Finally got around to digitizing my pictures from my eighth grade vacation to
Edaville. Thought the group might be interested:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63736955@N00/

Following the Edaville pics are a few shots taken at the time of the very last northbound trip on the North Shore Line from Roosevelt Road Chicago to Milwaukee in January '63.

Following those are some pictures of the CA&E Wheaton Yard under salvage after abandonment.
Enjoy.

Some classic images there, thanks for posting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/63736955@N00/224594644/ - Does anyone have the story behind this engine? What ever happened to it?

-Justin Franz

Two words: Alder Gulch. It's in Montana now, at the Alder Gulch RR. I think it was part of a convoluted multi-way trade (but my memory is hazy on that).

Jim
Thanks for sharing these views. Of particular interest to me were the CA&E pics. I moderate a Yahoo discussion group on the CA&E and have forwarded the link for their viewing.

Don't know if it's just my particular frame of mind this morning, or the general dark look of old slides scanned for viewing, but these photos strike me as some of the darkest and more depressing photos I've ever seen of the CA&E. Really sells the point on what happens to make something as large and significant as an entire railroad simply disappear. We're all familiar with the long lines of equipment waiting the scrapper's torch, by luck or design you managed several other shots that really show the dismantling. Several that stand out in particular, one shot with a huge pile of salvaged wire, several showing an access road just ripped through the center of the Wheaton yards, and another showing thick smoke in the background from a worker burning insulation off wire for salvage.

Very important piece of the historical record that is sorely lacking.
Thank you for sharing.