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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by eolafan Why is this stretch called the "racetrack"? I'm unfamiliar with the history and would love to know. Well, this line is triple (for the most part, some short stretches actually more) tracked and it is not at all unusual to see two trains barrelling down the track in either direction in what appears to be a "race" of sorts. I have personally been on Metra trains eastbound and have "raced" another Metra train until one or the other slows for a station stop while the other keeps on going as an express train. This happens at times with freights too. [/quote] I'm not sure of the origin of the term either, but it dates back quite a long time. The line splits after Aurora so everything on the Q out of Chicago goes over this section of the line. In the heyday of passenger service, that meant all the Zephyrs, all the GN and NP transcon passenger trains, plus the commuter trafns. Clyde was the Q's main Chicago yard, so everthing into and out of there as well. This segment has been CTC territory and reverse signaled with a high speed limits for as long as I can remember. The CTC board was located in a freight house at Clyde..
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