A Bittersweet Ending. Union Pacific train YPR60A departs the Loop of Downtown Chicago on their way back to Proviso Yard after spotting cars at the upper level of the Blommer Chocolate Factory on a humid summer afternoon. They are seen ducking underneath the historic CNW searchlights guarding the Tower A2 interlocking. These signals being some of the last few CNW searchlights around that haven’t been replaced with modern installations. The 1907 built A2 Interlocking tower can be seen in the background off to the left. Tower A2 sees a rough estimate of well over 100+ passenger trains a weekday at a bare minimum, and one regular freight train bi-weekly, that being the YPR60A as seen here.
Tons of history in one frame; the Interlocking tower, the historic searchlights… but the main focus, what has become history, freight switching/service into the Chicago Loop as a whole. However, In the South Loop you’ve got the NS and BNSF that use the Union Ave Wye at 18th Street, and the old IC mainline. They both see a small amount of freights passing through Downtown on a daily basis, but no switching. This meaning of freight service coming to an end in Downtown is no more industrial switching. Or any freight train operations on the North Loop as a whole since YPR60 was the last remaining freight that runs to the North Loop to switch Blommer and the Chicago Tribune.
The reason freight service is becoming history Downtown is due to the closure of the Blommer Chocolate Factory, and the relocation of the Chicago Tribune’s Freedom Center printing facility this past summer. Meaning that there is no need for YPR60 to make runs to the loop anymore. These two locations were the last remaining places in the Downtown Chicago Loop to receive railroad shipments, which were via Union Pacific. Growing maintenance and operating costs led Friday, March 22nd, 2024 to be the last day of operations for Blommer. They officially shut their doors for good in May to give the company 2 months for gathering equipment and cleaning up the factory to prepare for the factory’s permanent closure. This closure marks the end of rail service at the Chocolate Factory’s upper and lower levels since 1939. YPR60A served the upper level of Blommer. YPR60B served Bloomer’s lower level and the Tribune. It is the same job, but uses different routes given the A or B in the symbol. A for Geneva Subdivision, B for Harvard Subdivision. Due to elevated trackage, the upper level can only be switched on separate days from the lower level and Tribune due to routing and levels. The only need for YPR60A to pass Tower A2 is to access Blommer’s upper level. At the time I took this, I would have never thought this was the final year of freight trains passing this location… and now it is a thing of the past.
Rail service to the Chicago Tribune came to an end In June 2024 before its closure in July. The printing facility is slated to be demolished to build the $1.74 billion Bally’s Casino in its place. Since the Tribune’s closure, rail service in the loop has officially become of thing of railroad history.
