-The date in the title screen is a typo, and I'm too lazy to fix it! The date was 07.10.12, NOT 2010!-
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Some action on a nice summer day at 16th Street Tower and La Salle Street Station.
First, Amtrak's southbound train #393, the 'Illini" heads out of downtown Chicago on the St Charles Air Line, across the Metra Rock Island District, and onto Canadian National's ex-IC Chicago Sub at 16th St Tower.
Next, three Rock Island District Metra trains-- two outbound and one inbound, an empty equipment move from the "Rocket House" coach yard-- cross the SCAL and CN at the tower.
Later, the location is at the north end of the Rock Island District, at the La Salle Street Station terminal, rebuilt in the '80s and formerly home to the original Rock Island and New York Central.
Outbound train #417, the 5:25 Main Line express to Midlothian and Joliet, departs and meets inbound train #422, an express from Joliet and Blue Island. Five minutes later, train #303, the only Main Line express run only to Blue Island on the schedule, departs. Next, #617, the 5:35 Beverly Branch local train, departs, followed five minutes later by train #419, the second-last Main Line run to Joliet. Lastly, empty equipment that arrives from the coach yard that will be the 5:50 departure- train #619, the last Beverly Branch local of the day to Blue Island only. After #619, there are seven more departures from La Salle Street Station on the weekday schedule, but train #421 is the last express / Main Line run. The rest run all the way to Joliet via the Beverly Branch.
Later, we are back at 16th Street Tower, where a CN freight comes up the curved grade on the Chicago Sub, approaching the junction. CN SD70M-2 #8879 and
C44-9W #2526 lug a long unit ethanol train across the St Charles Air Line connector, and across the Metra Rock Island District at the tower. The bridge on the connector track in the foreground has been filled in underneath, (because CTA's Red Line subway is now under this area) but until the 1970s, the C&WI / Santa Fe tracks to Dearborn Station went under the bridge. There is some pretty extreme flexing and pumping of the jointed rail, which seems poorly maintained here.
~Thanks for watching!~
16 окт 2024
