Chicago, IL. When Santa Fe still ran its own passenger service out of Dearborn Station in downtown Chicago, the passenger cars of incoming trains were serviced at the 21st Street Coach Yard, located one mile [railroad] west of the station. After arriving from the West, the passenger train consists were cleaned and serviced at 21st Street before being pulled back to the station for another run westbound. The coach yard had everything necessary to service the trains including a commissary to restock the dinning cars, laundry, and supply warehouse. The final stop for a consist before it was pulled back to Dearborn was through the car washer. Another interesting aspect of Santa Fe operations at 21st Street, that showed the railroads commitment to quality service, was that if a cars trucks were dirty, theyd get a fresh coat of silver paint to make them look clean. The LIFE picture appears to be from the 50s, I took the contemporary pic in June 2009. The coach yard was closed around 1974 after briefly serving Amtrak while their new Union Station coach yard facilities were being constructed. The 21st Street coach yard was razed and the area became Chicagos China Town. There is no trace of the 21st Street Coach Yard left.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 05:50:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015