Special Saturday Service on the Metra Heritage Corridor | Rails, Trails & Ales | Metra Bicycle Car

[@JustinSchroeder29]

Hope they do it again this year... I'd definitely be interested in making the trip!

[@kevanhubbard9673]

That red Metra loco looks nice.

[@michaelglass4701]

I'm a Model Railroader & i have a HO Scale Metra "RI" Heritage Locomotive.

[@wcombs1983]

Bike car?! COOL!

[@carguy4243]

I like sitting up in the balcony of the gallery cars. You get more of a bird's-eye view I think.

[@dennisforner6090]

Congrats to Metra for coming up with the Rail, tails & ales concept. What a great way to expand ridership even if it is for a short timeframe. I especially liked the livery of the special bike carriages (looks so much better than just stainless steel in my opinion) and making so much space available on a train for bikes is a great idea. I hope it becomes popular. Thank you Thom for sharing this video. As always much appreciated.

[@Thom-TRA]

I like the new livery a lot better too! I think design is such an important factor in attracting customers. Americans spend so much time designing their cars, it saddens me that trains have been reduced to boring, not-aerodynamic stainless stee boxes.

[@sabbagels]

I wish the HC could have better service because it runs right by the most extensive area of interconnected forest preserves in Cook County, and as an insult to injury the no weekend service Southwest Service runs on the eastern edge of this same area. You could walk or bike from Willow Springs on the HC to Palos Park on the SWS almost entirely on trails through the forests, which would make a fantastic day trip if there were actually trains to take you there and back.

[@White_sox_fan]

12:35 the slammers home

[@joemeyers3127]

Great video. Thanks for taking me back to my Chicago roots!

[@Thom-TRA]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@deaventuraconkikomas4281]

Cool... For next visit to Chicago.... Thanks for sharing it.

[@Thom-TRA]

You’re welcome! You’ll have to take it on a weekday now, since the summer is over

[@leereeder2293]

Thom I rode every day on most of the Metra trains as I rode the Elburn line the most. The Elburn line used to end in Geneva before it was extended

[@georgekarnezis4311]

The heritage corridors could strengthen the regional rail nature of burbs. My cousin lives in lemont and my parents live in mokena being able to make transfers at Joliet would be awesome. But the commuting nature of the heritage corridors means that driving is the best option between suburbs.

[@Thom-TRA]

I think the Chicago suburbs would be well suited for regional rail. With my current job I would certainly benefit from it.

[@georgekarnezis4311]

@@Thom-TRA I hear somewhere that most jobs are now in the suburbs. A bloom burg article from twenty 19 said that jobs in the suburbs were growing. But who know how the world has changes since then.

[@ck4426]

Another interesting and informative vlog, thank you so much!!!

[@Thom-TRA]

You’re welcome! This one was a lot of fun to film

[@CameronLandels]

Thank you for the video Thom! Really enjoyed it. I've heard of the rail and ale trail. It's pretty good to see trains running on a Saturday during the summer. It's a good initiative to get people to explore the route with their bikes. Here's hoping Metra runs more weekday trains in the future 🙂

[@Thom-TRA]

I do hope Metra expands their service. I was talking with my dad the other day how it’s shameful the Metra line to O’Hare only runs 6x a day. That conversation actually inspired me to go out and film a new video!

[@CameronLandels]

@@Thom-TRA Hi Thom. It is pretty poor that the NCS and the Heritage Corridor only run a few times a day. I know you can connect with the O'Hare People Mover at the transfer. I suppose more people use the more frequent Chicago L Blue Line to get to the airport. Glad it gave you some inspiration for a new video 🙂

[@natertaterz335]

Also love the video like always!

[@michaellewter8671]

The old GMO line

[@transittown7891]

Nice commentary trip bro 😎 😊👍 keep it up. Greetings from Canada

[@Jeragon186]

Do we know why Meta ran this train with 2 locomotives for only 5 cars?

[@mrAhollandjr]

This line was operated by the Illinois Central.. your explanation explains why the railroad was called Illinois Central Gulf.

[@Harvey-x7d]

Old enough to ride the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio commuter.

[@tylerkochman1007]

Question: could you sit on the upper level of the bicycle half of the car, or is that not permitted??

[@tylerkochman1007]

Just noticed you answered when someone else asked

[@Thom-TRA]

You can sit there! It’s a little bumpy

[@midmichiganemdrailfan.4187]

Cool video

[@AskUrMom365]

I think the Bnsf is crowded just because people near the HC line are just scared to miss a train, so they drive to Bnsf

[@Thom-TRA]

That’s an interesting theory

[@briansivley2001]

Why would Amtrak want to move trains to The Rock Island District Tracks when it's more efficient to use the current tracks? I know that The Rock Island Tracks bypass the route that the east bound long distance trains go on and I know about the plan to build a connection to it but I would think it would still add more time than how it is now.

[@Thom-TRA]

The advantage of the Rock Island is that it is dispatched by Metra, who is more likely to give priority to passenger service. That, and only one level crossing with a different railroad, means the chance for delays is much smaller. I think Amtrak will choose reliability over speed, and I don’t blame them. Also, the RI serves a number of larger cities, such as Tinley Park, which would be an added advantage.

[@briansivley2001]

@@Thom-TRA but they will have the same problem in getting into Union Station like they do with The City of New Orleans and Illini/Saluki Services they have to go through China Town and go onto the same tracks that they are using now to get into Union Station. To me while they would go into bigger cities/suburbs if they used The Rock Island District but until they build the connection to the CSX Tracks they might as well use the current routing and once they finish the construction of the connection they can do it.

[@Thom-TRA]

@@briansivley2001 but that is the point, Amtrak is building that connection. I think a lot of lines will be rerouted once that is finished.

[@briansivley2001]

@@Thom-TRA I thought they were still in the planning stages and were trying to get the funds for it?

[@Thom-TRA]

@@briansivley2001 I’m not sure, actually, I’ll have to check. I do hope the plans come to fruition soon.

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

NCS is getting full service back in dec 2022

[@Thom-TRA]

Cool! How many extra runs are planned?

[@natertaterz335]

Did anyone hear about the truck that was hit by metra in lemont yesterday?

[@johnkolassa1645]

Yet another interesting video. Thanks for the tip about unexpected Heritage Corridor weekend service. Is any use made of the upper level in these cars?

[@Thom-TRA]

Just one half of the car. Yes, you can sit in the upper half, but we tried it for 5 minutes, and between slamming doors and the constant shaking we decided to sit on the other side of the car, with regular seats. If someone would have tried to steal our bikes, they would have had to cut through our kryptonite locks on camera…

[@johnkolassa1645]

@@Thom-TRA Thanks.

[@tsauce3928]

104 is a Heritage unit I think and I’m pretty sure it’s rare to find all Heritage units so yeah

[@chadreno4108]

Can you use the upper level seating in the bike car?

[@Thom-TRA]

You can. However, we tried and it was very loud and bumpy, so we opted for the more comfortable seating on the other side of the car.

[@thickernell]

I don't know if you meant to carry your bikes down "The Untouchables" stairs at Union Station or not, but there is a somewhat "new" elevator that opens onto the street about 20 feet north of the cab line outside of the old station house. It comes out on the lower concourse level across from the Metropolitan Club's main entrance, stuck back in a little cubby hallway. I use it all the time when returning via Amtrak to go directly to the cab line and designated ride share pickup area, so I don't have to cross Canal Street.

[@Thom-TRA]

We were able to take it in the afternoon, but it was closed for maintenance in the morning!

[@thickernell]

@@Thom-TRA Man, that elevator is down FAR too often for only being open a few years.

[@Thom-TRA]

@@thickernell those poor elevators are definitely over represented in Chicago’s vandalism statistics…

[@veronicanorman6073]

Can you do the BNSF railway

[@Thom-TRA]

Yes, I took it this summer and I’m planning to upload the video in September!

[@danielueblacker9118]

Thom I can not believe you rented a car just to be alone with your wonderful wife.

[@Thom-TRA]

Haha! You know I would if I could. Truth is we were just lucky to have an empty car. Coincidentally, It actually is our wedding anniversary today! That’s why I wanted to upload a recent video of a fun trip we did together