A Metra SouthWest Service train arrives at the Larraway Road station in New Lenox, Ill. Metra has signed a contract for a new train-tracking system which should help get more reliable information about train status to riders. TRAINS: David Lassen A screenshot from Metra’s website shows the location of two trains on the Milwaukee North […]
Metra CEO Jim Derwinski, left, and BNSF Railway Vice President DJ Mitchell address a public hearing in Chicago Tuesday. Richard Wronski CHICAGO — A key member of the House Transportation Committee publicly criticized BNSF Railway and Chicago’s Metra commuter rail line Tuesday for having “failed all too often” to provide reliable and acceptable service within the […]
Northstar at St. Paul Union Depot in 2017. Steve Glischinski ST. PAUL, Minn. – For only the second time since it began service in 2009, a Northstar commuter train will provide revenue service to St. Paul Union Depot. The commuter trains normally operate over 40 miles of BNSF Railway track between Big Lake and Minneapolis. […]
Heislers are rare geared steam locomotives. One in steam is even more rare. Join us in Freeport, Ill., to see Silver Creek & Stephenson No. 2 in action. […]
Heislers are rare geared steam locomotives. One in steam is even more rare. Join us in Freeport, Ill., to see Silver Creek & Stephenson No. 2 in action. […]
Financial hardships, highway competition, and inadequate maintenance and investment led to the abandonment of a wide array of railroads. Take a look at our free 45-page PDF download to uncover the history behind the following railroads: The formation of the Wisconsin & Calumet Railroad and the different rail lines it operated, restored, and acquired. How the Vicksburg Route changed […]
An elevated interior image of Chicago Union Station’s Great Hall after reconstruction. The suspended work deck is shown beneath the vaulted skylight. Mike Clarahan, Berglund Construction/Amtrak CHICAGO — The historic Great Hall at Chicago’s Union Station is awash in new light with renovation all but complete on the iconic skylight, installation of improved lighting, and […]
Even with its holiday adornments, No. 261 still proudly displays its Milwaukee Road heritage. Steve Glischinski ST. PAUL, Minn. – “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is a popular Christmas song, but it’s theme can also apply to mainline steam operators who find the holiday season a way to bring in more revenue […]
A pair of Rock Island BL2s, with an F7B between them, led the “Fat Stock Special” one night in 1956. Monty Powell In November 1956 I was a management trainee on the Rock Island Railroad in Rock Island, Ill. A special movement known as “the Fat Stock Special,” which originated in western Iowa, was coming […]
Metra and BNSF Railway trains meet at the Cicero Metra station in August 2017. A derailment Monday on the track on the right, the connection from the Belt Railway of Chicago to the BNSF, has led to inbound Metra trains skipping the Cicero stop this morning, because of damage to the structure at the end […]
A Metra BNSF train crosses over Interstate 294 between Hinsdale and Western Springs, Ill., on Christmas Eve 2015. The bridge is the narrowest point on the highway; a planned road-widening project will require the construction of a temporary bridge for the BNSF main line, followed by replacement of the existing structure. TRAINS: David Lassen HINSDALE, […]
A Metra BNSF train approaches the Naperville station on Sept. 15, 2018. Two communities have hired a lobbying firm as part of an effort to have the BNSF line extended into Kendall County, Ill. TRAINS: David Lassen OSWEGO, Ill. — Two Chicago suburbs have hired a lobbying firm in an effort to Metra’s BNSF Railway […]
