Canal Street

The view down Canal Street in Chicago during one of the worst rush hours in recent history.

Hey look, it's a blog.

To take full advantage of Flickr, you should use a JavaScript-enabled browser and
install the latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player.

Comments

Ks of W says:

At 3 o'clock this morning, we were blowing out switches at Mayfair and looked over to see the 90-94 junction stacked with cars. It was unending traffic jams last night!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Nick Suydam says:

Geez that sounds fun. You weren't down at Ogilvy yesterday were you?
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Ks of W says:

No, I haven't been trapped for snow duty at Lake Street in years. I would really like to get down there for a CLEAR shot of the burners at night. My shift started getting weird the other day when a railgrinder was at Mayfair at 10pm and then the snow hit, so I drifted into the over-night shift and go back to regular hours tomorrow. Blaaaaaahhhh. Did I mention were hiring?! : )
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

sams3163 says:

This is a perfect Metra postcard on why you should use public transportation!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

ovondrak says:

Great shot, that certainly tells a story!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

spincast1123 says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called The Illinois [directory] !, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

spincast1123 says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called "Only The Best Are"..InThe Gallery Tag It"onlythebestare", and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Mark LLanuza says:

This is outstanding shot Nick.You D@#@K
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

James Herman says:

What a scene! Love it.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

BigHossRRPhoto says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Starlight Rails, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Kevin Madsen says:

All modes of transportation there Nick, and it looks like the train is winning. Superb work out in the elements.
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Eric VK Photography [deleted] says:

I agree with all thee above. Damn fine shot all around...
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Joel Kirchner says:

Did it take you as long to get the shot as it took people to get to O'Hare from downtown? Wait until the ice storm Thursday! Mooohooohahaha......
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

thomas.merton says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Metra, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Nick Suydam says:

Ks of W- Sounds like you're having fun! I ask about Ogilvy because I actually got lots of shots of the guys out clearing the switches in the snow down there. I was disappointed though, the burners didn't stay on long, only maybe 15 minutes. I wanted to stick around and do night shots there too, thought that would be cool, but was not to be.

Thanks for the comments everyone!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Ks of W says:

Lake Street is a real head case for snow removal. The burners cannot just be turned on and left alone. For starters, the igniters don't always work, so each of the 100+ switches need to be visited with a propane torch to fire up some of the unwilling (at least when I was there five or six years ago) and even then, someone with some experience takes things into account like ambient temperature to make the call on how long to let the Plant cook; leave them on too long and the rail expands so much that the switches "go out of correspondence" and the tower operator cannot get a signal because the switch point is now binding against the stock rail and the internal contacts of the machine are out of adjustment. But even with skillful gas use, Lake Street has a real drainage problem. The meltwater just pools under the switches in several sections. We would run around with a wet vac to suck up the water and toss it out away from the Plant before it turned to ice which would also shove the steel out of adjustment. Probably more information than you wanted to know but figured I would share the fond memories. Hats off to those chaps down there keeping the scoots moving!
Posted 13 months ago. ( permalink )

Would you like to comment?

[?]

	Nick Suydam's photostream
		0

	Chicagoist Photos (Pool)
		41,543 items

This photo also belongs to:

	Metra (Set)
		0
	Part of: Railroad Photography

	My Favorite Rail Photos (Set)
		0
	Part of: Railroad Photography

	Chicago... (Pool)
		0

	Trains and Trolleys (Pool)
		0

	Illinois Flickrjournal (Pool)
		0

	Chicago Rails (Pool)
		0

	All aboard! Trains - Real and Surreal (Pool)
		0

	Metra (Pool)
		0

	Richard Steinheimer: The Art of Trains (Pool)
		0

	The Illinois [directory] ! (Pool)
		0

	Starlight Rails (Pool)
		0

6 people call this photo a favorite

Additional Information

Taken on December 16, 2008
Viewed 237 times

Add to your map

Yay location removed

...

(Some formats are OK.)

Or, remove it from the map.

Go to the map

You	Sign in \| Create Your Free Account
Explore	Places \| Last 7 Days \| This Month \| Popular Tags \| The Commons \| Creative Commons \| Search
Help	Community Guidelines \| The Help Forum \| FAQ \| Sitemap \| Get Help

Canal Street

Comments

Ks of W says:

Nick Suydam says:

Ks of W says:

sams3163 says:

ovondrak says:

spincast1123 says:

spincast1123 says:

Mark LLanuza says:

James Herman says:

BigHossRRPhoto says:

Kevin Madsen says:

Eric VK Photography [deleted] says:

Joel Kirchner says:

thomas.merton says:

Nick Suydam says:

Ks of W says:

Would you like to comment?

Tags

Additional Information