...never looked back. Something about the lack of an agenda (moral) that makes the stories really enjoyable for me as an adult, since the Aesop never expires (it's not heavy handed).

[Msprintz 25]

It is interesting to see how big the railyards USED to be, looking at your first pic, I assume the mostly vacant area to the right was all active railyard, and it looks like they downsized over the decades once rail traffic declined in the US.

Some of that may be former line side structures and industries. A lot of large industries grew alongside the tracks in that area and in that particular section of the nation. Saw quite a few lineside industries when I took Amtrak to Chicago, mostly among the various yards south of the city itself. Quite a few working metallurgic facilities dotting that stretch, such as a nice sized steel mill.

[Jim14409 448]

Cattle shipments to the Chicago stockyards used to account for a lot of the train traffic there. At one time it was huge business and may still be to some extent today, I have not checked.