Multi-Diamonds *bling* *bling*

So up in the north east, diamonds are pretty rare, because having one requires two active rail lines being close tougher, and there just aren't that many active ones around any more. Some times on the various rail photo websites, you'll see a pair of double-tracked lines crossing, with 4 diamonds very close together. That's pretty cool. Today I saw a picture that looked like three lines, each double-tracked, crossing in one big intersection. That means 12 diamonds total. It got me thinking. Just how many diamonds could there be in one intersection? There must be some intense intersections out there! Please post pics (or googlemaps links) if you got some! I'm not really thinking about stuff in yards, I'm thinking about stuff out in the wilderness.

I'll start...

Here's an 11-diamond intersection in Chicago. You might call it a 12-diamond intersection if you include the diamond to the south a hundred feet or so.

http://goo.gl/maps/Ofuzq

Here's the spot in Griffith Indiana that started me on this thread. It only has 4 now but it looks like it had 8 more before one of the lines disappeared.
And unfortunately, the spot is not available on historical aerials further back than 2002.

http://goo.gl/maps/xMi42

You could also go with the "Iron Triangle" at Fostoria:
https://maps.google.com/?ll=41.153245,- ... 9&t=h&z=16

Or the "H" at Marion:
https://maps.google.com/?ll=40.589458,- ... 1&t=h&z=19

So much action in such a small space. Being from Massachusetts, it amazes me that places like this even exist.

The huge crossroads in Dolton, IL now only has 11 diamonds, but when the PRR line continued on from NW to SE there were at one time IIRC 25, perhaps even 27, diamonds there.

wurlitzer153 wrote:You could also go with the "Iron Triangle" at Fostoria:
https://maps.google.com/?ll=41.153245,- ... 9&t=h&z=16

Or the "H" at Marion:
https://maps.google.com/?ll=40.589458,- ... 1&t=h&z=19

I second I008's comments. Those look like a model railroad layouts.

These two legendary places are obviously very busy, but they both once had several more lines. Fostoria has the B&O main, the NKP main, and the Columbus-Toledo C&O line. Note that nest of connection tracks to the East of the C&O.

Marion has the Erie/Big Four (now CSX) paired track arrangement, the C&O line mentioned above, and the PRR Columbus-Sandusky line which was a key connection in the NW/NKP merger.

So I was just browsing railpictures.net and I came across the perfect contribution to this old thread. 24 diamonds!!! Wow that's a lot, and they're all RIGHT together. So much metal, holy crap!

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 255&skip=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow... and just think of the noise!

You might look up that area using Acme Mapper. I just entered " Griffith In" and it just about centered on the diamonds. Look at the "topo" view. It will show you the last USGS map update, which is from the ?50's?? with maybe a later update.

At any rate I suspect the results will surprise you.

Admin add: Link here http://mapper.acme.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ok this by definition does not belong in this thread, as it is just a single diamond. But it's probably one of the more interesting single diamonds out there!

https://goo.gl/maps/TRRxKwE48ov" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I wonder how many people try to make a U turn there and have a very unpleasant ride over those tracks. I'm surprised they don't do a better job of painting those yellow lines right across the tracks. At night, if you're not familiar with the area, that could easily look like a legit place to make a turn.

Yikes

l008com wrote:Here's an 11-diamond intersection in Chicago.
http://goo.gl/maps/Ofuzq" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The two north-south tracks are Metra (CRI&P/NYC) leading to La Salle Street Station...