I made the trek to Wrigley Field (1060 West Addison in Chicago, as every Blues Brothers fan knows) Sunday to see the Cubs take on my Minnesota Twins at one of the last remaining old-style ballparks in the country. I'll leave the baseball commentary to the pros (we lost 3-2), but a few observations on Chicago transit from one who grew up far from any commuter territory:1. Metra is a phenomenal way to travel. The seats are comfortable, the trains run on time, and it's a thrill to fly over the Kenn...

In any political debate, you tend to hear the loudest voices above all the rest. This is an obvious point, but I have a reason for making it. Two weeks ago I attended the North American Rail Shippers conference in Chicago, a gathering that brought in major rail shippers and senior railroad management from all seven Class Is alike. Among the speakers were the following: • Craig Boroughf, director of transportation of U.S. Gypsum, which ships some 10,000 carloads of Sheetrock annual...

Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765's recent outings at the Hoosier Valley Railroad in Indiana and its planned appearance at Train Festival 2009 in Michigan in July got me onto a subject that was disturbing to one who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s halcyon days of mainline steam excursion: How many mainline steam locomotives are really out there in the United States today? The best answer I could come up with is, sad to say, seven. First off, some criteria. When I say "mainline" I mean a locomotive ...

It's not often you hear the word free, and there are no strings attached. Here is a link to a free train simulator game you can download: openbve.trainsimcentral.co.uk/ This Web site has user information, a forum to pose questions, and a blog by the developer. No, I haven't tried it. Come on, people, I have work to do! We do receive rail simulator games for review on occasion for the Products section of Trains magazine. I'm not a gamer myself, but others have told me the...