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.
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
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.
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)
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?
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.
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.
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!
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.
I would definitely be able (and possibly even available) to help. I'll be in touch soon.
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
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.
To me the best spots to watch trains in Chicago are Blue Island and Dalton they are both very busy and just about everyone who operates trains in and out of Chicago goes through one of those spots.. Also good is Berkeley on the UP west line, it's a Metra stop at the west throat of Proviso there's always something going on there. It really all depends on the amount of time you have what you want to see and your mode of transportation. If you can find it there's a book called Train Watchers Guide to Chicago by John Szwajkart (I think the spelling is close) it covers just about every junction and crossing within about a 35 mile radius of downtown Chicago. The third addition is the newest one. I think it was last updated in the late 80's or early 90's so some of the information is dated but the locations are all still active as far I can recall.
Dan Metzger
I don't need a place within visual range. Just curious if anyone knows any good places to crash.
If all works out - be traveling by Slamtrak and alone. Nothing set in stone, as there is a small chance I may end up having a change of craft away from train service, and I do not know how that will affect my vacation. Just doing some preliminary research is all...
Zug, I don't think you'll find any hotels that are close enough to tracks to observe these suburban main lines from. But, based on experiences of our Forum Meteorologist (Willy) and his family, I'd suggest either Lombard or Downers Grove as good spots to crash. If you don't mind going a little less expensive, the Motel 6 in Villa Park might be good.
Seeing good lines for the Metra rush hour and riding the South Shore are pretty much mutually exclusive when it comes to places to stay (unless you'd be content with Metra Electric and few, if any, freights). If you had enough time, you could do an out-and-back on the South Shore to Michigan City in a few hours.
Are you traveling alone? By car? And when? By all means, keep us informed. I'm sure Jim would welcome the opportunity to get acquainted with you and show off the neighborhood--I know I would!
If you are either driving in your own car or will rent one and want BNSF action I would presonally suggest you stay in Naperville...there are a number of relativly economical hotels along or near Diehl Road in Naperville that would put you within about two or three miles of the downtown Naperville Metra/Amtrak station which has covered platorms that are quiet peaceful except when one of the more than 100 daily trains comes barreling through. For UP you might try Elmhurst and I think there are some hotels near the downtown Elmhurst area. My guess is you can count on lots of trains in either location so your only decision is which railroad you want to see more of (note: only on BNSF will you get Amtrak with their five trains per day in each direction, no Amtrak on UP, only Metra and freight).
Good luck.
I don't know... I always see those photos of the 3-4 track mainline with the metra rush, UP/BNSF stackers...
A nice suburban area where one can watch trains in peace.
Which would be your #1 selection of railroad to base yourself near Zugman, that will determine our recommendation of hotel and location.
In the spirit of keeping this thread alive, anyone have any good recommendations on places to stay around/in/near the chicago area? My interests are seeign just a lot of heavy mainline action (METRA and any frieght road not rotten with black dash-9s), and I would love to ride the CSSSB. I think that was enough S's..'sss's...
I've never been to Chicago (or west of Ohio), so I'm unqualified.
Unfortuantly, he wasn't able to train watch. I'm afraid I probably wouldn't be able to go with him next time. He did get to to the 'Chicago L' and he saw trains while riding around the city.
The Lone Geep
Lone Geep
\
Lone Geep, we'll be anxious to hear from you or your friend what he saw, where he went, and whether he's interested in bringing you along next time!
Joliet Union Station: You Could See Each Railroad On A Routine Basis Which Joliet Would Be Located Less Than 35 Mile From Downtown Which Here Would Be A Train Amount:
Most Action You Would See Around 8:00 A.M. To 1:00 P.M.
UP: Around Elwood (Located Less Than A Mile From Joliet) Would Be The Famous UP Elwood (Joliet) Intermodal Terminal Which You Could See Around Seven UP Intermodal Between 8:00 A.M. To 1:00 P.M. And You Could See One UP Coal Train Head From The CN Joliet Train Yard Head To A Coal Plant Around Elwood And Back And You Could See A Southern Pacific Which Would Be Rare Come From The Coal Plant Which This Would Be Seen Once A While.
BNSF: You Would See Intermodal And Intermodal And Intermodal And Intermodal And Intermodal And Intermodal And Intermodal And One Local Train (General Merchandise) Which You Could See Close To Around One Hundred Train On A Routine Basis Between 8:00 A.M. To 1:00 P.M.
NS: Some NS Train Would Come To And From The UP Elwood Intermodal Terminal Which You Could SeeAround Three Between 8:00 A.M. To 1:00 P.M.
CSX: You Could See One CSX General Merchandise Train From Rock Dale To Blue Island Around Joliet Union Station Which I Am Not Sure About The Time Which This Train Would Travel On A One Track Which Would Cross The Joliet Diamond.
Metra: More Than One An Hour Which Between 8:00 A.M. To 1:00 P.M. You Could See Seventeen I Believe.
Amtrak: Between 8:00 A.M. To 1:00 P.M. You Could See Four Amtrak: Both Lincoln Service And Both Texas Bird Train.
Other:
Iowa Interstate Railroad: A Railroad Which Would Travel One Train On The CSX/Metra Track Around Some Time Which I Am Unsure About.
A Weekend Would Be The Best Time Which Do Not Be Sad If You Could Not Go On A Weekend Because Each Day You Could See Hundreds Of Trains With An Awesome Platform To Face The 4 Main Track Which Here Are The Main Track:
Main 1 And Main 2: BNSF
Main 3: Union Pacific And More
Main 4: CN
One Track Lead Which Would Be Home To Metra And CSX And Iowa Interstate Railroad.
He's there already. He has all the other arrangements taken care of. He just wants to know about good railfanning spots.
Never needed it...ever. I was close to the city and was happy at the locations, that I mentioned,and some others. But, if that's what you enjoy, Great!
Non Profit Train Video Review Information.
William
aricatSuburban Chicago is cheaper for rooms than is the Loop. Some offer weekend rates that are about half of the weekday rates; check online. See if they are close to a Metra station. A Metra weekend pass is the best investment a railfan can make. I like Wheaton and Hinsdale for trainwatching. There is lots of action, you can find a place to park, safe and close to food; fast and otherwise. If you have time, take a ride out to Joliet Union Station from La Salle Street on Metra. Not everybody's cup of tea; but one very interesting trainride. Joliet is also a great place to watch trains
I like Wheaton and Hinsdale for trainwatching. There is lots of action, you can find a place to park, safe and close to food; fast and otherwise. If you have time, take a ride out to Joliet Union Station from La Salle Street on Metra. Not everybody's cup of tea; but one very interesting trainride. Joliet is also a great place to watch trains
For the same reasons Aricat likes Wheaton and Hinsdale, I prefer Elmhurst and LaGrange. You'll see the same trains on UP and BNSF, respectively, the action, parking and food are there, and both of these towns also have hobby shops within a block of the tracks. In addition, as has already been mentioned, it's a walk of maybe three or four blocks from the LaGrange Road station to the IHB tracks, which still handle a good variety of trains.
Time spent in Joliet will seldom be boring! (For railfans, anyway--folks in the penitentiary might tell you otherwise. Fortunately, law-abiding railfans have little to fear in the area around the station.)
We still have to learn how your friend's coming to Chicagoland. It makes a lot of difference in the places we suggest, or where we suggest that he stay. Offhand, I can't think of any hotels in the suburbs that are appropriately adjacent to Metra tracks, unfortunately.
If your friend has most of a day to spend in the area, a ride on the SouthShore (NICTD) is highly recommended.
And Zug, I hope you'll get in touch sometime regarding May.
Lisle station, on the BNSF racetrack is another nice stop. Spent 10 minutes there last June. One Metra, one coal, one stack, and one general freight. Joy!
Suburban Chicago is cheaper for rooms than is the Loop. Some offer weekend rates that are about half of the weekday rates; check online. See if they are close to a Metra station. A Metra weekend pass is the best investment a railfan can make.
Any Metra station between LaVergne (Berwyn) and Route 59 (Naperville) is a great place to watch the BNSF racetrack. A couple notable places on this line are LaVergne, where the racetrack goes under the CN/IC Freeport Sub, and LaGrange, where the racetrack goes over the Indiana Harbor Belt, which is also a fairly busy line. Same thing goes with the UP-W (Geneva Sub) at any station between Elmhurst and Elburn. On both the racetrack and the UP-W, there are over 100 moves a day on a busy day, split between Metra and freight, and Amtrak is also seen on the BNSF with 8 trains a day.
Another idea is to take a Metra train to Joliet Union Station, where the Metra Rock Island Line crosses over the BNSF ex-Santa Fe southern transcon route and the UP ex-GM&O Chicag-St. Louis mainline. The BNSF sees over 50 trains a day, sometimes reaching 75 a day on a good day. The UP sees 10 Amtrak trains a day, and 6 Metra trains on weekdays. Until recently, the UP had been pretty much devoid of any freight traffic other than coal trains going to a nearby power plant. However, last summer UP opened up their new Global 4 intermodal terminal which lies just south of the station. The UP now sees 6-10 intermodal trains a day along with the coal trains.
the Roosevelt Road brige over the Amtrak/Metra yards during evening rush hour.
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