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)
QUOTE: Originally posted by daveklepper The Stone Avenue station at La Grange, if it still exists, was one of the prettiest on the line and worth modeling, I would think.
Green Bay Paddlers wrote:"The grade there is one reason for the demise of the E-units."How come? Was the grade too steep for the E-units? I loved those green monsters growling westward every night...
No way any grade on "The Racetrack" was ever too steep for the E-9's, they could handle anything on the line until they were retired. Long live the E-9.
The problem was the trains got longer and the schedules got tighter as they added more express trains and that continues today. There was an interview with the retiring head of the RTA on PBS recently where he talked about the popularity of the Q. To balance things out, they are talking about realigning some of the PACE feeder bus routes to try and funnel more riders to the C&NW west line.
A number of trains run with double headers, usually with one of the older F40s second. A pair of those starting a heavy eastbound 11-12 car train uphill out of Lisle almost makes me forget the E's. I have mixed feelings about the E's. I remember and rode them before HEP and never really liked the constant screaming of the HEP powerplant. The F40s aren't much better but the new MPI units idle down to a reasonable RPM.
AFAIK, the Chicago area F40C's ran on the Milwaukee lines. I never saw one on the Q. I'm not sure if they ever ran on the C&NW either, but possibly on the west line. Until fairly recently, power was not pooled between the different Metra operators.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
The F40C's ran strictly on both Milwaukee routes. They were too heavy for the North Western North Line (light bridges), which is the same restriction as the MP36's. Since all three North Western lines have a common power pool, this would effective bar the F40C's and MP36's from those lines.
Doubleheaders are usually a case of moving protection power to where it might be needed and are part of regular equipment assignments. A few runs on the Southwest Service also have doubleheaders.
UP 829 wrote: Green Bay Paddlers wrote:"The grade there is one reason for the demise of the E-units."How come? Was the grade too steep for the E-units? I loved those green monsters growling westward every night... The problem was the trains got longer and the schedules got tighter as they added more express trains and that continues today.
The problem was the trains got longer and the schedules got tighter as they added more express trains and that continues today.
Got an example of a tighter schedule?
timz wrote: UP 829 wrote: Green Bay Paddlers wrote:"The grade there is one reason for the demise of the E-units."How come? Was the grade too steep for the E-units? I loved those green monsters growling westward every night... The problem was the trains got longer and the schedules got tighter as they added more express trains and that continues today. Got an example of a tighter schedule?
Back when the E's were running, there were basically 3 zones, the near-in stations such as Berwyn, Riverside, Brookfield, La Grange were generally served by trains making all stops. The middle zone, including Hinsdale, Clarenden Hills, Westmont, Fairview, and Downers Grove had rush hour express trains. The far western burbs such as Lisle, Naperville, and Aurora had the final group of rush hour express trains.
I'm least familiar with the middle zones, but as farmland turned into subdivsions in the far western burbs, many of the Express trains became standing room only. When the F40s and additional cars became available, the western end was broken up and Naperville & Aurora got their own express trains and more of them. Lisle, Belmont, and Downers Grove got their own trains as well. Parking has always been a problem in many suburbs and when the new station at Rt 59 came on line with a giant lot, that added even more commuters.
An interesting aspect of the operation that really complicates things is sending the middle zone Express trains back downtown for another load. These reverse and cross over to the inbound track at Fairview. Some trains did the same at Belmont and there are likely places farther in where the same thing happens. I don't have a timetable handy, but during rush hour, outbound trains from Union Station leave almost simultaneously, with an express on the center track, so these crossover movements occur against heavy traffic.
I don't know if anyone has ever done a book on how this all works, but it might make an interesting article in Trains. What's amazing is 98% of the time, one can literally set your watch based on the trains and the timetables have things listed down to the minute i.e. there are Express trains at 5:09 and 5:22
These shots will give you an idea of what kind of action you can expect to see on "The Racetrack", come on out any time, you'll enjoy it!
I grew up living in Cicero, LaGrange and now Naperville. Three towns along "The Q."
It's really quite a show -- 24/7/365.
Brian (IA) http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net.
Another change that has been going on with the racetrack is the signals have been getting replaced over the last few years. It is now controlled by new signals from Cicero to Hinsdale, with the exception of Highlands. If you want to get the old signal bridges, I suggest you don't wait long as BNSF is eventually going to replace all the signals on the racetrack.
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