As mentioned before, for places to stay near the BNSF, there are several hotels in Naperville, which would put you within a couple miles of the racetrack, and I'm pretty sure there are also hotels in Downers Grove. Both of those locations are a very reasonable distance from the UP Geneva Sub as well, with Wheaton being right next to Naperville, and Lombard and Glen Ellyn being right next to Downers Grove. The CP in Franklin Park/Bensenville is a reasonable distance from both of those locations. With all the older power and leased power CP has, you never know what is going to show up! BNSF's Eola Yard is located just west of Naperville near Aurora, and that always has activity from BNSF, as well as the CN and sometimes the Illinois Railway going on.
CShaveRR Zug, let us know when you can how you plan on traveling. Assistance in getting to various places around here might be possible. Dolton and Blue Island are probably the best places to watch freight trains around Chicago, but I was under the impression that you wanted to stay away from the eastern railroads.
Zug, let us know when you can how you plan on traveling. Assistance in getting to various places around here might be possible.
Dolton and Blue Island are probably the best places to watch freight trains around Chicago, but I was under the impression that you wanted to stay away from the eastern railroads.
Let me drag this up from the dead. My vacation still stands from May 9-22nd, thanks in part to being rejected for a new craft/assignment (yardmaster). Oh well... such is life I guess.
Since my vacation is coming up fast, I guess I better start planning. As for a time frame.. I'm going to go with may 12-16th thurs-mon, and will probably spend the whole time in the Chicago area. I'm planning to take the Capitol out there, and probably will rent a car. I may spend a day or 2 doing some "touristy" stuff in chicago, but I do want to do some fanning in the suburbs. Places with less crowds, crime, and are generally nicer.
Since I have a little more time, and will not be geographically bound to just the Chicago area, I need ideas of where to go within a 1-2 hour radius of the city. I know NOTHING about that area. Again, I much prefer seeing the western roads and regional/shortlines and even good museums. I do also want to see the CSSB, esp. through Michigan City.
Thanks for any help, advice, threats, or what have you.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
I would definitely be able (and possibly even available) to help. I'll be in touch soon.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
If you head to the north, I suggest Rondout (CP, WS, Amtrak, EJE [CN]) all cross there. I haven't been there in a while, but it used to be railfan-friendly there, as long as you played by the rules.
Further north (just over the Wisconsin state line) in Kenosha, if you stay on the south side of town (near hwy165 which is very close to the Pleasant Prairie power plant, and about milepost 50 for all 4 lines) the CP C&M sub and the UP Milwaukee sub are about 1/2 mile apart; the UP Kenosha sub (home of Metra) is about 10 minutes east of there, and the CN Waukesha sub is about 20 minutes west of there. At the hwy 165 location you can get advance warning of coming trains for the CP from the detectors at mp 37.8 and 57.7; the UP detectors are at mp 44 and 63; CN detectors are at mp 63 and 54 (too late to get there from Kenosha), but if you have a good antenna you might pick up the CN detector at mp 38; the Kenosha sub has no detectors except for eastbound trains at mp 46.
CP & Amtrak: 160.77UP Milwaukee sub: 160.485UP Kenosha sub: 161.04CN: 161.295WS: 160.575
Further north is the East Troy museum, but I am unsure how much activity goes on there and whether the trolley trains will be running yet.
Further north, west of Milwaukee is Duplainville, where the CP & Amtrak cross the CN (it is also very close to Kalmbach's headquarters in Waukesha).
Feel free to contact me if you want further info.
Hi all - new here!
My my son absolutely loves trains and I love taking him railfanning. We are going to chicago on Friday and will be there all weekend staying at the silversmith hotel near millennium park. Can you tell me good rail fanning spots within walking distance (2 miles or so) or maybe even subway ride? Thanks in advance!
A well-known spot is the Roosevelt Road viaduct which passes over the approach to La Salle Street Station and the south approaches to Union Station. The Orange Line (on the Loop L) and Red Line (State Street subway) both stop at Roosevelt Road.
Mr. Butterball, I'd say a bit depends on how old your son is.If he's young enough that just the sight of something moving on the tracks would be good enough, just take him three blocks or so south to Jackson Boulevard, then east to where the road goes over the Metra Electric tracks. There should be enough moves to make it exciting, especially during the rush hour when the action is virtually nonstop.Otherwise, I'd suggest getting on the Orange Line on the elevated stop nearest your hotel (Madison and Wabash?). Take it out to Midway Airport, note the tracks (and trains) along the way, and perhaps stay at the Midway station for a while if there is some BRC action. If he's into freight trains, this would be the easiest way to see them without having to walk very far.A third alternative would be to go State Street (a block west of your hotel on Wabash) and take the Red Line, which is a subway at that point. I'd go north, but south might work as well. Between the two, you get subway, surface running, and elevated lines, all on the same route.
Thank you for the replies. My son is two & we are used to big freight trains but he'd probably be happy with anything LOUD & FAST.
Would any of you recommend the Illinois railroad museuM?
The Metra Electric trains aren't going to be particularly loud or fast. The L ride (Red Line) will be loud in the subway, but won't seem particularly fast when you're on it. The freights you would see along the orange line or at Midway won't be fast.The Museum will be neither loud nor fast, and probably not all that interesting to a two-year-old (unless it's a Thomas weekend, and he's into such things). The Illinois Railway Museum is an amazing place for adults, but if you want loud and fast, you'd be better off going to Rochelle, not that much further. Of course, you could also get loud and fast at a lot of the Metra suburban stations, particularly along the BNSF line or UP West, where you could get a good mix of freight and commuter trains. The freights will go fairly fast past most of the stations; commuter trains will stop and people will get on and off, which could be fascinating. The walk is less than two miles (less than one each way, actually) to either Ogilvie Transportation Center (UP) or Union Station (nearly everything else).You're lucky having a toddler used to trains...our grandson is not quite two, and I'm sure (from one brief recent encounter) he'd love to see trains sometime. But they aren't very common here northwest of LA, and it's a drive of well over an hour to anywhere that there might be some good freight action.
Not Chicago but also not that far away I'd suggest Pine Junction. I spent National Train Day there last Saturday and got 89 trains. If it had not been raining and overcast and stayed light a little longer I would have gotten over 100 trains with no problem. For what it's worth...
Jay
For anyone wanting to view the Chicago Metra trains, check the Metra website at the its website below. It will you give you ideas where and when you can get to.
metrarail.com.
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