Final Days of Union Pacific's Chicago Tribune Job

On March 29th, 2024, I followed Union Pacific's YPR60B job as it served the Chicago Tribune's Freedom Center printing plant. Back in 2022, it was announced that the Freedom Center would be demolished to make way for a new casino. The Tribune would move its printing to a location in Schaumburg and vacate the Freedom Center by July 2024. Employee layoffs began in February and eventually the last car was pulled sometime in late May when the plant closed its doors.
A few days before this video was shot, it was announced that the one other customer on the line, Blommer Chocolate, would be promptly closing its doors as well. It too stopped receiving cars. The final car from Blommer arrived at Proviso on May 15th, 2024.
Today the old former C&NW branch, which once ran out to Navy Pier, is essentially abandoned. With no customers on the line, there's no need for any trains to operate. Redevelopment plans for both Tribune and Blommer make it unlikely that there will be a need for rail service, but we'll have to see what the future holds!
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