Metra/UP Chicago to Harvard Triple Track line

[Anonymous]

Will there ever be any plans for UP to run freight trains on their Metra/UP line that goes from Chicago to Harvard? Currently, there is only Metra Trains from downtown to Arlington Heights. Will there ever be freight trains in this section of trackage?

[CShaveRR]

There's a daily job that goes from Proviso, gets on the Northwest Line near Deval (between Des Plaines and Mt. Prospect) and goes down to North Avenue Yard with most of the cars for industries along that line. This is done overnight. I think local businesses in the immediate area are handled out of Elk Grove. From Seeger (the connection) west you have the regular manifest trains between Proviso and Janesville; I believe the locals serving the industries around Harvard are based in Janesville nowadays.

[Anonymous]

There is also the "sandman" which runs between somewhere in Wisconsin and Avondale (Kimball Ave & the Kennedy Expway) It runs during the summer months at night. Speaking of the North Ave Proviso train, i caught it heading to Proviso on Friday 2/18/05 at Norwood Park at 1:00 in the afternoon. First time seeing that run in the daylight.

[Anonymous]

What was the consist of this "sandman" train. How many cars and locos did it have?

[Anonymous]

UP uses this line to run from Chicago to Janesville for the GM plant in town.

[rdettmer]

they run lots of trains every day ,two trains to janesville daily two way frieghts each way some grain trains and in the summer rock trains from rock springs and sand trains from wisconsin.