22-12-05 PHOTOS: Elmhurst

The subject for my 2022 Metra express run video would be the Union Pacific (ex-CNW) west line inbound from the Elmhurst station that seems to mark a service zone boundary. This line runs out of the old CNW terminal which I reached after transferring from an inbound Metra Milwaukee District train and includes the CNW Geneva District to a point past Proviso yard. For the sake of simplicity I will be splitting the still photos and videos into two separate posts. The full set of photos can be found here ( mirror ).

After arriving at Union Station a grabbed this photo of gallery cab car #8564 with F40PH-3 #124.

The CNW station was still pretty empty and I made my way to the waiting outbound UP-West Line train on terminal track #3.

Moving through the Metra CNW terminal fuel pad, located on track #1 just past the steam heat plant, while an inbound train moves through the LAKE ST interlocking plant.

Despite the general collapse in Metra ridership, that inbound train was pretty long with the other end spread across CLINTON ST interlocking with F40PH-2 #161 being the only power on the rear.

At Wester Ave (TOWER A-2) a UP district train led by F40PH-3 #145 and a Milwaukee District train led by F59PHI #91 are heading back to their respective yards to lay over between peak periods.

To make the most efficient use of the at-grade crossing, east and westbound UP-West line trains are scheduled to pass at TOWER A-2. To this end the 26R signal was displaying a Clear signal indication for UP-West eastbound track #3 and like clockwork an inbound Metra train appeared with F40PH-2 #173 on the rear.

A short distance later Union Pacific AC4400 #7930 was holding short of KEDZIE interlocking to follow my westbound Metra trains. West of this point the Geneva Sub is a major Union Pacific freight route with trains not bound for Provo Yard being routed southward at KEDZIE to the Global II intermodal facility. KEDZIE tower was closed in the mid-1990's, but the Metra station is still open.

Metra F40PH-2 #156 running like from the California Ave storage yard to the former CNW 40th St enginehouse for fuel and other maintenance. The former CNW commuter services are currently run under contract by Union Pacific, however UP is looking to turn the service completely over to Metra.

CTA 5000-series Green Line train with car #5191 leading at Oak Park. In 1958 the CTA Lake Branch was extended to Harlem Ave to facilitate the closure of several CNW stations.

Metra F40PH-3 #131 making an inbound station stop at Oak Park. Although the reasons are disputed, the CNW was one of the few North American railroads to adopt left-hand running similar to that found in Europe.

Passing the CTA Harlem Yard we find an old Boeing 2400 series train in work service.

Between VALE and 25TH AVE interlockings a short 2-track bottleneck was recently eliminated and we find Metra F59PHI #92 pushing inbound on the new track #1.

22-12-01 PHOTOS: Buddy Cap

I've been in a position to arrange winter season trips to Chicago and although I am often forced to fly, I sometimes manage to sneak in a Capitol Limited run here and there. 2022 would be my first time back on Train 30 since 2019 and although technically the trip was fine, it did remind me why I am somewhat ambivalent about taking the train to Chicago in the winter. Although the long distance train trip itself didn't offer much in the way of exciting railfan content ( mirror ), I did manage to get down to the Roosevelt Ave railfan skyway after my arrival in Chicago.

After stocking up on snacks in the Metropolitan Lounge, I headed out to board Train 29 on track 15. Of course the weather was cold and wet, which, combined with the short days, made the 405pm departure extra dreary. The one bright spot was the presence of MARC HHP-8 #4910 on the adjacent track #16.

Amtrak ACS-86 #614 and MARC MP36PH-3C #10 were also at the heads of their respective trains on nearby tracks. Part of the reason this trip was possible was that I had made a new Amtrak LD travel friend after a previous one had sworn off using the westbound Capitol Limited in winter.

Amtrak was continuing the process of discouraging travel on the Capitol Limited with limited capacity and amenities, however they had been nice enough to add an extra coach and sleeper to the consist raising the total number of cars to 5. P42DC #78 was the sole engine for the trip.

Looking down Washington Union Station track #15 past K TOWER.

About 30 miles from Union Station, rear facing video from Capitol Limited Train 29 as it diverges through the junction with the CSX Old Main Line at Point-of-Rocks. The video quality was impacted by the low ambient light and dirt on the outside of the window.



About 5 miles further west here is another rear facing video from Train 29 as it passes the CSX Brunswick Yard and MARC Brunswick Station on Metropolitan Sub Track #1 between EAST BRUNSWICK and WEVERTON interlockings.



Smoke stop at Cumberland, MD.

P42DC #78 after an on-time arrival at Pittsburgh with the next day's Pennsylvanian Train 42 on one of the stub tracks.

Train 42 was headed up by a rather shabby P42DC #106 while Train 29 had Superliner coach #34020 on the rear.

21-12-02 PHOTOS: Milwaukee North Line Express

For the past 8 years I have been using my annual trip to Chicago to collect railfan window video footage from inbound peak period express runs on Metra, the local commuter rail system. 2021 would be no different and my target for the trip would be a run on the Milwaukee North Line between Deerfield and Union station with a single stop at Western Ave. After I was at Union Station I walked down to get some photos from the Roosevelt Ave overpass. You can view the foll gallery here ( mirror ).

To get to Deerfield in time for my express run, I had to connect to an even earlier morning outbound local at Mayfair and to do that I utilized the CTA Blue Line to Montrose. That morning Budd built CTA 2600-series car #2716 was on the front of my train.

The Mayfair Station is adjacent to the famous 2x3 diamond crossing with the Chicago Northwestern, currently the Metra CNW-Northwest Line. While waiting at the station an inbound Metra train led by gallery cab car #8548 arrived ontrack #1 just before my outbound local showed up with F40PH-3 #115 in the lead.

On the outbound trip my local passed additional inbound trains including one with Metra F59PHI #92 near Glenview and an Amtrak Hiawatha service train with SC44 #4608.

Getting off at Deerfield here is a photo of the outbound shelter with my Gallery type cab car #8510.

My inbound Gallery cab car would be #8531.

If you could like to watch the video of this entire inbound express run you can watch it here.

On my inbound run my train encountered outbound local with MP36PH-3C #421, the Mayfair diamond with MP36PH-3C #411 and the now closed TOWER A-5.

19-12-06 PHOTOS: Milwaukee West Line

The Milwaukee West Line was the target of my 2019 METRA video project. With significant portions of three track running the MILW-West line offers a robust express service during the peak periods between the town of Schaumburg and Union Station. My plan was to take a North Central train from where I was staying to the town of River Grove where I would then transfer to a reverse peak local out to Schaumburg. Trains on the Milwaukee district are operated by METRA and it is their policy to run with the front cars closed on non-peak trains, so the deadhead portion of the trip would be pretty much useless. However my express run would present me with a front facing window to capture an express run all the way into Union Station with only two stops at Franklin Park and Western Ave. For those and other videos from this trip check out my accompanying video post.

After arriving at Union Station I performed the traditional walk out to Roosevelt Ave and took a few more photos on the CTA both that day and on the way to Midway airport for the flight back east. You can see the entire set of photos here ( mirror ).

I pick up on my journey getting dropped off at River Grove by the North Central Service train. The MILW-West line here has three tracks with a Clear signal displayed for #2 track on the MP 11.4 signal bridge.

Even at dark-o-clock in the morning there was plenty of eastbound commuter traffic at the River Grove station. This inbound local was being propelled by METRA F40PH-3 #104.

My outbound train arrived with MP36PH-3C #414.

At Schaumburg I arrived in time to meet an inbound train with MP36PH-3S #411, ex-Amtrak Surfliner F59PHI #81 and a carbon steel Pullman gallery coach. The double heading was likely due to #81 still being under evaluation for reliability. My outbound train was equipped with gallery cab car #8582.

Before my express, a short local headed by gallery cab car #8510 arrived. The short length indicates the relative popularity of the express runs.

On the express, we encountered an outbound MILW-West train with F40PH-3 #102 just prior to the run's only major station stop at Franklin Park.

19-03-27a PHOTOS: Chicago Union Station - Taylor Street

Connecting on Amtrak Long Distance through Chicago in the westbound direction is actually a pretty nice affair. Eastern LD trains tend to not miss that is a good 5 or so hour connection, the new sleeper lounge in Union Station is a wonderful place to hang out and the station is just a few short blocks from an iconic rail photography location, the southerner approach to Chicago Union Station itself. Typically these photos are taken from the Roosevelt Avenue overpass located south of the four scissors ladder tracks and north of the Amtrak and METRA layover yards. However this time I noticed that the old stub of Taylor street that only serves as a pull-in for the large postal facility, was still a public right of way over the tracks and seeing as how nine (pause) eleven was 20 years ago I probably wouldn't get hassled by security.

Of course I later walked over to Roosevelt Ave and then to the nearby Binny's to pick up some potent potables for the Texas Eagle leg of my journey, but I'm sticking with the Taylor Street angle. You can see the complete set of photos here.

Here we see the view from the Taylor Street overpass. The METRA coach yard is on the right, accessed by the 0 track and Amtrak's trainset storage facility is on the left. Photographers typically prefer Roosevelt due to the excellent morning lighting, but they are also pretty much the same angles people have been capturing for decades.

CP-TAYLOR, serving tracks 5 through 8, governs Amtrak trains moving in and out of the higher numbered tracks on the south side of Chicago Union Station. 

Here is a close up shot of METRA F40PH-3 #114 as it pushed a deadhead commuter trainset in from the yard.

Amtrak Pere Marquette trainset being pushed by SC44 #4613 towards the Lumber Street wye for turning after its arrival from Grand Rapids, MI. 

The outbound Amtrak wye move meets an inbound METRA Aurora Line train led by gallery cab car #8537 under the southbound CP-ROOSEVELT signal bridge. Power was provided by METRA F40PH-3 #181 in the new lightning stripe paint scheme. 

Another METRA train, either Heritage or Southwest service, soon arrived led by cab car #8479 and powered by F40PH-3 #187.

18-11-29 PHOTOS: Chicago Line Northwest - Part 2

In Part 2 of my 2018 trip to Chicago I will be exploring the METRA Union Pacific (formerly Chicago Northwestern) Northwest line that runs between the old CNW station and Harvard, IL about 60 miles away. Similar to the old PRR Main Line out of Philly or the former Erie Railroad lines in New Jersey, the UP Northwest line is a pretty impressive chunk of infrastructure that stops dead at the end of the commuting zone because it has become largely irreverent in today's modern freight network. While UP still owns and operates the route, there are only about two through freight trains on the line per day. However the passenger density is sufficient to support a three track main line all the way to the intermediate terminal of Barrington.

I was able to cover the UP-Northwest in two phases. The first was a mid-day outbound run to Park Ridge where I could take photos out the back. The second was a morning run from Jefferson Park to Barrington, followed by an express run to Clybourn for video purposes. You can find the gallery of still photos here (mirror).

We begin with METRA F40PH-2 #165 blocking my view of LAKE ST tower upon departure of the CNW Station.

Passing under a classic CNW signal bridge on the 4-track trunk line between the UP-North line junction at Clybourn. Note how the former CNW used the left handed or European style of traffic flow. Also note the Automatic Train Stop inductor shoes as both the North and Northwest lines are ATS equipped. 

CY tower at Clybourn still controls the split between the UP-North and Northwest lines as well as several interlockings on the UP-Northwest line. 

The UP-Northwest Line crosses the METRA Milwaukee North line at grade at MAYFAIR interlocking. The tower here closed in the 1990's with control being passed to CY tower.

Here we see METRA F40PH-3 #149 passing under UP-NW line automatic signal bridge 120. the 3-track line operates under a 2+1 configuration between MAYFAIR and BARRINGTON with only the center track signaled for movements in both directions. While many of the signal bridges are original, the notable horizontal CNW signals have all been replaced with modern Darth Vader types. 

Signal blocks are at 1 mile intervals until one gets past Des Plains.

 METRA gallery cab car #8428 at Forest Park. Stations on the line take the form of a side platform and station building on the inbound local track (so that passengers can keep warm while waiting) and a island platform serving the express track and outbound local track.

To ride the express runs, one has to get up early. CTA Blue Line 2600-series #2652 departing Jefferson Park.

Jefferson Park station from the parking lot. Why the hell are all the towns near Chicago named "Park" when the areas all around them look urban?