Help! Need Conrail Chicago-area Map

[NYCS]

Does anyone have a large map showing Conrail's lines and yards in the Chicago metropolitan area in the years before the split-up? I'm looking at current maps, but can't discern which CSX and NS lines were originally Conrail. I'd really like to get a solid picture and understanding of Conrail's presence in Chicago before the merger. Please let me know if you can be of help in providing any sort of map or graphic that can help me gain some clarification on this. Thanks!

Matt

[Engineer Spike]

I have a copy of Steam Powered Video's railroad atlas. My copy of the Great Lakes West was published before the split. Look at book dealer ads in the magazines.

I'd love to scan it and post, except it might be too much copyright trouble.

[charlie6017]

I have a copy of Steam Powered Video's railroad atlas. My copy of the Great Lakes West was published before the split. Look at book dealer ads in the magazines.

I'd love to scan it and post, except it might be too much copyright trouble.

Spike, if you want to scan and post it--"I" have no issue with it as forum moderator, but if Jeff says it can't stay
on here, then I would have to pull it.

It's totally up to you.

Charlie

[scharnhorst]

is there a way to send it in a private message?

[charlie6017]

Scharnhorst, you can try it but like I said I really don't mind if anyone uploads it here.

I would only remove it if Jeff thinks it shouldn't be on here.

Charlie

[Tadman]

It's pretty simple. Conrail had three presences in Chicago. 1. PRR Panhandle, which is heavily abandoned today; 2. PRR/NYC parallel mains into downtown and associated yards; 3. IHB (a one-time NYC>PC>CR subsidiary).

Panhandle:
This line comes in from the far south, around Arcelor-Mittal's former ACME Riverdale mill. It then proceeds northwest across the river where track stops (abandoned), intersecting the Rock at 103rd, suburban branch at 91st, and the track starts up again just north of Dan Ryan woods. It then proceeds due north all the way to the ex-CNW Western Ave yard now used by Metra. From there, it once turned due east to CUS. Conrail obviously had no interest in using CUS, and didn't really have a heavy emphasis on the Panhandle anway.

PRR/NYC parallel mainlines to downtown:
Starting in Gary, the NYC line parallels the tollway while the PRR Fort Wayne line parallels the ex-Wabash. They converge just north of the Gary Airport and run parallel along the edge of the lake to the IL state line. They continue in parallel along the tollway to Englewood at 63rd and State. The PC rationalized the mains, alternating between the immediately adjacent former PRR and NYC between East Chicago and Englewood. North of Englewood, the NYC followed the Rock to LaSalle station, but Conrail had no use of that line. From Englewood, Conrail used the ex-PRR yard at 63rd/State for intermodal (NS still does) and the ran the ex-PRR due north and immediately to the west of the Dan Ryan to downtown.

There are a few yards on both the Fort Wayne line and Panhandle, but Conrail did most of their sorting in Elkhart and pre-blocked trains for western carriers there. Elkhart is a monstrous and busy operation.