Greetings,
I'll be going to Chicago soon and am curious if there are any really good spots to watch some good old fashioned switching action - locals serving customers at industries? I see a lot of interesting industries and warehouses with a maze of tracks west of O'Hare, but the area looks a little tricky to get to. Ideally, I'd like to access the site by Metra or CTA and walking.
I've spent a lot of time watching trains in Chicago, mostly along the racetrack and Roosevelt Road, and would like to get into watching more of the local freight action if possible.
Thanks for any tips and help you can provide!
Regards,Eric
Industrial switching is tricky since a lot of the industries in the O'Hare area are switched only once or twice a day, which means that some advance knowledge of when the jobs are called is needed. A better bet might be in my old neighborhood at the Ford plant at 130th and Torrence. The autorack terminal is also nearby.
I have an old VCR tape titled "Today's Chicago Railrods" by Pentrex that contains scenes of industrial switching in an area known as Goose Island which is northwest of downtown Chicago by maybe 2 miles. The copyright on the tape is 1991 so the video is at least 20 years old. There are several minutes of video in this area which includes some "street running" and the difficulties the switch crew encounters in their work. I don't know if this video is available on DVD or not. As for watching some industrial switching in person, I can't make any reccomendations about accessibility by car or the safety of someone in the area. But the video was very good.
On my previous post I should have said "can't make any reccomendations about accessibility by Metra or CTA or walking".
Riverdale and IHB Yard S Halstead and 138th,,Good Soul Food at Broasted Chicken 13520 South Halsted Street... They have not changed the oil since 1962..mmm good
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