Richard's American Train Adventures

[richard carr]

It took close to an hour to get to Walmart and back, partly because a CN train delayed me on the grade crossing with US20 in a very run down part of Gary. So having bought some fruit lots of water and 2 hats for JB and Mick to stop the sunburnt heads, I arrived back to be told I had missed 10 trains. I'm thinking they are winding me up but no the photos JB took prove it.







This one I did catch a glimpse of as it was passing as I arrived back.



These brought a train in earlier that morning and now taking another one away





This stack train arrived on track 3 and it just crawled along, so clearly NS didn't have a proper home for it, one of the yards they use is a few miles up the track at Hammond/Whiting.



It's a long one, as far as the eye can see towards Chicago



and just as far in the opposite direction



Clearly all Americans just love their President



Then this eastbound stack train came barrelling through at speed.

 

[richard carr]

Another steel bucket arrived this time leaving the steel works, does anyone kow what these are and why they might be being transported elsewhere ?





Those two are back again taking another train up the hill



A 5 car set of 40foot gunderson bulkhead stack cars, these are pretty old and must be near the end of their service life.



Then a CSX stack train arrived and stopped just after the grade crossing to drop off this man, he then drove the railroader away that had been parked there all day.



A nice view of a recently refurbished SD70 MAC



Then another stack train arrives on NS heading east



Then another one a few minutes later with BNSF power.



This train is departing, not just going up the hill to switch.



As Mick grabs the another train arriving




The departing CN train had DPU



An empty steel train on CSX heading west.



And the last train of the day another eastbound manifest on NS. We had been there from about 8:15 in the morning until 5pm, it had been continuous train action, there had been at least 1 train moving all the time we had been there. It's far from scenic, it's more of a desolate industrial wasteland, but it's the busiest place for trains that I know.



We then drove over to Downers Grove to get pizza at Gia Mia, we even managed to get the table by the window so we could watch the evening rush hour trains, unfortunately I was so jetlagged I think at one point I fell asleep at the table !

 

[Genghis]

The big bucket might be a ladle. Perhaps transporting for re-lining?
David

 

[Stephen]

View attachment 260690

We then drove over to Downers Grove to get pizza at Gia Mia, we even managed to get the table by the window so we could watch the evening rush hour trains, unfortunately I was so jetlagged I think at one point I fell asleep at the table !

The CN livery really suits the SD38-2s, although I would imagine people would lament the removal of the EJ&E livery for something quite common.

Falling asleep at a table seemed to be a common trend that night, although some of us couldn't use jet-lag as a tangible excuse...!
Cheers,
Stephen

 

[richard carr]

I'm back in Chicago again, the weathers been a bit up and down, but it was very up on Tuesday lunchtime, so I went for a walk over to Fulton Market to watch a few trains.

The first train in from the west , there's an SD70 on the back



A few minutes later a west bound arrives, I've no idea where it's going though.



Quickly followed by a Milwaukee Road liveried loco.







You can also the line into the OTC (Ogilvy Transportation Centre)



Then finally an SD70 headed train arrived

 

[richard carr]

So here are few more from Tuesday lunchtime, these (including all the above) all passed by in about 30 minutes so plenty of action.

Here's another one in distance





It's another SD70



And another one is heading out west, I didn;t hear that one coming






one last west bound





On Wednesday the weather wasn't as nice, it was still warm about 20 degrees, but there had been lots of rain showers in the morning.
I walked down to the Roosevelt road bridge, so this is what I caught.

This is the Amtrak yard, part of it at least







A train heading into Union station.

 

[richard carr]

I've now been to Best Buy ont he west side of the bridge and I'm walking back over it but this time looking south.
This is the Metra depot, the same BNSF loco is there switching that was there in February




This is the southern part of the Amtrak yard, lots of stock waiting for their next turn.




Lots of locos in the yard



I'm now at the east end of the bridge looking south, a freight train is crossing the former Rock Island route into to Chicago, there is loco waiting for the train to pass.




The freight is still going past as a orange line L train goes by




Finally the freight has gone by and the light engine heads towards Van Buren station






And the last thing I see is a Rock Island service heading south, this will be going to Joliet via Blue Island.

 

[richard carr]

So Frida morning I was up early and set off to the airport to pick up a car. I then headed to Pines Junction for a quick look around.

This is what greeted me at 7:30 in the morning



A lorry and train jam, something had closed the road going into Kirk yard and there was now 5 lorries waiting to cross the railroads, as this GP38-2 went by light engine.

Then the South Shore got in on the act, continuing the blockade.







This seemed like the exact same train we had seen a month ago just 2 hours earlier in the day




I parked up and made my way over to the far side of the yard entry tracks. This was just arriving



It stopped short of the crossing



In the yard a few locos were moving about.








This one appeared out of no where



They all moved off into the yard

 

[richard carr]

While I was watching the CN train a manifest went through on CSX





Hidden behind the 2 GE untis was this GP38 in very tatty GTW livery, it wasn't running, maybe it's going to be another switcher in the yard







The train very slowly made it's way into the yard.



Back on the NS mainline the BNSF coal train that runs twice a day came through with an ACe on the point



The locos I had seen moving in the yard about 45 minutes before now took a train out up the hill





Then the coke express had arrived



After that it was time to depart and continue the journey east.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

I went for a walk over to Fulton Market to watch a few trains.

So here are few more from Tuesday lunchtime, these (including all the above) all passed by in about 30 minutes so plenty of action.

This is the Metra depot, the same BNSF loco is there switching that was there in February

It's interesting seeing how dated the Amtrak and Metra passenger stock looks compared to the European equivalent - especially the gallery cars for which there is no equivalent as we have true double deck carriges and EMUs.

 

[richard carr]

After Pines Junction, I headed to Elkhart in case the local to the Elkhart and Western was running.
Unfortunately it wasn't, there were a few cars left in the siding but no sign of a loco anywhere.
While I was there I wanted to take some photos of the switch, but to my surprise, they had installed a new one.



I did take some of the old switch so I will need to dig those out.

So plan now was to take the freeway east and go and visit the Adrian and Blissfield railway again and hopefully see them in action.
I headed east on I80 eventually leaving the freeway at the Delta turnoff for 109 north. This runs parallel to the Indiana and Ohio railway that runs from the Detroit area to Cincinnati using mainly the former DT&I tracks. I had gone about 5 miles north when I spotted a I&OR train heading south, so I needed to make a quite turnaround and head after it. Fortunately as with most short lines it wasn't going very fast, so I soon got past it and found a place to park up and wait for it to arrive.



There's no prize for guessing which class 1 railroad formerly owned these locos a pair of Dash9-44CW locos.
The crewman got out and proceeded to pin down handbrakes on some of the cars, they then uncoupled the locos from the train and headed south.





I set off to try and follow them, I headed into Delta village and found a road that led down towards the NS mainline, went over that and went under the I&OR. I then found another road that led to this.



The locos soon arrived and the crew then parked them up and left. On the right is the NS mainline and behind the locos are some exchange sidings with NS.



Then an NS train went by on the main



Complete with DPU



There was now no point is going to Adrian so I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon by the NS main.