Railroad history, Chicago Ridge, as told by Robert Babcock, 1976

              Babcock - P. 1 Railroads in Chgo. Ridge Dated l976
. . . . . . . . . . h a n d l i ng this interchange, and also for the Western Union,
United States mail and the wells Fargo Railway Express business ,
as well as a waiting room for passengers boarding a Wabash, train for
Chicago or St. Louis.
Also at this tine, the Chicago Terminal Transfer crossed the tracks.
A small watchman's shanty was constructed at the intersection, where,
by meens of colored flggs and lanterns, trains were si palled to stop
or proceed. In 1910 theChicago Terminal Transfer Railroad came under
the direct control of the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad.
In 1915, the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad constructed
the present 2- story traffic control tower next to the old watchman's
shanty, thus eliminating it. The new tower had 57 interlocking
levers which controlled the switches, derails, and semaphone signals, thus
eliminating all trains from stopping at this intersection.
Also, during this era, numerous section men, known as " gandy dancers",
lived in camp oars that were set on a separate brack directly behind the
new condominiums on Marshall Ave. at 103rd St. Employees with head-quarters
at Chicago Ridge were : about 30 section men, 3 track foremen, 3
maintainers, 3 car inspectors, 3 tower men, 1 station agent, and
1 clerk.
Also, around 1916, the Indians Harbor Belt Railroad negotiated
for trackage rights on the Baltimore * Ohio Chicago Terminal's tracks
between Blue Island and Argo. The Indiana Berbor Belt being directly
affiliated with the New York Central System and the Milwaukee Road
or an equal basis made Chicago Ridge a very important interchange between
these railroads and the Wabash. The Wabash