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In October 1978, an eastbound mixed freight passes through Blue Island Junction with a C&O GP40 leading. This is shot was taken from the Rock Island overpass, which at the time was a popular location to watch trains at the junction.
Original Slide
Ray Sragle Photo
Sam Foster Collection
Rock Island power lays over at Blue Island, including, suitably, a unit named for the city. Bob Bullermann photo, Brian Schmidt collection
Daily's L503 (Chicago Clearing yard - Gary, IN Kirk yard) has just crossed the Little Calumet River and crosses the famous Blue Island diamond, south of Chicago with a AC44C6M in the lead.
Two light Union Pacific locomotives cross over the Cal-Sag canal in Blue Island, Ill.
After being out of commission for photography most of this summer I'm happy to finally get the chance to be out and about with the camera.
There were a few posts about this train and taking pictures of it over this past weekend. Even though it was 30 years ago. That started when I got a text from Bill Beecher asking if I was in the picture referenced below. www.flickr.com/photos/family_man_system/55147963846/
Busted. Bill's shot shows the group of us wondering what this goob was doing taking our picture at Blue Island. Was it going to be evidence we were standing right in front of at least 2 No Trespassing signs? And this one shows him getting his camera up to take that shot.
The story goes that a group of us from Cleveland had traveled to Chicago to attend the Indians & White Sox game on 6/29/1996. Other than the game we had a hot railfanning weekend. We did a little Iowa Interstate, made stops at Brighton Park, Roosevelt Road, and Joliet before coming to Blue Island sort of on the way home. We got quite a few trains at Blue Island in a short time including this Wisconsin Central TO45 leaving Barr Yard with an SD45 leader. . We finished the Sunday evening chasing BRC Alcos in East Chicago. Leaving East Chicago when the sun went down made an early morning arrival back in Cleveland. But great evening light on C424's?; sign me up for another late arrival anytime.
So 30 years later, Bill came across the shot he took and recognized a couple of the guys. And asked around to find out the rest. It's understandable he wouldn't recognize some of us. Even my wife didn't think I was in the picture when I first showed it to her. Pretty cool so many years later to have gotten to know Bill and see the picture he took.
Not too long after the IAIS in yesterday's post, 2 remanufactured IHB SW1500's led a train through Blue Island crossing and across Broadway St.
Iowa Interstate M420 800 and SD20 101 pull west on the IHB at Blue Island with interchange from the IHB. They'll pull a little further west then back the train up onto the former Rock Island and head into their own Blue Island yard, Apr 1 2000.
Rock Island commuter E-units poke out of the Blue Island, Illinois, roundhouse, October 26, 1969. Photo by Joe McMillan.
IHB BA6 crosses the ex-GTW at Blue Island Junction with the retro GP40-3 pair making a rare appearance in Illinois. The pair is usually assigned out of Michigan Avenue on the 115 job as it is equipped with PTC for NS territory.
After a few switching operations, IAIS ES44AC 506 and GP38-2 702 will soon be coupled to their train, and will head to the Blue Island yard.
IHB #4020, the Harbor's ex-CN widecab GP40-2, works the Blue Island hump as IHB #1505 pulls across CP Harvey after switching the transload off Halsted on a late February afternoon.
IAIS SIPE departs Colona, Illinois behind an SD38-2 leading an NS GP40-2 from Des Moines and 17 cars. The International Harvester Farmall M on the right predates both of the engines on SIPE by well over two decades.
In October of 2014, a pair of NS C40-8s lead two Dash 9s and a rack train across the ex-GTW at Blue Island Junction. #8735 and #8302 (ex-Conrail) were sold to Larry's in 2017, and the third engine underwent the DC-AC conversion at Juniata.
IHB BP2 crosses the Cal-Sag Channel behind a pair of retro GP40-3s as it departs Blue Island with traffic for CPKC. When construction of the Cal-Sag began in 1911, the B&OCT right-of-way that is now the IHB mainline was rerouted to the left to cross the GTW north of the canal. This arrangement lasted through both World Wars until the canal was widened in the late 1950s. Subsequently, the present IHB ROW was relocated to its pre-1911 routing creating the modern configuration of Blue Island Junction.
IAIS BUSW passes the Rock Island depot in La Salle, Illinois, largely unchanged in appearance since the last Rocket departed in 1978, starting west towards Bureau with two Geeps and two tanks after delivering a massive train of cement hoppers to Buzzi Unicem. The I-39 bridge over the Illinois River can be seen in the distance.
Running on former GTW iron, Canadian National SD75I 5784 is about to hit the diamonds at Blue Island as it leads a manifest over Calumet Sag Channel .
G-DRFC : ATR.42-320 : Blue Islands
This elderly ATR, c/n 007, was damaged beyond repair after an undercarriage collapse at Jersey in June 2012.
Following in the footsteps of Loganair and Stobart Air, Blue Islands today become a Flybe franchisee and will operate four of its first aircraft in the distinctive purple livery. Seen here is the first ATR 42-500 of any airline to be painted in the Flybe livery and the first of Blue Islands to sport the new look.
October, 2014:
NS #2578 leads a rack train across the ex-GTW at Blue Island Junction on IHB rails. All of the ex-Conrail SD70s were ultimately sold to Progress Rail back in February.