Marion, Ohio, is a post-industrial Rust Belt city that is famous for the Marion Power Shovel Co., one-time supplier of heavy-duty industrial machinery to the world. Because of its industrial prowess, four major railroads once served the city of 35,000: Chesapeake & Ohio, Erie, New York Central, and Pennsylvania. This variety and density lead to […]
Today’s Roosevelt Road is a wonderful place to watch passenger trains. More than 1,000 trains a day from Amtrak, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, and South Shore cross the busy thoroughfare. The area provides a safe venue for watching and photographing trains in an urban environment. TRAIN WATCHING Roosevelt Road offers overhead views of three rail […]
Glendale, Ohio, incorporated in 1855, is a north suburb of Cincinnati. The community is located along CSX Transportation’s Cincinnati Terminal Subdivision, which also hosts trains from Amtrak and Norfolk Southern. The Cincinnati & Hamilton Railroad opened a line between its namesake Ohio cities in 1848. The railroad, renamed the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, leased the […]
Located 45 miles southwest of the Chicago Loop, Joliet is a city of 147,000, the fourth largest in Illinois. Just as much of the former Santa Fe Railway accompanies the former Route 66 across the Southwest, the two pair up briefly in Joliet — now as BNSF Railway and Illinois Route 53. TRAIN WATCHING For […]
La Crosse, Wis., is a city of 51,000 people located about 150 miles southeast of Minneapolis, Minn. The city was once home to the G. Heileman Brewing Co., maker of Old Style beer. For a city its size, there is a remarkable variety of railroading, with scenery to boot. Train-watchers frequently see motive power of […]
Fostoria is a city of 14,000 in northwest Ohio, about 35 miles south of Toledo. Like its larger neighbor to the north, Fostoria is known for its one-time glass production. The Fostoria Glass Co., founded in the city in 1887, even supplied glassware to railroads for their dining cars! The city is also known for […]
Gibson City, Ill., located in the heart of Central Illinois’ grain-growing region, is the headquarters for the Bloomer Shippers Connecting Railroad, otherwise known as the Bloomer Line. Gibson City also serves as a junction and interchange point for two Class I railroads, Canadian National and Norfolk Southern. CN runs up to two locals a day […]
Nestled among hillside dairy farms, corn fields, and rock quarries, Byron Hill, Wis., sees more than 20 trains per day on Canadian National’s busy Waukesha Subdivision. Positioned halfway between Fond du Lac and Lomira, Wis., the main line is paralleled by two vital roadways, Highways 175 and 41. Branching off of those main arteries are […]
Chicago is still the railroad capital of the country in most people’s opinion. What puts it on top over other cities like Kansas City is the strong passenger-train presence. It’s Amtrak’s midwestern hub (8 routes), and hundreds of Metra commuter trains (11 routes) hustle in and out of the city daily. Much of the railroad […]
More Friday morning rail news: Temporary shutdown of Northstar an option as Twin Cities council faces budget issues A temporary shutdown of the Northstar commuter rail line between Minneapolis and Big Lake, Minn., could be a possibility as the Minneapolis-St. Paul area’s Metropolitan Council deals with budget pressures created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minneapolis Star […]
Thursday morning rail transit news: NICTD president foresees little impact on South Shore commuter operations from Chicago quarantine rule Indiana has been added to the city of Chicago’s pandemic quarantine list, but South Shore Line commuter trains aren’t likely to be effected. WSBT-TV reports Mike Noland, president of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which operates South […]
CHICAGO — Metra has sued Union Pacific for breach of contract over its fare collection policies on the three Metra lines operated by UP, saying an “arbitrary and capricious” refusal to deploy conductors is severely damaging Metra’s bottom line, reputation, and customer experience. In a response Wednesday afternoon, Union Pacific said it is “is unwilling […]
