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December 1942. Chicago. "Locomotives lined up for coal, sand and water at the coaling station in the 40th Street yard of the Chicago & North Western R.R." Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size.
What a strong and stirring photo! Thank you, Dave.
The designation "40th Street Yard" might lead one to think that this railroad facility was located on the South Side of Chicago, where all the numbered streets are found. But it actually refers to a much older street name on the West Side of the city: 40th Street (or more properly, 40th Avenue), which was located 40 blocks west of State Street. This street was renamed Crawford Avenue in 1913, and - in a hotly debated move - renamed once again in 1933 as Pulaski Road. The railyard, which once serviced the North Western's intercity passenger trains, still exists in a much reduced state at the northwest corner of Pulaski Road and Kinzie Street, under the care of the line's current corporate owner, the Union Pacific. Incidentally, the name "Crawford Avenue" is still in use in the suburbs north and south of the city, and the West Side's numbered streets still exist in the western suburb of Cicero.
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