Rostenkowski Curve
UP Northwest #715 rolls past CY Tower behind a repainted F40PH-3 running non-stop all the way to Arlington Heights. On 5 Lead, an extra YPR60 relieves the previous day's local and will depart for the northwest side after the next round of North Line trains.
To the right of CY Tower in the distance is the sole remaining belfry of St. Stanislaus Kostka, a cathedral built in 1881 and one of the oldest Polish parishes in the U.S. Before the construction of the expressway starting in the 1950s, the C&NW mainline ran directly behind the parish. The local significance of the parish cannot be downplayed; the church is to the Polish-American population what Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is to the French, so when the original plans to built the Northwest Expressway through the parish were revealed, the local reaction was substantial.
Through the efforts of alderman Bernard Prusinski and major local Polish-American opposition, the C&NW right-of-way was shifted east to facilitate the expressway being built around the church. As part of the railroad realignment, the old North Avenue Yard was removed and replaced with a newer yard on the east side of the right-of-way. Had it not been for the efforts to save St. Stan's, this area would look much different today.
The curve on the Kennedy that goes around the church is sometimes known as "Rostentowski Curve", erroneously named for the powerful Chicago politician Dan Rostenkowski who was born and raised mere blocks from the church and whose father was involved in the efforts to preserve the parish.
Rostenkowski Curve
UP Northwest #715 rolls past CY Tower behind a repainted F40PH-3 running non-stop all the way to Arlington Heights. On 5 Lead, an extra YPR60 relieves the previous day's local and will depart for the northwest side after the next round of North Line trains.
To the right of CY Tower in the distance is the sole remaining belfry of St. Stanislaus Kostka, a cathedral built in 1881 and one of the oldest Polish parishes in the U.S. Before the construction of the expressway starting in the 1950s, the C&NW mainline ran directly behind the parish. The local significance of the parish cannot be downplayed; the church is to the Polish-American population what Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is to the French, so when the original plans to built the Northwest Expressway through the parish were revealed, the local reaction was substantial.
Through the efforts of alderman Bernard Prusinski and major local Polish-American opposition, the C&NW right-of-way was shifted east to facilitate the expressway being built around the church. As part of the railroad realignment, the old North Avenue Yard was removed and replaced with a newer yard on the east side of the right-of-way. Had it not been for the efforts to save St. Stan's, this area would look much different today.
The curve on the Kennedy that goes around the church is sometimes known as "Rostentowski Curve", erroneously named for the powerful Chicago politician Dan Rostenkowski who was born and raised mere blocks from the church and whose father was involved in the efforts to preserve the parish.