Most uninteresting Metra line?

In the defense of the police, I'd imagine it's hard to nab cars stopped at a railroad crossing without jeopardizing the safety of the officer (or the squad car), and pulling people over in a whole pack of cars pulling away from a railroad crossing might be dangerous. (Since cops tend to take up the whole right lane when they pull someone over, a three-lane street gets funneled down to two right after a railroad crossing. This would mean that drivers have to slow down and change lanes while they're crossing the tracks, and might just cause more of the problem they're trying to prevent.)

Another van on the wrong side of the gates this morning (04/19/2006) westbound. No cops, no surprise.

Byte, I would agree with you in the mindset of traditional police work. However, with the red-light cameras and the van-mounted cameras in the work areas around Chicago, I can see any reason a crossbuck-mounted camera couldn't take care of this issue at the most troublesome fifty locations in Chicagoland. Heck, the camera's might even pay for themselves and a replacement class of locomotive for the guys over at the "I hate MP36/I love F40C" threads...

The camera method works quite well in Wood Dale. However, Elmwood Park would have to come up with the cash. The way the people around there drive, it would pay for itself the first day.

It actually might not. There was recently a study somewhere on red light cameras (I think it was in New York) that effectively proved that they don't actually make the roads safer - they just pull in revenue. While fining drivers may seem like the right thing to do, it might not make sense in the long run. Example: if 100 cars are lined up waiting for a train and two of those drivers decide to wait it out inside the gates, then that's a total of 1/50th of those people who will now be more careful next time they pass through that intersection. And it's a staggeringly small number when you consider all the people who pass through that intersection every day. The same people you ticket aren't always going to the ones closest to the tracks when the gates go down, so there's a good chance that adding a red light-type camera alone wouldn't do anything significant - and it's not an active solution either. The camera isn't preventing anyone from sitting on the tracks, it's just punishing them for doing so two weeks later. A situation could feasibly pop up where, car sits on tracks, gates go down, camera gets license plate, train hits car, and the MILW rush hour trains are now all late. In that case, the camera did absolutely nothing to prevent it.

What they should do is put in a camera, but also put in a huge, bright neon-colored sign (complete with flashing lights) that tells people not only to not sit on the tracks, but that "violators will be ticketed by camera" and leave the cameras on a pole so they're blatantly obvious to drivers. Hell, paint those neon, too, if there's any paint leftover from the sign. Anything they can do to keep people from sitting on the tracks in the first place should be done, because automated ticketing alone won't really do it.

In Wood Dale, the cameras are plainly visible (as is the flash when they shoot), and there are signs that say you will be fined if you cross when the lights or gates are activated. In spite of the New York study, the cameras have made many drivers think twice about running the gates at Irving Park Road in Wood Dale.

byte wrote:What they should do is put in a camera, but also put in a huge, bright neon-colored sign (complete with flashing lights) that tells people not only to not sit on the tracks, but that "violators will be ticketed by camera" and leave the cameras on a pole so they're blatantly obvious to drivers.

If Elmwood Park's huge sign didn't work before, I doubt it will work after they add an extra warning to it.

One ironic thing I've noticed since the crash last November is that a lot of Grand Ave. drivers are afraid to even pull up to the legal stop line. Especially on the eastbound side, the first cars in line are usually pretty far back from the "restricted" area. I wonder if these people just slam on the brakes as soon as those red lights start flashing.

Who can I write to saying "Okay, the brilliant citizens of Elmwood Park were sufficiently scared by the dozen-car+Metra pileup; can we lift the knee-jerk-reaction-speed limit now? Most cars go over that crossing faster than the trains can..."

byte wrote:What they should do is put in a camera, but also put in a huge, bright neon-colored sign (complete with flashing lights) that tells people not only to not sit on the tracks, but that "violators will be ticketed by camera" and leave the cameras on a pole so they're blatantly obvious to drivers. Hell, paint those neon, too, if there's any paint leftover from the sign. Anything they can do to keep people from sitting on the tracks in the first place should be done, because automated ticketing alone won't really do it.

What bothers me most about the Illinois Commerce Commision's decision to impose the Metra speed restriction is that it incorrectly implies that Metra was at least partially responsible for the accident, even though the actual intent was not intended to be punitive to Metra, but was to done ensure additional safety at a complex intersection. If you think about it though, the ICC's decision can potentially have the unintended result of sending mixed messages to drivers, to wit: "All motorists, it is your legal responsibility to heed all warning devices at train crossings, but we'll slow the trains down too in case there are those idiots among you that believe you can drive around the lowered gates and beat the train to the crossing."

That said, I'm in favor of any solutions that places an extra burden of responsibility where it truly belongs: Squarely on the shoulders of the motorists and pedestrians traveling past that Elmwood Park crossing, and in that regard, I agree with byte's above suggestion of the strategical placement of cameras and neon signs there. I'd add some hot pink to the neon too, the more loud and garish, the better. And if something like that ever became reality, Metra should kick down the door of the ICC and request (no, DEMAND) that the speed restriction be removed...

(btw- anybody else notice that this topic is starting to drift a little?)

EricL wrote:If Elmwood Park's huge sign didn't work before, I doubt it will work after they add an extra warning to it.

People are ignorant, however if they change the sign one day and it suddenly mentions the word "ticketed," people with more than two brain cells will realize "Hmm, ticketed = paying the ticket and/or higher insurance premiums! Fun for my paycheck!" [end sarcasm] since it's a moving violation. Suddenly breaking the law just got a little pricier!

doepack wrote:(btw- anybody else notice that this topic is starting to drift a little?)

Yes. Though not so much "a little," more like a sailboat during a hurricane.

spRocket wrote:Before my job moved close to home, I was a regular commuter on the RI, and I flat-out hated the off-peak trips down the Beverly branch, as they added an extra 20 minutes to the already long trip. On a Saturday or Sunday, it was far faster to drive downtown (though the Ryan reconstruction may change that).

An electrified Rock Island would be very interesting - but it'll never happen.

The RI schedule is in desperate need of being updated. Ten years with no service updates is a complete joke.

Trying to get back on topic here, what lines would you ride if you were a railfan visiting Chicago for a few days? I've already figured out a tentative itinerary that includes:

-Harvard. Or Fox Lake ONLY if my Amtrak train from the east gets me in too late to catch one I want.

-CSS to South Bend and back

-Round trip to Kenosha.

-First AM train to Elgin and return on an Express.

-Heritage Corridor in the afternoon and return on a ALL stop RI local. *groan*

-First AM train to Elburn and return on an Express.

-Round trip to Orland Park.

I've already been on the BNSF line, so I have no interest in doing that again. But if something I'm not planning for now such as a trip to Antioch may be a more entertaining ride than some of the trips listed above, please let me know.

The all-stop RI train is worth it - the rocket ride down HC is great, then you can kick around Joliet Union Station for 30 minutes watching Amtrak and BNSF. The ride back is kind of boring, but there's always something at Blue Island - MU cars on the electric line, the yard, the old-school RI station. If you can make it for lunch, the Rail Grill is always an interesting place to eat. There's always some characters at the lunch counter...

Nyterider wrote:Trying to get back on topic here, what lines would you ride if you were a railfan visiting Chicago for a few days? I've already figured out a tentative itinerary that includes:

-Harvard. Or Fox Lake ONLY if my Amtrak train from the east gets me in too late to catch one I want.

-CSS to South Bend and back

-Round trip to Kenosha.

-First AM train to Elgin and return on an Express.

-Heritage Corridor in the afternoon and return on a ALL stop RI local. *groan*

-First AM train to Elburn and return on an Express.

-Round trip to Orland Park.

I've already been on the BNSF line, so I have no interest in doing that again. But if something I'm not planning for now such as a trip to Antioch may be a more entertaining ride than some of the trips listed above, please let me know.

You might enjoy an early morning trip from Chicago to McHenry and back on the UP-NW line. Train leaves as a local outbound, and returns as an express with limited stops inbound. A pretty basic and nondescript ride mostly, but if you're into branch line railfanning with a rustic countryside quality, this route definitely fits the bill. But in terms of interesting and entertaining rides with a little of everything, the trip to South Bend on CSS is an absolute must...

Ditto about the railgrill.

B.I. is great around lunch. Lots of IAIS/CRL local/transfer action.

IAIS has 2 mainline trains (BICB)that run between Iowa and Illinois the inbound comes around noon. The Outbound departs Burr Oak everyday around 6:45PM. It consists of mixed freight, corn oil, and intermodel. There is no real norm for this train, It will have 2-8 GP38AC's and anywhere from 40 to 150+ cars. I recomend trying to catch an IAIS train while you're here.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've decided to do an off peak trip to Elburn instead of Harvard (I already took an express to Geneva the last time I was in Chicago...I'm sure not much has changed). That'll allow me to do an AM round trip to McHenry. One more thing I'm seriously thinking about doing: Taking the 2:55 express to Blue Island and returning to Chicago on the 4:00 train which gets me back to LaSalle at 4:45. If the train is on time, I can easily make it to Union Station in time for the 5:25 Heritage train to Joliet. But if my return trip is delayed, it would jeopardize my chances at doing HC at all. I can't use the final HC train to Joliet. I'll be stranded at Joliet for two hours waiting to take an RI local back in the dark. If I can only do one, I'd take the HC ride and leave the RI express to my imagination until next time. What do you guys think? Too risky?