Brighton Park in Chicago

Per CSX latest Chicago bulletin, on July 6 at 1900, trains will no longer be governed by semaphore indication at Brighton Park. On July 6 thru 8, all the diamonds at BP will be changed out, and Amtrak trains that normally go through BP will be rerouted onto the Rock Island. After the diamonds are installed, the signals and automated switches will be connected and tested. If all goes according to plan, on July 8 trains will no longer be required to stop at Brighton, but instead move via signal indication. The 100+ year old shanty and semaphore will be history..........

That explains why you guys were not accepting trains from us. No one told us why just that we were not going to be visiting over the weekend.

Someday when I get out to Chicago I'd love to check out Brighton Park, along with numerous other hotspots, but I wish I could have seen it under operating semaphores. What mainlines go through Brighton Park?

lakeshoredave wrote:Someday when I get out to Chicago I'd love to check out Brighton Park, along with numerous other hotspots, but I wish I could have seen it under operating semaphores. What mainlines go through Brighton Park?

At Brighton Park, there are five tracks running north-south which are crossed by two tracks running east-west. Today, three of the five north-south tracks belong to NS (ex-NYC), with the other two property of CSX.

The E/W trackage is now owned by CN (ex-IC/GM&O/Alton), which also hosts Metra service during rush hours. CN sees a decent number of freights here, along with some UP freights operating via trackage rights, but the vast majority of traffic is run by NS/CSX...

I got pictures of it last year. Glad I got to work while it was in use.

RIP

Sounds like an awfully busy interlocking. Do the dispatchers control it all now or is it controlled by a local yardmaster?

lakeshoredave wrote:Sounds like an awfully busy interlocking. Do the dispatchers control it all now or is it controlled by a local yardmaster?

The crossing is now controlled by a dispatcher at NS's nearby Ashland Ave. yard...

Although you surprisingly still must actually must contact the Yardmaster just like before to get permission on the NS Yardmaster to make your way down to Ash st. before you reaching Brighton Park.

NS has dispatchers too in Chicago? Are they doing the same thing that CSX is doing with its dispatchers by sending them to several different locales to work?