Great piece of history, and a nice 'context' shot with the C&NW, also.
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Wow, what a surprise John. Keep em coming..
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Wonderful photograph!
I do not believe this is Highwood. The CNS&M shops and headquarters there were east of the C&NW tracks there, and the North Western normally ran their push-pull trains with the cab car on the south (Chicago end) of the train. Based on this, I would venture to say that the photographer is facing roughly north. This makes the North Shore tracks west of the C&NW, and the only place they did that was between Lake Bluff and North Chicago.
Having narrowed this down, I believe then that this is a freight motor working Pettibone Yard in North Chicago; the main line is to the right, with both railroads making a gentle curve toward the right (northeasterly). North Chicago Jct. would be in the background (not visible). The bridge over the C&NW in the far background (near the water tower) would be the EJ&E crossing over the North Western.
Take a look at a 1939-vintage aerial photo of the area at http://www.isgs.uiuc.edu/nsdihome/webdocs/ilhap/county/data/lake/flight7/0bwx01099.jpg and see if this makes sense. Navigate to dead center of the map, then move right. The obscured area to the right is the U. S. Navy's Great Lakes base, and is blacked out because it is a military installation.
You will see, from left to right, three sets of railroad tracks -- the CNS&M "West Line" connecting to the Skokie Valley line, next is the C&NW, and the easternmost rail line is the CNS&M Shore Line, which also connected to Highwood Shops.
The triangular shaped yard on the west side of the CNS&M's "West Line" is, to the best of my knowledge, the location where this photo was taken. You can see where the Shore Line burrows under the North Western and joins the "West Line" in an X-shaped junction – that's North Chicago Jct.
I hope this helps. I repeat that this is a wonderful photograph. The area in question once occupied by the North Shore has been obliterated, and there are few if any traces where this portion of the railroad once existed.
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