lstone19 wrote:But at least according to a 1980 Conrail Employee TT I have, the Panhandle (i.e. "the long way") was mileposted from Columbus. Western Ave. is listed as 311.6 and CUS 314.1 (at that time listed as the "Western Ave. Secondary Track") and notwithstanding timetable direction flipping from West to East at Western Ave. (keeping in mind that what the MILW called A-2 was Western Ave. to the PRR and C&NW). Which makes the 468.3 odd since that's the distance via the Ft. Wayne main and through CUS (which is 467.8 per that TT).
According to a somewhat dated (2002) track profile I have, but verified via a more recent (2010) version of CORA, Amtrak's Chicago terminal runs between 21st St. interlocking and Canal St, which encompasses just over two miles. On the south end, the distance between 21st St. and the underground bumping posts at Jackson St. is listed as 1.6 miles. Then add another 0.5 miles for the segment between the bumping posts on the north end and Canal St. Now, it's possible that the 468.3 milepost marker could either be a way of signifying the ownership change from Metra to Amtrak (while doing so with a nod to history), or there's a milepost marker 2.1 miles south (TT=east?), somewhere around the 21st St. bridge that reads 466.2. Which wouldn't make the 468.3 so odd after all, if that's indeed the case. Either way, this is definitely worth a closer look...