Chicagoland in Film 1969-1989

Super 8 film from the late Red Moser , supplemented with some clips I shot on a western train trip in 1970. The opening scenes show the Chicago downtown and lakefront areas. Most of the footage is from 1974, a few years into Amtrak when the SDP40F's were the new kid on the block. A good mix of long distance and commuter trains out of Union and C&NW stations is shown, as well as a brief look at the Rock Island at New Lenox by George H Meyer. The final sequences are from 1989 at the 50th Anniversary of the FT exhibition at the EMD Plant in Lagrange, IL. Sounds are from my video library and Arkay records.

[@billtimmons7071]

I was stationed at the North Chicago Navy training base in 1977. I remember the F and E units pulling and pushing the double decker CNW commuters. We took them from North Chicago into downtown Chicago on weekends. Sometimes I'd go north into Wisconsin. I'd hear the two stroke 567's all the time. Good memories ...

[@DanielPRails]

Thank you for your service bill and for sharing the memories.

[@spaceghost8995]

Haha I was stationed at Great Lakes there in North Chicago in 1981! The conductors would order all Navy guys to the rear cars because it would end up smoke filled with reefer and it seemed like everyone had a pint of whiskey and someone would be jamming a Pioneer boombox! Good times!

[@mooseriddle]

Wish my grandfather was still alive to see this. He would be like a kid in a candy store

[@MilePost106]

You can't beat the old days of railroading! I grew up in the 60's and remember when the F units ruled in freight. I have that CNW "400" passenger train in N scale by Kato, I model the 60's and 70's on my layout.

[@tommythomason6187]

Priceless time capsule.

[@grahamsawyer831]

fantastic footage. sound overdubs really bring it to life. wish we'd had half as much colour in the UK!!

[@jfreelan1964]

An absolute treasure trove of film. A digital cleanup is in order. I have no idea what it would cost. Thank you for sharing.

[@fmnut]

Too much. That's why the transfer was done on a consumer grade machine. I did about 12,000 feet of film from Mr. Moser's collection. Do the math at 50 cents per foot.

[@Rafael-716]

Very well done. Thanks. Hired as a brakeman 1966. This brings a smile

[@cnwproductions]

so sad seeing GTW 5629 just sitting there RIP 1924-1987

[@markfrench8892]

I'd give my eye teeth to go back in time and see this happening again. Railroading has changed too much for my taste.

[@richardkirka5977]

Chicago was my favorite city in the world, and seems like a museum today. Even the rolling stock was washed at least once a year, which made everything magical.

[@PRHILL9696]

agree

[@blainenodes8182]

Agree 110% ❗lucky me,hopped/ chased trains 1949-2021 in MSP 🥶,we had #9 r.r. serve my city,passenger/ freights,caboose,flares, torpedoes,r.r.cops used rock salt in shotguns,always in suit's👍

[@tylergreen4843]

17:56 - 18:16 Let's have a moment of silence for this unfortunately scrapped 5629 Thunder on, 5629! ☹😥😢😭

[@PowerTrain611]

Such variety! It's a shame we'll never see the likes of this ever again... Thanks for sharing!

[@flexmann2148]

I missed the Red Yellow E-9 Rock Island ,Burlington Route, Burlington Northern, C&NW and Penn Central trains when all railroad passenger trains consolidated to Metra & Amtrak. Time capsule video here. Grew up in Lawndale neighborhood in the 70's when the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) is towering up. Thanks for the video, be blessed. #westside. #doubledeck #ICGRR #CSS&SBRR

[@SteveH-TN]

Nostalgic video of my hometown. Thanks for posting this video !

[@twospeed209]

Thank you very cool footage,cheered me up during all this virus mess. Thank you again. Mark

[@roberthagberg5482]

Back in 1969, took the Flambeau 400 from Ashland, WI to Green Bay, WI. We had a F-7 n 1 doubledecker car. No more CNW or SOOLINE in Ashland, WI anymore.

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

20:11 if the humming sound was the hum of HEP generators, I love you for that. Great attention to detail

[@fmnut]

Yes, sound came from Conrail E8's

[@RailroadNerdOfIllinois]

In the 80s or 90s my mom said she used to see those BN Emd e units on the burlington race track since her ant lives near the race track and still lives there to this day…

[@MO-bq5rd]

WOW nice video! I lived in Chicago 69 - 71 lots of memories!

[@chicagolandrailroader]

Cool to see all of these crazy consists!

[@tommythomason6187]

This is absolutely amazing. Bless the person that filmed this. A wonderful timepiece.

[@johnroberts7924]

Priceless!

[@DanielPRails]

What a cool glimpse into the past yet again. Thank you

[@martinchamberlain542]

Wow, thankyou for an absolutely amazing video. Living my whole life in the UK Midlands, steeped in LMS tradition, these trains could just be from another planet. The variety is fascinating, but I have to say that aesthetics don't seem to be a priority here! I suspect this may be as a result of the more generous loading gauge in the USA. This film must be as close to a time machine as it gets, Thankyou!

[@MIKECNW]

Don't know what the hell you're talking about.

[@svenmartin840]

Thank you Mr Moser. I got to see what the railroads. Where like when I was my grandson's age. And now most of the railroads. And trackage in the film are sadly gone.

[@ambientstereorecordings3528]

I wish people would just leave silent movies silent, instead of adding fake sound effects. I grew up in Chicago in the 70's and I remember distinctly the sounds the old locomotives made, and this isn't even close! I dearly miss the "doush doush doush doushdoushdoush" of the diesel engins with the "pup pup pup pup" exhaust note that could be heard clearly 2 miles away on a summer evening!

[@MIKECNW]

You're sure it was fake? Although I seem to remember the C&NW engines being much louder.

[@DOLRED]

This is a train buffs dream. I have never seen so many lines (Fallen Flags) depicted in a film, even if it may have been spliced together. There is also a view of areas with signage that dates this video. Not so many around now who would remember the large Blue lettered KEMPER sign which stood on the roof of the Opera House at 20 N Wacker. At 14:99 a Kemper Billboard reminds one of those days when the Roof letter sign could be seen easily 4 miles or more away on the inbound Kennedy Xway night and day. There's so much more on this video. !!!!

[@allegheny48]

A great compilation of trains and downtown Chicago scenes. I especially enjoyed seeing the marquee of the Chicago Theatre. It still exists, all restored and is an active venue in the city. Interesting story. In 1976 when they came to the theatre to record the Wurlitzer they needed to bring in AC power from the building next door. The entire theatre building ran on DC power. That rebuilt AMTRAK dome observation was different. Plenty of interesting passenger cars in those consists along with all the diesels at the EMD plant. Seeing Dick Jensen's forlorn Pacific was sad. Thanks for all your efforts and for the spot on sound effects.

[@robertpetit57]

A wonderful time capsule of Chicago railroading. Thanks for sharing

[@b3j8]

My family went to Chicago in 1969. Remember going to the top of the Prudential Bldg. And to the Museum of Science and Industry. There was a huge model railroad there that I could've watched all day!

[@MIKECNW]

Why not the Hancock center? That was finished that year.

[@ameyring]

The model railroad was replaced with a new one in HO scale that mimicks the cityscape. Just a nice to enjoy as the old one!

[@joelkirchner8476]

This is a great slice of Chicago railroad history!

[@jamesreillytrains]

Outstanding video! Thank you for sharing!

[@notthatdonald1385]

Very nice! Thank you for posting this.

[@K-Effect]

I think even a blind man could read Rock Island on those engines

[@toddcampbell5603]

I made it to the EMD anniversary in 1989. What a great day in McCook. The footage from twenty years earlier is fantastic. Thanks for taking me back to my childhood. Always enjoy the vintage stuff, especially the GM&O!!

[@bwallace5945]

Wow you even have the infamous Medusa Challenger Cement Ship going down the Chicago River. I was at the EMD open house in 1989 that was for the 50th Anniversary of the FT 103.

[@garysprandel1817]

Medusa Challenger is still afloat and was renamed for whatever the company was that took over Medusa Cement. Sadly environmental regs put paid to her steam power plant and was converted to a barge 10 or so years ago.

[@johntherailfan3754]

I wasn't around to see most of this, so thank you for publishing these videos

[@Steven_Williams]

Man! You are taking me to my childhood in the "70's" with those downtown Chicago shots!

[@JohnAdorjan]

3:19 in and I already know because I see, this is a Masterpiece in camera work. Thank You!

[@RHJ3]

Wow! What a show! Those sky blue double decker Great Northern cars are quite a sight to see as well as the C&NW Green and Yellow ones. So many fallen flags with so many wonderful paint schemes. I love the non stop action! Thank You for posting this video. Greeting from Rochester NY.

[@mikem5929]

Nice footage, thank you.

[@williambryant5946]

Great video! The EMD plant footage was very cool. I really enjoyed it. 👍

[@JohnR.1968]

Nice vid,loved seeing New Lenox back in the day. I live there now,wish I could jump in the video and see how the area looked.

[@D322MWUNITED]

Wow very interesting film thank you for sharing with all of us I really appreciate it

[@danb715]

Great video, I miss the old days in Chicago. I grew up in Chicago and moving back home this year. :)

[@jorgesabater8640]

As Consul General of Costa Rica in the mid 70's I used to take short trips to Chicago suburbs on many of these trains and a few long trips as well. Chicago is the capital of train lovers.

[@brucer9572]

Fantastic! As in the word "fantasy." Thank you!

[@scotteakins7203]

The good ole days.

[@58gentlegiant]

Those magical times will never be around again

[@MIKECNW]

I know the engines without trains are going to the coachyard to pick up car but I sometime joke about it saying that they forgot to hook up. Isn't it interesting the C&NW has Green Bay Packer colors?

[@chuckabbate5924]

Very CBS Sunday Morning. On a Sunday Morning. Thanks.

[@TRSPomerania]

Brilliant pieces of railroads' history!

[@michaelhoffman6354]

This is definitely an excellent example of the transition during the seventies. Lots of old locomotives and tons of old paint schemes

[@abk2k3aaronkauflin83]

16:18 behold my favorite Amtrak loco

[@coasternamegenerator5611]

One of the worst ones too technically.

[@PRHILL9696]

Wow great stuff!

[@johnhauser4589]

No graffiti on the trains. It all looks peaceful. Thank you mayor Daley.

[@KatoOnTheTrack1]

Appreciate the video

[@dennisbrowder6316]

My home town great back when times were better

[@spaceghost8995]

I didn't see any shots of the grimy old orange South Shore trains though! Remember how nasty the old Randolph St. station used to be? (now Millenium Station)

[@scoobycarr5558]

The CNW once had club cars between Chicago and Kenosha, and for a time in the late 60s till the early 70s it had the same type of club cars between Chicago and Lake Geneva.

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

There still is a club car that runs from Chi to Kenosha, but only occasionally.

[@bluedoris88]

Amazing ,very helpful. ,I model early Amtrak,,,Geoff U.K,thanks

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

9:05 cursed_dome_car

[@anetajohnson8446]

Loved seeing those rainbow trains of fallen flags! like the song goes,"thanks for the memorries!

[@tony2.0bender]

This is some serious train porn right here. Thanks for posting! Love everything about this!

[@FreedomLovingLoyalistOfficial]

RIP Grand Trunk Western No. 5629 18:00

[@JoeRailfan]

Poor Dick Jensen's ex-Grand Trunk Western 5629 sitting there on a weedy Metra sidetrack, all coaled up and no place to go! If I remember correctly, that engine was later scrapped right at that spot.

[@boggy7665]

0:57 - Perfect sound effect for that 'New Look' bus. With the Detroit Diesel 2-cycle engine and one speed Allison transmission with lockup torque converter that would about snap your neck when it locked up. .... Kodachrome? ....

[@arrowguy173]

20:46 Ah yes the EMD open house (I still have that issue of Trains magazine). I think that was for an anniversary? Loved the GN SD45 and Monon BL2. And I was fortunate to grow up close enough to Chicago that from the 70s-90s my family would visit the Great America theme park each summer plus a museum or ball game. Got to ride behind the BN E units in their final seasons. Plus a wonderful time to be a Bears fan! Love that city.

[@fmnut]

50th anniversary of the introduction of the FT. The FT A and B set were restored for that event.

[@garyhallgren]

I saw that GN car sandwiched in...reminded me I used to see GN's International n/b everyday from my algebra class at Ferndale High School. It's great to see all the dying western RRs on this video. Five miles from Ferndale was Bellingham WA where we had the GN main and branches from MILW and NP.

[@DistanceNsVeterans]

those old f units and alco locomotives and F40s and GP units and others stuff back then was cool

[@scoobycarr5558]

I looked just for a second at the decrepit nature of the Rock Island's tracks in New Lenox and I could easily tell they were woefully substandard. Even the RI's platforms were downright ridiculous. Such was the tragic downfall of one of America's nicest looking railroads in the postwar era.

[@BossSpringsteen69]

Still haven't seen myself in anybody's videos of the open house yet. I remember the guy that was sitting in the engineers seat of GN 400 Hustle Muscle. He would sit there looking outside the window at the crowd looking or, trying to look cool while chewing his gum then, would notch the throttle smoothly to notch 8 then, back down to idle for a few minutes then repeat the cycle. Little did i know at the time my future girlfriend would work here after 1989 and, further down the road years later i would meet her.

[@scoobycarr5558]

Metra today still does have some of the former CNW bi levels in service at 12:14.

[@nunyabusiness6699]

There’s just something about those F-units!

[@timosha21]

I'm a train and I approve this video! :D Choo choo!!!

[@jamesbutterson5218]

If you Ride you got to ride it like you found it get your tickets at the station for the Rock island line!"

[@samueljackson8020]

“There ain’t no road just like it, anywhere I found”

[@nunyabusiness6699]

My dude just chilling

[@truckerkevthepaidtourist]

20:34 Chicago northwestern and the Milwaukee road especially the cnw around the Chicago suburbs were still using the old Griswold pedestal crossings.

[@MIKECNW]

What do you mean by griswold crossings?

[@truckerkevthepaidtourist]

@@MIKECNW here you go Mike. the pedestal style crossings made by the Griswold signal company of Minnesota. they also had in the midwest the famous Griswold flashers which were like a flasher with a stop sign in the middle that rotated back and forth. but these were the classic pedestal crossings I was talking about do you notice the stand where the gate and everything is covered up it looks like a pedestal like a flower box. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGTJapuHbNeiZsk watch classic footage of California rail action 60s especially the Sacramento area they were all over the place also on the old Western Pacific.

[@dontderockmeriz4546]

Nice shot of the N&W train going over the Rock Island in New Lenox. Wish they still had freight on that line. But they tore it up south of Manhattan. I live a stones throw from it in Chicago ridge.

[@tomh6183]

When the railroads and the city had class and a soul.Not like today.

[@25mfd]

@ 1:15... the magikist lips... that's AWESOME lol

[@marvwatkins7029]

Great footage but definitely not just '78 & '69. IC Highliners and Amtrak date a lot of this to 1972 with the former alone. And obviously it dealt more with Chicago trains than the general area. So the head header is mistitled.

[@fmnut]

The dash in 1969-1989 indicates 1969 THROUGH 1989. And ALL the years in between. If I had intended only those two years the title would have been 1969+1989.

[@fmnut]

Also, define the borders of "Chicagoland". If all the film was shot within it, why is it inappropriate?

[@russgrunert4730]

Some people called Medusa Challenger the bridge killer, bridges would get stuck

[@yixnorb5971]

The Chicago and North Western locomotives (12: 32) seem to have the upper headlights (Mars lights?) painted out.

[@thekidfromcleveland3944]

Yes. As the units got older, That feature tended to stop working. Rather than attempt to repair it, the cash strapped railroads opted to just cover it up. It wasnt a required safety feature. And didnt really make that big of a difference in day time operations such as commuter service.

[@fmnut]

Yes, this was done after CNW put their E's and F's in dedicated commuter service. The Mars lights were deleted and rotary beacons added to the roof. Mars lights were very maintenance intensive and by the late 1960s parts were scarce and expensive.

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

Some weren’t actually painted over, they were replaced by crossing gate bells, which ended up being used as the locomotive’s bell. Very resourceful.

[@RailPreserver2K]

Was the equipment shown at was the equipment shown at the EMD plant preserved later or have some of the units been scrapped

[@Kmaster2007]

Railroad,Preserver,2000 it was a fest to show off EMD power, the engines aren’t owned by EMD, so who knows

[@fmnut]

Most of the older models up to the SD45 and FP45 came from historical groups and museums. The newer models were from then current production. Not sure what happened to test bed and dynamometer car.

[@ethanarmitage5611]

❤

[@garysprandel1817]

The infamous Medusa Challenger

[@jacksalvin364]

In the late 1960's to late 1980's.

[@granskare]

the Rock Island Railroad could have been part of Amtrak but why it was not is a mystery.

[@fmnut]

The Rock Island did not join Amtrak because, although they had trains that qualified for inclusion, the buy in fee would have been 4.7 million which was a lot more than their annual losses in 1970. They were too cash strapped to afford it, so they elected to absorb the much lower annual loss instead. Other holdouts were Rio Grande and Southern, who didn't want Amtrak interfering with their priority freight schedules.

[@tyhik9338]

When life was simple

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

9:08 What was that train? Strange consist lol. Found it odd that there was an Amtrak unit in the consist and an Amtrak car at the end of the train. You can clearly see that the CNW unit has HEP, and the Amtrak coach didn’t at that time. Very interesting.

[@fmnut]

I believe it was CNW equipment leased by Amtrak for the shorter runs out of Chicago such as to Milwaukee. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can comment.

[@tylergreen4843]

If thats an amtrak train, then what your looking at is by no doubt the rarest and oldest era of amtrak,"The Rainbow Era", when mixed equipment on different railroads were not uncommon on amtrak trains back then!

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

@@tylergreen4843 I’m more inclined to believe fmnut but thanks anyway

[@thekidfromcleveland3944]

Fmnt were you filming with Emery Gulash at all during the Rainbow Era. I know he was in chicago from November of 71 to February of 73. I was wondering if you ever met him? Im a big fan of his work. Particually his Chicago railfanning from the late 1950s to early 1970s.

[@fmnut]

Sorry, never met him.

[@thekidfromcleveland3944]

Oh duh! It says LATE Red Moser in the description. Silly me. Lol My eyes stopped working for a second. Sorry to put you on the spot like that. Thank you for answering the question though. And for providing this beautiful footage.

[@JohnAdorjan]

9:51 Did I just see the birth of METRA’s color scheme?

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

yes

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

@@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory Incorrect, they were delivered that way. That is very much a Milwaukee Road train. You can tell by the Milwaukee bilevels and coach mixed in.

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

@@blackbirdgaming8147 I mean the scheme went on from there

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

Those were later used by Metra

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

@@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory I know they were later used by Metra, but you can tell the scheme is not the birth of a Metra scheme. The blues look different

[@barackillbombya3835]

Were those scenes of the BN E units taken at the new Aurora Transportation Center?

[@fmnut]

Yes.

[@jimwoodfield7602]

Are the engine sounds actually recorded at same time??

[@fmnut]

No, the entire sound track is dubbed in.

[@russgrunert4730]

Good burgers at those Walgreens cafes

[@railfandepotproductions]

Those 1989 sections were still filmed on super 8 film?

[@pgronemeier]

No one has mentioned the steam engine at the 18:00 mark yet? Why was it there, and how long was it there? In the mid 70's I was Foaming all around Chicagoland. LoL I don't remember that engine being there...

[@fmnut]

At the time of the filming the locomotive was tied up in a legal dispute between its owner, Dick Jensen, and the C&WI railroad over storage charges. It was later scrapped by METRA after the owner failed to move it from Blue Island Yard. It's a long story, you can find out more by Googling GTW 5629 and Jensen.

[@pgronemeier]

@@fmnut My God! I do remember that now that you said it. What a shame.

[@Rif-Raf]

Micado's, 5629 and 4960 used to run excursions in the 60's. 4960 was converted to oil and is running at the Grand Canyon in AZ even now. FYI

[@fmnut]

@@Rif-Raf 5629 was a Pacific, not a Mikado. (Spelled with a k, not a c)

[@Shaken_AND_Stirred]

What kind of unit is that at 13:52? Looks like an E unit with a new cab.

[@fmnut]

It's an E8 B unit with the so-called "Crandall cab". Named for its designer, it was a clever way to make additional commuter power out of otherwise redundant booster units. The cabs were homebuilt at CNW's shops, and mimicked the early safety cabs found on EMD units of the late 60s.

[@Shaken_AND_Stirred]

​ @fmnut Thank you! I had forgotten all about those. As soon as. you mentioned the name “Crandall”, I recalled the oddity of it. Thanks again.

[@nwsd50sproductions49]

Can I use the Sound from 6:01 to 6:30?

[@fmnut]

Feel free to use it.