by Norbert
I've been riding the Union Pacific (formely CNW) Westline downtown to work at the Chicago Board of Trade since 1979. On those thousands of trips I've noticed what appears to be a closed/demolished station stop between the current River Forest station stop and the current Oak Park stop. The platform has been chopped off along its length on both sides of the tracks. On the north side there are three or 4 steps still visible that lead from track level up to what was the platform level. This platform is on the north side the UP Westline tracks along Central Ave. in River Forest between Asland and Lathrop. I talk to a woman who grew up in River Forest as a little girl (we're both 60 years old), she said there was never a station there in her lifetime, but there were complete sets of stairs going from street level up to the platform and that she personally used to play on those stairs as a child. She said that the stairs from street level up to the platform were demolished sometime in the 1960's when someone accessed the tracks from those steps and was killed by a train.
I queried the CNW Historical society about this stop and this is what they returned with:
River Forest was Thatcher before 1882 and is still in service under Union Pacific since 1995.
The first station was a ground level under the Galena
& Chicago Union in 1848 which became the Chicago & North Western 1864.
Address is 8001 W. Central Street today.
So basically no answer or info. According to the Metra website the info on River Forest Station says it was opened in 1915. The UP West line tracks are elevated approx. 10 feet above street level beginning in River Forest and they stay elevated all the way to Cicero Ave. before the reach street level again. This station and the stairs that have been removed were clearly built into that elevation construction whenever that was done. I'm attaching Google Streetview photos of the removed stairs. Does anyone know when the CNW Westline was raised up above street level through that section? Based on the photo evidence my guess is that this may have been the original River Forest station before it was moved west to the current Thatcher location. Any insight would be appreciated.
Norbert
I queried the CNW Historical society about this stop and this is what they returned with:
River Forest was Thatcher before 1882 and is still in service under Union Pacific since 1995.
The first station was a ground level under the Galena
& Chicago Union in 1848 which became the Chicago & North Western 1864.
Address is 8001 W. Central Street today.
So basically no answer or info. According to the Metra website the info on River Forest Station says it was opened in 1915. The UP West line tracks are elevated approx. 10 feet above street level beginning in River Forest and they stay elevated all the way to Cicero Ave. before the reach street level again. This station and the stairs that have been removed were clearly built into that elevation construction whenever that was done. I'm attaching Google Streetview photos of the removed stairs. Does anyone know when the CNW Westline was raised up above street level through that section? Based on the photo evidence my guess is that this may have been the original River Forest station before it was moved west to the current Thatcher location. Any insight would be appreciated.
Norbert
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