Railfanning Chicago at Lisle, Illinois, is good for those hard winter days. You know, the ones that sometimes feel like it requires all the preparation, gear, and endurance of the Amundsen South Pole expedition. This is what makes Lisle, on BNSF Railway’s triple-track main line between Chicago and Aurora, Ill., is a good place to […]
Introduction to the Beverly Branch The Beverly Branch is a unique segment of Metra’s 11-line commuter rail network. While there are other branch lines — two on the Electric District, one on the UP Northwest line — this one is essentially an alternate route, a 6-mile diversion from the Rock Island District main line providing […]
BIG BOY HOT SPOT Location If you’re for Union Pacific Big Boy Hot Spot this summer, don’t miss the Dexter, Missouri, community. Dexter is situated in the rural southeast corner of Missouri in Stoddard County, about halfway between St. Louis and Memphis. It is surrounded by fertile soil, vast row-crop farmland, and straight, high speed […]
Introduction to the Matteson, Illinois, railfan hotspot Matteson’s status as a truly significant railroad junction dates only to October 2011, when Canadian National completed a new connection between its north-south former Illinois Central line, and its recently acquired Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, the belt line that gave it a way to avoid much of […]
One in an occasional series on Senior Editor David Lassen’s favorite Chicago-area railfan locations Railfanning LaFox, Illinois Well west of Chicago, in a still mostly rural area with suburbia gradually encroaching, is La Fox, Ill., on Union Pacific’s Geneva Subdivision. There’s barely a community to speak of, but it does have a Metra station. […]
Trains Senior Editor David Lassen spends much of his free time in the Chicago area. This is the first in a series of Trains.com articles on his favorite rail photography locations. UPDATED Dec. 15, 2021, with removal of shoofly. BNSF Railway’s celebrated “racetrack” — the triple-track mainline of the Chicago Division between downtown Chicago and […]
KANSAS CITY — With the recent announcement that Canadian Pacific is acquiring Kansas City Southern, railfans will no doubt be heading to the KCS to capture the last days of the smallest of the Class I railroads. But where should you go to catch the action on such a vast system? Here’s a few highlights, […]
LOCATION: Alexandria, Va.’s Union Station is located on King Street, and is about 8 miles south of Washington, D.C., on CSX Transportation’s main line between the Northeast and Florida. Passenger service is provided by both Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express. Highway access is provided by numerous surface streets including U.S. Route 1. The Washington-area Capital […]
Perched high on a hillside on a lonely but breathtakingly beautiful stretch of Interstate 80 just outside of Echo, Utah, must be the best rest stop in America – for railfans. With a sweeping view of the rough, red, sandstone cliffs of Echo Canyon, frequent trains on Union Pacific’s original transcontinental route, and convenient benches […]
North East is a borough of about 4,200 people and is the northernmost incorporated community in Pennsylvania. It is little more than a mile from the shore of Lake Erie, and just 3 miles off Interstate 90. The community, located in northwestern Pennsylvania, is named North East for its location in northeastern Erie County. The […]
Scenic Bear Mountain is located about 45 miles north of New York City along the Hudson River. It offers a host of vantage points along the CSX Transportation “River Line” and Metro-North Hudson Line. Locations between Cold Spring and Peekskill, including Bear Mountain Bridge, provide public access to watch and photograph trains. The area is […]
The Quad Cities of Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, and Rock Island and Moline, Ill., straddle the Mississippi River, creating an historic intersection of river and rails. In April 1856, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific’s predecessors opened the first Mississippi River crossing, known as the Government Bridge, at Davenport. Later, a riverboat struck the bridge […]
