24 hours at dolton jct.

[GTW 4914]

I have bean thinking about this for a while id better do it before i get to old it is going to take some anderance, A lot of paper for OS,ing and the ink making company is going to love me. I am going to try to do this around thanksgiving that is when i am on vacation from work i have ben going to dolton ill for 18 years now.

[sd70accsxt700]

Boy your a lot more brave than me doing 24 hours a Dolton. I would think there has to be some where safer than, there to see that many trains.

[trainjunkie47]

I would do 24 hours at Dolton before 24 hours at Delray. Still, unless you have a hog leg, it may not be the safest venture. It is not like the demilitarized zone that surrounds 59th street and Corwith Yards, but it is close.

[Rick M]

Just curious where is Dolton Jct? Saginaw area?

Although Delray is a pretty busy train area it's not my favorite for taking photos. Most of the time you will get ugly billboards and the I-75 overpass as the backdrop for your photos.

[cnw8835]

Just curious where is Dolton Jct? Saginaw area?

Dolton is on the south side of Chicago. Just outside the city limits of Chicago itself.

[GTW 4914]

believe it or not my brother and i spent the night in his car at dolton ill railfaning back in september of 1990. trains were neck and neck all night long. quartets of harbor switchers roaring by on the main at 2:30 in the morning. man what a sight and sound.

[trainjunkie47]

That was 1990. People who got shot in 1990 usually were asking for it in one means or another. Now you get shot just because. No other reason, just because.

[GTW 4914]

Hello trainjunkie47 last year i was down by the diamonds until midnight at midnight i left for watseka ill. because that is a couple hours south of dolton. on the way down i did stop at chicago hts, that was at 12:30 in the morning. i arrived at dolton about 6:00 pm that evening from six till midnight i did onsheet everything i got 40 movements through the interlocking not to shaby. every year i go there and usually till very late at night so far i have never been bugged by any persons but the misquetos on the other hand have ben the real killers.

[SDavey]

The area around Dolton Junction can be safe at any hour of the day if you take the proper precautions like if you park the car in a way so that nobody can sneak up behind you. There are far worse areas on the south side of Chicago or in the south burbs, such as Englewood, Pullman, Riverdale or Harvey near the Illinois Central Yards. Also Corwith Yard is an area that is considered safe than most in the city, so I wouldn't consider that demilitarized.

If I was to spend a whole night out watching trains in the Chicago area, Id pick Berwyn, which is along the BNSF mainline to Galesburg and the Twin Cities, lots of Intermodal trains and there is less of a risk there of people messing with you because the police station is 1 block from the tracks.

[GTW 4914]

Hello SDavey that is a good idea you definatly have to keep your head on a swivel at all times, i am also thinking about going back to brighton park i have heard that NS is going to automate the interlocking next year. I was thier back in 2003 that was a pretty neat place always something coming all trains have to stop It is on the corner of western rd and archer ave.

[GP30M4216]

Does anyone have any good photos of Dolton Tower? I know it's rather inaccessible but I figured maybe someone felt adventuresome or had a good zoom lense. Wasn't this a former PRR tower? Thanks!

[sd70accsxt700]

This is the best I have. Last time I was there, I spent a hour talking with the IHB Cop, and he had said that he has never had any problems with the railfans, but his boss found some in the area between the UP/IHB wye, and the diamond, where we used to be able to go, that were walking out in front of trains on the IHB, while trying to get photos of the CSX, and that was the end of that. He had said mabey in the future, we might be able to go back by the diamonds, but not for a while.

[GTW 4914]

Thier is a puplic park in the northwest quadrent of the diamonds were UP and CSX cross that is were i spend most of my time. the sun can play tricks with shots some times but you are right next to the diamonds. As for the trespassers the some thing happened at Porter jct. back in april of 1992 i did 24 hours thier. now you can not get that close to the tracks. because in late 1993 somebody set up thier tripod right in front of an oncoming conrial train. and was seriosly hurt. by the way that public park is at dolton jct.

[GTW 4914]

Sorry i did not spell CONRAIL right. Hello GP30M4216 yup that was an old pennsylvania tower the old pennsy panhandle from logensport ind, to chicago used to cross all those tracks at one time i was up in dolton tower twice. once in 1989, and again in 1995, that is when conrail still manned the tower. now it is manned by IHB. The panhandle was last used as a through route in 1981. the only remnents of the mighty panhandle is were the steel trains to the acme steel plant now ISG steel mill go.

[GTW 4914]

I talked to my friend in watseka ill. i am leaving after work on friday night memorial day weekend and taking off for watseka.ill. him and i are heading over to peoria.ill. to check out those two FP7's that are in freight service on the peoria and western and after that head up to nelson.ill. follow the geneva sub of UP to rochelle.ill.