IHB crossing Mannheim Rd 1986 3
The CA&E Cook County branch left the mainline at Bellwood and extended to the Mt. Carmel cemetery two miles away. It ran along Mannheim Road for several blocks. A portion of the branch was one of several segments of the CA&E retained for freight service after abandonment in 1959. The IHB took over some of the trackage, and the IC also built a connection down to it from their line that passed overhead..
The trackage was taken out of service in 1986- when I took these photos that year, construction was underway removing the old grade crossing across Mannheim and cutting new driveways across the branch. This view looks south along Mannheim; the siding served the Charles Levy Circulating Company. Presumably the rest of the rail was pulled up shortly after this photo was taken. This was one of those stretches of track that I had passed by many times, always thinking "I need to take some photos of this branch". Almost waited a little too long!
Also, check out this great set of 1980 photos on the branch from the Great Third Rail website: www.greatthirdrail.org/routes/mt_carmel.html
IHB crossing Mannheim Rd 1986 3
The CA&E Cook County branch left the mainline at Bellwood and extended to the Mt. Carmel cemetery two miles away. It ran along Mannheim Road for several blocks. A portion of the branch was one of several segments of the CA&E retained for freight service after abandonment in 1959. The IHB took over some of the trackage, and the IC also built a connection down to it from their line that passed overhead..
The trackage was taken out of service in 1986- when I took these photos that year, construction was underway removing the old grade crossing across Mannheim and cutting new driveways across the branch. This view looks south along Mannheim; the siding served the Charles Levy Circulating Company. Presumably the rest of the rail was pulled up shortly after this photo was taken. This was one of those stretches of track that I had passed by many times, always thinking "I need to take some photos of this branch". Almost waited a little too long!
Also, check out this great set of 1980 photos on the branch from the Great Third Rail website: www.greatthirdrail.org/routes/mt_carmel.html