Reel pickup in Clearing and Garfield Ridge

An old industrial district beside the airport

Midway Airport fills the square between 55th Street, 63rd Street, Cicero Avenue (4800 W) and Central Avenue (5600 W). South and west of it, the Clearing industrial district has long held plants, food processors and warehouses, and it runs straight into Bedford Park beyond the city limit. Those buildings re-lamp, rewire and add equipment on a steady cycle, which is where most 60638 reels come from.

Garfield Ridge, north of the airport toward the Stevenson, is more residential, with contractors based in garages and small shops. Both feed the southwest run. Next step: send the reel count by flange size and say whether a forklift is on site.

Midway traffic shapes the day here. Cicero Avenue and 55th Street are slow around peak flight banks and school pickup, so stops in this pocket are usually booked late morning, when the side streets are quietest.

Airport-side work and access

Work inside the airport fence has its own badging and escort rules, so reels from airside jobs should be moved to the contractor's yard or a landside lot before pickup. Landside warehouses and plants along 63rd and 65th Streets usually have docks, which makes a 50-reel pickup a short stop.

The Stevenson is the fastest way in from the corridor, with Cicero and Harlem as the north-south routes. If a building has a low dock door or a tight turn off a side street, mention it so the right truck comes.

Contractor garages on bungalow blocks

Away from the industrial district, Garfield Ridge and Clearing are bungalow neighbourhoods where many trades live and work out of garages. Electricians bring a few reels home from a job and keep them until the garage is full. Those reels are usually 24 to 36 inches and in good shape, because they were stored indoors.

Garage reels are a good buy. Send the count and roll them to the garage door; the truck loads from the alley in a few minutes, and the ticket is settled at the stop.

Typical reels in 60638

• 36 to 48-inch nailed reels from plant rewiring and warehouse lighting.
• Small plywood reels of control and data cable from equipment installs.
• Now and then a 60-inch or larger reel from a feeder or service upgrade, which needs forks to load.

Before the truck comes

1. Count the reels by flange size, outside edge to outside edge.
2. Photograph the stack, plus one tag or stencil up close.
3. Stand each reel on edge and chock it; never stack them flat.
4. Leave an aisle wide enough for forklift tines, or a clear path to roll.
5. Keep maker-tagged returnables in their own row.

What the driver checks on each reel

Flanges

Boards whole and flat, not warped, split or cupped.

Staves

Lagging mostly intact on the drum, without rot or gaps.

Arbor hole

Round and solid, so a spindle or payoff bar fits.

Drive holes

Not torn out or elongated by a payoff stand.

Markings

Any maker's stencil, returnable tag or reel number.

Leftovers

Cable ends, staples and banding removed or noted.

The rest of the Chicago day

Clearing and Garfield Ridge shares a run with these stops:

• the Southeast SideCalumet River and the Calumet Industrial Corridor
• HegewischCalumet Industrial Corridor, south end
• Roseland and PullmanRed Line Extension, Michigan Avenue and 111th Street
• Rogers ParkNorth lakefront: Sheridan Road, Clark Street, Howard Street

Where Clearing and Garfield Ridge reels go

• Buyback: one-way wooden reels with sound flanges and staves are paid for at the stop, priced by size and condition.
• Maker take-back: anything tagged or stencilled as returnable is listed for its owner's own collection.
• Recycling: split, rotted or warped reels are broken down, the wood recovered and the hardware separated.
• Resupply: checked reels go on to buyers who need them for rewinding, storage or projects.

Questions from Clearing and Garfield Ridge

Can you collect reels from work inside the Midway fence?

Move them to a landside yard or lot first. Our trucks don't go airside; once the reels are landside, they go on the southwest run like any other stop.

Do you combine Clearing pickups with Bedford Park?

Yes. The two run together on the southwest day, since the industrial district crosses the city line.

Are reels kept in a garage worth more?

Reels stored indoors are usually sound, so more of them are bought rather than recycled. Size and build still decide the price.