Metra Electric vignettes plus Blue Island Branch RFW and mainline RFW scenes. 7/14/22

We start with some Metra Rock Island District trains at LaSalle Street Station including State of Illinois heritage unit. We then board a Metra Electric at Van Buren for ride to Blue Island including complete Blue Island Branch RFW. At Blue Island for a 30 minute layover we see a Chicago Rail Link and a couple of Metra’s and hear their beautiful P5 horns. We then ride Metra Electric back to Kensington and then capture sone RFW scenes from there to Matteson where CN has a busy wye track.

[@jackchen7003]

I find the Metra Electric district so interesting. There is a certain urban, 1970s feel to it. No other railroad comes close...

[@KenyonKarl]

Matteson was the orignal south end of the commuter rail service - the 1920's cars had destination signs and in the 1950's a train to Richton wore a Matteson destination sign. Also in the 1950's there were 6 tracks for the Electric service between Roosevelt Road ans 53rd Street. also in the 1950's there were two tracks for the through passenger trains south of Roosevelt Road, and they also stopped at 63rd street at a low level platform. Furthermore there were two more tracks for freight trains from a yard where Mileenium park is now for the length of the commuter rail service. Thats 10 track total from 23rd St to 59th street, and 8 tracks total to Kensington, and 6 tracks total to Matteson!

[@mmanisr22]

That Blue Island Branch has that West Hempstead branch feel to it

[@3985uprr]

I think the west Hempstead branch is more scenic

[@Harveycartoonlvr11]

Just wanted to add that at about 20:21 is a Bridge where the Nickel Plate Road Passenger Trains used to operate over, and make it's connection up onto the Pennsy, and at Englewood would switch onto Rock Island tracks to LaSalle Street Station...in the good Ol' days, that is! :)

[@RonMontagueSWRR]

Whenever Im in Chicago I usually take a trip on electric to visit the Science and industry museum.

[@nolantherailfan5048]

Metras electric district is my favorite part of metras system since it uses clean renewable electric energy

[@musicforaarre]

30:47 Google Map says 'West Pullman' is the name of the wooden platform. Lots of fun in the 'back 40'. 1976 is when I last rode this line. I guess I should get around more, especially since I have a travel bug; but my money bug is a bigger bug right now !! Ha, Ha, Ha. Since you have money to travel, I will let you be my eyes for now. Thanks so much.😉 Aarre Peltomaa

[@scottyerkes1867]

Awesome coverage of some METRA electric service. Thank you RR.😀💚💚

[@m.l.northern2982]

I missed this last week. Another fantastic railfan spot is Lemont. Wednesday night cruise nights, with both Metra and Amtrak going through the center of town, lots of Detroit steel with the occasional slingshot or roadster.

[@musicforaarre]

31:40 Ditto !!! You read my mind, or rather, you read the 'irons'. I guess it was a spring switch, since you are still around to tell about it. Spring switches would be a good solution to save the dispatcher the annoyance of this concern on his busy schedule. I guess there aren't too many meets anyhow, as you said that the schedule is scarce of trains in this branch. Aarre Peltomaa

[@loocpoc]

I was waiting for you to belt out a little of Arlo Guthrie's "City of New Orleans"

[@3985uprr]

For some reason I didn’t think of doing that. The lyrics describing the train are inaccurate. Nighttime at Memphis? It used to get in New Orleans a little after midnight.

[@Jeff-uj8xi]

The Blue Island branch reminds me of our Gladstone line. Also, years ago, the line to West Chester, Penna. was single track, rural and electric with MP-54 MU cars. By the way, SEPTA;s extension to Wawa should be opening soon. Now, the people in West Chester would like rail service again. The line still exists as a tourist railroad, using old, green ex-Reading Railroad electric MU cars that were de-electrified into straight coaches. KZbin has videos of the operation. Seeing all of your Chicago videos brings back great memories for me. I had many adventures in Chicago in the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. I was on a South Shore train of the old electric interurban MU cars from Chicago to South Bend and return. The young train operator was quite rail fan friendly. Way back then I was in my twenties, as was the train operator. On the return trip from South Bend, I was standing up with him on the head end. The train was packed with commuters. The train operator stood up from his seat and told me to sit down and keep my hand pressing down on the controller handle. I was stunned that I was actually going to operate the train. He told me the sequence of the whistle blows for the crossings in the wide open, flat Indiana countryside. I operated the train at speed all the way to Michigan City, near the shops. Upon arriving at Randolph Street in Chicago, he took me to the crew locker room. He gave me a set of South Shore control and brake handles and a reverser handle, which I still treasure to this day. I never forgot that train operator's name. I became friends with a South Shore Board Member many years later and mentioned the story to him. He knew exactly who I was talking about and told me that he had sadly passed away. I was so sorry to hear that.

[@3985uprr]

Nice story. I doubt that could be duplicated today. I think the Gladstone branch is a heck of a lot more scenic than the blue Island branch

[@chicago-l9125]

Aside from the "L", the METRA Electric was my favorite mode of transportation when it came to getting from the south side (Grand Crossing - 75th) to either downtown Chicago or the South Suburbs (Blue Island, Harvey, Flossmoor, Matteson, Richton Pk, Olympia Fields).

[@JohnMatz]

If you get to (or were able to get to) the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois, You will see a large "Santa Fe" sign . That sign used to sit on top of the building I believe now topped by the "Motorola" sign at @6:53

[@Robbi496]

Central Station was at Roosevelt and Michigan, Roosevelt Road dead ended into the station plaza

[@easternairlineseric]

The overpass over the tracks by 79th Street housed the old Nickel Plate line. That spur has been abandoned and dormant for years.

[@steve-o981]

What a fun and educational week of posts. Just really great stuff, even some pretty good singing here LOL...on par with Tex Beneke's (Glen Miller's Band ) rendition of Chattanooga Cho-Choo. In addition to all the traditional railfanning content I especially liked the little tours of the towns and old stations west of Chicago, info on old signals, and of course all the details/history of former railroads/companies of past eras in the region, etc.

[@3985uprr]

I listened to that Ted Beneke version of CCC. Yeah he does sound similar but he’s a bit better.

[@steve-o981]

@@3985uprr LOL. I'd say your voice is more reminiscent of Sinatra and Como, while Tex's is kind of a combo of Crosby and a K5LA.

[@andrewheld2475]

Great video as always, but running through a misaligned switch will most definitely destroy the switch, but it'll never derail a train. Possibly an unladened flat car?... but I sincerely doubt it.

[@johnplampin7274]

When 51st/53rd was rebuilt it was delayed because the dingbats at Metra ordered straight platform slabs even though the platforms/tracks are curved!

[@Robbi496]

La Salle also housed NKP Trains

[@ShawnMichaelJones]

I think the Blue Island Branch should have 2 tracks only so once they get to West Pullman one of the trains don’t have to wait for a train to pass

[@ShawnMichaelJones]

What if the Blue Island Branch, The South Chicago Branch and The Main Line was to go further out of Chicago to like Joliet, University Park and other cities in Illinois?

[@easternairlineseric]

There's always been chatter of extending the main line to Kankakee, or at least further south into Will County. Just that--long time chatter but no action.

[@ShawnMichaelJones]

The station at 30:50 is the West Pullman station

[@kevinhoward9593]

did you know why the cars have stripes at the end of the cars? Its what came out of the 1972 Illinois Central-Gulf collision. what happened to the montreal line? didnt they just get cars for the AMT?

[@3985uprr]

Didn’t know that

[@johnplampin7274]

A train of new at the time highliners over-ran 27th st. And backed up to make the platform. Train of old single-level cars barrelled in to it. Luckily there were two hospitals adjacent or things would have been far worse.

[@musicforaarre]

38:44 HUDSON BAY RAILWAY ! What ! Is that the loser track through the muskeg to Churchill, Manitoba? That's where you go before you end up on the dark side of the moon ! I'm embarrassed to have had CN send that down to you from Canada. It is novelty; I haven't even seen it in the Toronto area. The track got washed out, and I understand that it was resurrected. Ocean freighters do come to Churchill, Manitoba when the Hudson Bay is not iced over; they bring wheat to be shipped out, and I guess other bulk stuff, too. You can watch Malamutes and Huskies play with the polar bears (see videos), and after that, there's nothing to see. Catch your same train back out of town before it leaves to get back to 'Winnipeg?'. As far as I'm concerned, civilized Canada ends about two hundred miles north of the US border in most places, and you can skip the rest, unless you are a hunter or fisherman. REMEMBER ! Canadians paddle to work in canoes, and all live in teepees and wigwams !!! Aarre Peltomaa, your Canadian from Mississauga, Ontario. Damn, I can't find my correct teepee ! I better build another one 🙃🙃🙃

[@3985uprr]

Mississauga is a long way from Flin Flon so to speak. At least you don’t have polar bears walking down Yonge Street!! I have gone to Moosonee, Ontario. I definitely felt like I was in another world.

[@musicforaarre]

@@3985uprr Yes, indeed. You where in a different world ! Aarre Peltomaa

[@zacariusbluefox2024]

Just wondering, why are the bells keep going all the way, did the engineer forgot to turn it off? 🤔

[@andrewheld2475]

Why turn it off if you're going to have to constantly activate it? If it's not aggravating the engineer, it's easier to leave it ringing than to 'highball the bell'!

[@zacariusbluefox2024]

Yeah, but I'm just wondering.

[@johnplampin7274]

City ordinances, I think ...

[@Touchybanana]

METRA seems like a cheap commuter rail system with all those cheap wooden platforms, what they couldn't afford concrete platforms because they're so cheap and more ineptly run than SEPTA?

[@ShawnMichaelJones]

I think that it could be that those stations don’t have a lot passengers coming or getting off at those stations or it could be due to low ridership

[@johnplampin7274]

They are slowly rebuilding a lot of the platforms. Long overdue!

[@ShawnMichaelJones]

@@johnplampin7274 do you think that means that the ones who are made from wood are being replaced with modern stations like the Matteson and the 55th-56th-57th stations?

[@johnplampin7274]

@@ShawnMichaelJones yes, but so many stations and little money. Will take a while. But I think they plan something like 15 stations next year!

[@ShawnMichaelJones]

@@johnplampin7274 even if they were to ask people to donate money to rebuild transit it probably won’t help or be enough money to rebuild