Having finally concluded the real estate transaction in Morrison, IL that has been taking up most of my time the last two months, it was time for some railfanning. I spent most of my morning on the BNSF Racetrack in Western Springs, IL, where I observed a Bentley and a Maserati as well as lots of trains! But my day wasn’t entirely confined to the Chicago area, as I was able to make a few cool catches on the way back home to Rockford as well. First, the trains at Western Springs. The station here (I believe) dates to Burlington Route days, and so is quite picturesque, but the platforms are rather narrow which makes photography a challenge. Train 1, BNSF 6629 East, mixed freight BNSF ES44C4 6629, ES44DC 7476, and ES44AC 6132 Train 2, Metra 1306, inbound Metra cab car 8608 and F40PHM-2 196 Train 3, Metra 1303, outbound Metra F40PHM-2s 211 and 185 and cab car 8585 Note: why was this train on Track 2? Train 4, Metra 1326, inbound Metra cab car 8599 and F40PHM-2s 209 and 187 Note: this train makes all stops from Aurora to Downers Grove, then runs express to Union Station. And by express, I mean express! This train was definitely making track speed! Train 5, BNSF 7694 East, mixed freight BNSF ES44DC 7694, ES44C4 6503, and C44-9W 4123 Train 6, Metra 1308, inbound Metra cab car 8602 and F40PH 119 Train 7, Amtrak 380, eastbound Illinois Zephyr Amtrak P42 57 Train 8, Metra Lollapalooza Extra 9510 Metra cab car 8593 and F40PHM-2 186 Note: this train was on a schedule like train 1326 earlier. Again this train was flying! I caught this one at a pedestrian crossing just west of the depot. Train 9, Metra 1310, inbound Meta cab car 8585 and F40PHM-2s 185 and 211 Train 10, Metra 1305, outbound Metra F40PH 113 and cab car 8583 Train 11, BNSF 4452 east, unit crude oil BNSF C44-9W 4452, SD70MAC 9809 (still in green and cream), and C44-9W 5115 DPU Note: as this train was passing eastbound, a westbound empty unit coal train rolled by on Track 1. After catching the DPU on the oil train, I kept the camera rolling to catch the end of the coal train. Train 12, BNSF 6544 west, intermodal BNSF ES44C4 6544, ES44AC 6309, KCS ES44AC 4682, and BNSF C44-9W 5066 Train 13, BNSF 8778 east, mixed freight BNSF SD70ACe 8778 and C44-9W 4719 Train 14, Metra outbound extra (equipment move presumably) Metra F40PHM-2 180 and cab car 8593 I then moved to the next station west, Highlands, which is in Hinsdale, IL. I’ve seen a lot of pictures of and from this station over the years and wanted to catch a train there, which I did. Train 15, Metra Lollapalooza Extra 9512 Metra cab car 8579 and F40PHM-2 199 Note: this was on a schedule like earlier trains 1326 and X9510. Then it was time for lunch and time to head back to Rockford. While heading home on US 20, I saw a CP freight stopped near Pingree Grove. When I saw from the IL 47 underpass what the power was, I knew I had to record this train! Train 16, DM&E; 6088 West, mixed freight DM&E; SD40-3 6088 and GP40Q 4005, and NS C44-9W 9752 Note: the full video of this train was uploaded separately to my channel. Right after the power passes, you’ll hear a horn from a truck driver waiting at the crossing, presumably he was answering the horn signal of the train? After catching a DM&E; double-header, what could be better? Well, I stopped by Union, IL to wrap up my day by seeing what was running at the Illinois Railway Museum. There is a parking area for railfans east of the museum, at Seeman Road, and so I parked there for a while to see what passed by. Train 17, SLSF 1522 East, IRM coach train SLSF 2-10-0 1522 Note: this clip is in black and white for effect, and also because of a pesky cloud that had to park overhead when I was shooting this clip…and of course departed just as soon as the train passed! It looks much better in black and white than colour. Then came the last train of the day, my first-ever catch on the Union Pacific Belvidere Sub! Train 18, UP 4913 East, loaded autoracks from the Belvidere Chrysler Plant UP SD70M 4913 Thanks for watching, and please subscribe for more trains! Coming soon...videos of trains in Minnesota!

• published: 03 Aug 2015
• views: 2988