Trip to Chicago

[overall]

I am planning my first ever trip to Chicago to ride Metra. I am going to stay at a motel in Aurora Ill called the Comfort Suites City Center which is supposed to be close to the Metra station. I hope to check in this hotel and then walk over to the station. I was planning on riding into Union Station and then just taking trains from there. I would like to ride out and back on as many trains as I can all day long one day. I am just a country boy from middle tennessee and this will be my first trip to a city as large as Chigago. Everyone else will be riding the train to actually get somewhere. I don't think they will have much patience with a Tennessee hick who doesn't know the ropes. So, what should I do or not do? What about photography? Will I get hand cuffed and thrown in jail for taking pictures? Incidently, I am not doing this to start a fight or make a political statement, I just want to have the experience of seeing and riding Metra. If I need to leave the camera at home I will. Also, lets leave the debate on the Amtrak photography ban for another day. I just want to ride w/o making people mad because I don't know what the folkways are.

Thanks in advance.

George 

[samfp1943]

George:  Don't know how much time you'll have for other than tain riding, but I would suggest a trip to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.  As I recall there was a METRA fairly close ( a couple of bocks)

Their location map is linked here: http://www.msichicago.org/visit-the-museum/museum-info/getting-here/

and here is a linkto an exhibit you might enjoy:

 http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/pioneer-zephyr/

Their website is loaded with all kinds of info.  Hope this will help, have a great trip!

[Bob-Fryml]

At the Aurora depot ask the ticket clerk if Metra has an all-day/24-hour pass applicable to Mondays through Fridays.  If they do, that could save you some serious bucks.

The Metra weekend pass (good all day Saturday and Sunday, $7.00?) lets you ride as many trains as you want all throughout the Metra system.  But, service is reduced on Saturdays and even more so on Sundays.

Aurora-to-Chicago riding the BNSF diesel powered "Dinkies" is fun.  But for variety ride the Illinois Central electrics south out of the city as well.  As long as you don't leave a station platform, I'm pretty sure you can ride the I.C. electrics all day on just one ticket.  You'll see a lot of industrial Chicago along the I.C.'s route.

The I.C. 56th/57th St. station is just two or three blocks west of my favorite Chicago institution:  The Museum of Science and Industry.  Near the entranceway in the first floor great hall is a BNSF sponsored exhibit that may be the largest H.O. model railroad in North America.  It depicts the Q./N.P./G.N. mainline connecting Chicago and Seattle.  Manifest freights, grain trains, double stacks, coal buckets and the like are well represented plus a few passenger trains as well.  The layout is just awesome!!!  Also, the C.B.& Q.'s historic Pioneer Zephyr is on display inside and the train should be open for tours.  The Museum of Science and Industry is so large and full of so many wonderful exhibits, you may want to spend a second full day there as well.

One 'L fare theoretically will allow you to ride the entire system (including the subway routes) as long as you don't leave any of the stations.  Given limited time, I'd consider riding either the Lake St. 'L ("Green" line) between the Loop and Harlem Ave., Oak Park, or the Ravenswood 'L ("Brown" line) between the Loop and the northwest side of Chicago at Kimball & Lawrence.

Another weekday possibility would be to enter 500 W. Madison St. and board an afternoon U.P. "Scoot" for the Davis St. station in Evanston, Ill.  Walk around downtown Evanston some, visit their handsome public library, and maybe have a drink at the Orrington Hotel.  Sometime before 6 o'clock walk back to the Davis St. 'L station (near the Davis St. U.P. station) and ride a C.T.A. "Evanston Express" train back to the Loop.  The Quincy & Wells 'L stop is the closest one to Chicago Union Station where you would board your train back to Aurora. 

Best luncheon spot in North America:  The Walnut Room, 7th Floor, MARSHALL FIELD & COMPANY (now called "Macy's on State" -d**n them!), State & Washington Sts., Chicago Loop.  Don't miss the Frango Mint pie for dessert.

Chicago's classic dinner spot:  The Berghoff Restaurant, on West Adams St. between State and Dearborn, Chicago Loop.  Their sauerbraten tastes just like grandma's, I love their Berghoff brand beers, and their home brewed rootbeer is pretty awesome too.  Reproduction Edison Mazda lamps with carbon filaments and pigtails on the clear glass globes provide much of the interior illumination.

Enjoy Chicago.  It's a wonderful town! 

P.S. A few years ago I made a careful examination of the equipment on the M. of S.& I.'s BNSF-sponsored H.O. layout.  Surprisingly I did not see a single Union Pacific locomotive, caboose, freight or passenger car.  Gee, I wonder why?

[CShaveRR]

George, you don't mention when you're coming or how you're getting here, but I'd also recommend that you invest the $7.00 in a Weekend Pass--and stay for both Saturday and Sunday (heck, if you come on the Labor Day weekend, you can add Monday to it!). You will find that if covering routes and mileage is your principal goal, you'll have plenty of trains to keep you busy traveling for two or three days.

I won't suggest routes to take or places to turn around, but you should go to each of the four principal stations downtown; they all have good routes on weekends. Your best routes for seeing freight trains are UP West and BNSF. If you take the Rock Island line to Joliet, that's a good place to catch BNSF Transcon action.

First of all, I would suggest having a look at schedules on http://www.metrarail.com, and making a plan of attack, regardless of which day of the week you're coming.

Photography shouldn't be a problem, except possibly at the downtown stations--at Union Station you don't want to be out on the platforms at all when your train isn't boarding.

Feel free to PM me about when you're coming--if my schedule and wife let me, I might be willing to come along for some of the ride!

[morseman]

     I'll  be in Chicago area in October.   Staying in Naperville on the Metra line and will also be riding Metra quite a bit and hope to get into Chicago to see the Science & Industry Museum.  I was there in the early 60's with my wife and looking forward to visiting it again.  I'm hooking up with a fellow namedTaras who will be taking me to Rochelle & will be doing a bit of train chasing.  There must be a lot of rail fans riding Metra, especially on the weekends with that low price to ride all the routes.. I'll only be in Chicago area for five days, but will be planning my trip for next year when I'll be staying longer

[ndbprr]

Trains did an article on the trains to ride to maxamizze use of the pass several years ago. Schedules haven't changed in years.

[CShaveRR]

ndbprr

Trains did an article on the trains to ride to maxamizze use of the pass several years ago. Schedules haven't changed in years.

I remember that...not so much an article a a trip report. However, I wouldn't say schedules haven't changed...since that report, the Southwest Service has added some weekend service, the UP west line has extended to Elburn from Geneva (that adds a good half-hour or more to the round trips, which still depart Chicago at 40 after the hour). And, recently, the UP North line has had some schedule adjustments, and is probably going to get more. So it certainly isn't going to be easier to do the system in just two weekend days.

One trick my family used (we rode trains all day one Saturday just to show the kids some new areas, as part of a week-long "staycation" around Chicago) was to change stations at Blue Island when returning from Joliet--get off the Rock Island line and hop onto the electric--we hit the main line, and headed south to University Park before coming back all the way to the city (I recall getting off at VanBuren so we could dash across the loop to Union Station for the BN).

[LWales]

Hey George, you should be fine with your camera. Other than trying to photograph in Union Station (sort of hard to do from the platforms anyway) nearly any other place along Metra shouldn't present a problem.

If you want to watch and photograph some action trackside there are several great options. Along the BNSF route nearly every station is fine for photography. The BNSF is in the process of putting up new signal bridges and replacing the old single-aspect searchlights along the triple track. Freight traffic is higher from Aurora going eastward to Cicero. East of there things are a little 'grittier' and freight action will mainly be transfer jobs.

Along the UP West Line, pick any station between Elmhurst and Elburn for heavy freight action. West Chicago is a favorite--the manned tower where they cross the CN (the old EJ&E) is just west of the Metra station by about three blocks. You can stand on the sidewalk there all day long and you will be fine. There is little to no daylight freight action on the UP Northwest up to Harvard or the UP North Line up to Kenosha, WI. The UP North line is also undergoing a major trackwork project and they just changed the schedules and delayed trains are common.

The station at Joliet is good. Light is the best from the station platforms in the afternoon. You will have the BNSF freight trains on the ex-Santa Fe Chili Sub there, along with the Metra Rock Island and Heritage trains. Heritage trains only run on weekdays though. If you hang around toward sunset/early evening you should see the Iowa Interstate's daily westbound train, BICB (Blue Island Yard to Council Bluffs). There is a police department sub-station in the depot, but as long as you aren't crossing tracks or setting up multiple tripods on the platforms there shouldn't be a problem.

Other lines that you might consider--the Milwaukee District West Line would probably have the best freight action around Franklin Park with CP trains along with transfers. The CN's north-south ex-WC route crosses just east of the Franklin Park station. The Milwaukee District North Line is fine for freight action too, but the highest number of trains would be seen between Glenview and Lake Forest. The last two Metra F40Cs are still out running too. The 611 and 614 only run on the old MILW routes.

The IC Electric line is OK, for the best train watching experience on this route, head down to Homewood. They have a train watching platform on the east side of the eight track route through town. Light is the best in the morning from the platform. This is the south end of Markham Yard and you'll have switch jobs working trains, through freights entering and leaving the yard along with Amtrak and the Metra Electric trains.

 I hope this helps (or gives you too many options!). You can ride Metra to all these busy locations and get your fill of double-deck passenger trains along with freight activity.

Lance

[morseman]

Thanks for all the info on Metra.       Il'll be arriving in Chi on Friday on the Zephyr at 330pm so can't do too much that day but will pick-up the Metra timetables & purchase weekend ticket.   Satuday & Sunday I'll be riding Metra.      Monday will be off to Rochelle  and Thursday will be the Sci. & Ind. Museum.     Friday I'll be taking the Wolverine to Detroit, so once again won't be able to do much that day.       Next year I'll plan on spending about three extra  days in Chicago.

Once again, thanks for your info on the Metra.

[blue streak 1]

Last time I was in Union Station I visited a METRA information offfice in the station. Every bit of information you could need was there. Someone is it still there?