Blue Island.

[eolafan]

For some reason I can't seem to remember the name of the Holiday dessert with all those brighly colored bits and pieces buried within the cake...oh yes, FRUITCAKE, that's it!

That isn't for a few months yet. Besides, you said you weren't going to have anything to do with my posts. Way to keep your promise. 

Right you are, my mistake, consider this my last posting to this thread, period.

[Glen Ellyn]

For some reason I can't seem to remember the name of the Holiday dessert with all those brighly colored bits and pieces buried within the cake...oh yes, FRUITCAKE, that's it!

That isn't for a few months yet. Besides, you said you weren't going to have anything to do with my posts. Way to keep your promise. 

Right you are, my mistake, consider this my last posting to this thread, period.

I'll take your word for it. 

[EJE818]

About Blue Island, it is a great place to see trains. The variety through there is endless, and you can easily see power from all 6 class ones go through in a day. I have been going to Blue Island and Dolton ever since Pine Junction became harder to accesss. I suggest stay on the sidewalks and don't leave them at any times. The sidewalks provide easy access and a great view of all the action, so trespassing is not neccessary. If you stay on the sidewalks, you should not have any problems with CSX. I suggest if you go in the morning, park on the west side of the junction between the CN and Iowa Interstate connector, then walk over all tracks on the sidewalk for the best photos. In the afternoon, just stand between the CN and Iowa Interstate connector. Blue Island Junction is a great place for photos with the bridges as a background. These two lines are about 30 yards apart, so there is no worry about having to stand right next to the tracks for photos. I have never had problems parking in this area. In fact, I had a nice chat with the crossing gate tower operator once when I was there. I would like to go to Brighton Park before July 6th when the signals are supposed to be cut over. What is the best time for photos of trains passing the semaphores there? Does it require crossing any of the tracks, because I really don't want to do that. Here is a great page for information about Blue Island Junction. http://www.dhke.com/CRJ/blueisland.html

[spbed]

Thanks for the info. I look forward to seeing it in person in Sept.

 

 

About Blue Island, it is a great place to see trains. The variety through there is endless, and you can easily see power from all 6 class ones go through in a day. I have been going to Blue Island and Dolton ever since Pine Junction became harder to accesss. I suggest stay on the sidewalks and don't leave them at any times. The sidewalks provide easy access and a great view of all the action, so trespassing is not neccessary. If you stay on the sidewalks, you should not have any problems with CSX. I suggest if you go in the morning, park on the west side of the junction between the CN and Iowa Interstate connector, then walk over all tracks on the sidewalk for the best photos. In the afternoon, just stand between the CN and Iowa Interstate connector. Blue Island Junction is a great place for photos with the bridges as a background. These two lines are about 30 yards apart, so there is no worry about having to stand right next to the tracks for photos. I have never had problems parking in this area. In fact, I had a nice chat with the crossing gate tower operator once when I was there. I would like to go to Brighton Park before July 6th when the signals are supposed to be cut over. What is the best time for photos of trains passing the semaphores there? Does it require crossing any of the tracks, because I really don't want to do that. Here is a great page for information about Blue Island Junction. http://www.dhke.com/CRJ/blueisland.html

[MP173]

EJE:

Brighton Park seems to have trains running consistantly thru the day.  I access the interlocking from Archer Avenue, just west of the Burger King.  There is a little road that leads up under the CTA orange line.  If you are there in the morning, the sun is on the east side and you dont have to cross tracks.

 

ed

[CSX1016]

I like Burger King, but I tend to like Sonic better.  Sonic has great fries!

[Gambi80]

Unfortunately, I have to go 70 miles west and cross the Mississippi River to get at a Sonic. 

[EJE818]

Ed, thank you for the information about Brighton Park. The main reason I don't want to cross tracks is because the reason Pine Junction is so hard to access now is because a few people decided it was ok to stand on the tracks and get photos. The people who used to visit Pine all the time (including myself) were affected more by these careless visitors because CSX police now aggressively patrol the area and they tell anyone they see there to leave, even if they are acting responsibly. I have not gone there, other then a few times driving over the tracks to see if something is coming, since this started occuring. I don't feel like having Brighton Park, Blue Island, or Dolton turn into another Pine Junction. I really hope nobody decides to do what these photographers did at Pine, becuase I (and I'm sure many other people on this forum) do not want to lose another great place to see trains due to the carelessness of others. Glen Ellyn, I guarentee if you visit Blue Island you will see a ton of trains from a ton of different railways. The variety through there is endless and the traffic is heavy, sometimes non-stop.