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Trip to Downers Grove, IL. I included some photos. : )

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Trip to Downers Grove, IL. I included some photos. : )
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 8:18 PM
Hey everyone. I headed out to Downers Grove, IL. on June 24th. It was Rush Hour. We saw A LOT of Metra, BN, EMDX, and Amtrak. The Amtrak had an NPCU 90219 trailing. I wish I could say it was pushing hard on the rear. [:(] Unfortunately, they aren't powered anymore. They still have good horns though. [:)] We saw two BN Executive SD70MAC's on an eastbound coal train. We also saw an EMDX GP38-2, and two BN SD40-2's on an eastbound manifest. No westbound freight surprisingly. All the westbound freight probably came after I left, lol. Here are some pictures that I got into Railpictures.net from the day's trip.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=112304 Metra MP36 405 on a westbound express to Naperville. Here he is flying past Main Street Station. Notice another Metra back at Fairview Avenue Station, the next stop after Main Street.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=112299 Metra 193 and Metra 191 on a double headed express to Naperville. Here they fly past Main Street Station. Notice the Carnival Rides. They were part of this year's Heritage.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=112320 Metra 196 throttling up approaching Main Street Station. Notice all the smoke.

Take care everyone. [:)] Nick
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Posted by Noah Hofrichter on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 8:57 AM
Nick, some nice photos. I always admire your EJE photos that I've seen on railpictures.net, I hope to someday catch the EJE myself on a trip to Chicago. Can I ask, what are the best spots and times of day to catch daylight EJE stuff? I've heard Joliet yard is a good place to visit, is it?

Thanks for your time,
Noah
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Posted by spbed on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 10:31 AM
Nice pix. Thanks [:p][:)]


Originally posted by Jimitrain
[

Living nearby to MP 186 of the UPRR  Austin TX Sub

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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 10:51 AM
No matter what it's still looks like the good old "Q." What a nice mainline, and great pics to boot.

Mitch
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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 2:19 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Noah Hofrichter

Nick, some nice photos. I always admire your EJE photos that I've seen on railpictures.net, I hope to someday catch the EJE myself on a trip to Chicago. Can I ask, what are the best spots and times of day to catch daylight EJE stuff? I've heard Joliet yard is a good place to visit, is it?

Thanks for your time,
Noah


Thanks guys. [:)]

Hi Noah, The Joliet Yard is a very nice spot. You never know what will be in there. I saw an Ontario Northland in there once. When EJ&E leased the Ohio Centrals, I saw all 3 of them in there. I also saw an FNM GP38-2 in there. I was told that the Ontario Northland was in there for passenger service. It had a beautiful yellow and blue paint scheme! The best time of day to see EJ&E is morning and evening. I think Sunday would be busier than Saturday. I live about 5 minutes from the tracks. Whenever I'm sleeping, I hear lots of horns during the night. The yard is restricted. If you don't pass the tresspassing signs, you should be fine. Thank you very much for your kind words on my photos. I'll keep them coming. Take care. [:)] Nick
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Posted by kschmidt on Wednesday, July 13, 2005 6:08 PM
Noah,

My brother travels to northern Illinois about once a week, usually Thursdays. He says he usually sees the "J" EJ&E working the small yard at Rondout, IL. around 8am. Rondout is just south of Gurnee (Great America). Rondout is neat railfan spot. CP tracks cross the EJ&E at a diamond. The tower is still manned and occasionaly the tower operator hoops up orders to southbound trains. There is a bike bridge over the tracks just north of the diamond which has a great view of everything. Plus METRA trains cross-over to head out to Mundelien, IL. Alot of trains go through Rondout.

Keith

Keith Schmidt KC9LHK You don’t bring nothin with you here and you can’t nothin back, I ain’t never seen a hearse with a luggage rack. George Strait Check out Flickr Train Photo Page 

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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, July 14, 2005 12:01 AM
Hi Keith. Thanks for sharing that with us. I'm going to visit Rondout soon. Take care. [:)] Nick
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Posted by Noah Hofrichter on Thursday, July 14, 2005 8:53 AM
Nick and Keith, Thanks to both of you for the info. I'd heard that alot of there runs were made at night (like the "NIght flyer" for instance), but I knew there have to be some daylight trains too. I'd heard of Rondout as a good place to go for Chicago train traffic, I would like to get there sometime. It also sounds like Joliet is a good place to check out too. I better start writing this stuff down........

Noah
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Posted by DPD1 on Thursday, July 14, 2005 1:50 PM
Lots of J train info on my site, including train movements.

Dave
-The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Photo Archive & Email List-
http://eje.railfan.net
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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, July 14, 2005 3:36 PM
Way to go! You gave me insight on a suburb I had previously thought was a bit of a "downer," photo wise.

Thank you, sincerely,
Allen Smalling

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