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New Start Project - UP-W
- Discussion related to commuter rail and rapid transit operations in the Chicago area including the South Shore Line, Metra Rail, and Chicago Transit Authority.
Well, at Brundidge, it's pretty much whatever you want. Theres some hills to the east of the road, there's open field shots, and three quarter shots. Damn good spot. BTW, the train was 9 cars long. I was at Brundidge also. It was a quality set they were running.
Came through Wheaton right on time at 2:21pm. Had my scanner on this afternoon, and chatter between the West Chicago yardmaster and 524's engineer provided the information.
As a side note, while checking out the new stations today at LaFox and Elburn, I was really surprised at how many other people were checking it out as well, particularly at LaFox. Even more impressive was the fact that most of the other people didn't appear to railfans, but potential customers. Many of them actually got out their cars to take a look around, and some even joined me while walking on either end of the platform. Just getting acquainted with the new station true, but I didn't expect such a turnout.
Another interesting note about the LaFox and Elburn stations is that the main waiting room and shelters for both are along MT3, the south track, whereas all stations from Geneva eastward (except Kedzie) have the main waiting room along MT1, the north track. So it appears that inbound trains will be stopping at MT3 at LaFox, then crossover at Peck to MT1 for the remaining journey to OTC. Also, the Elburn station is pretty much bare bones for right now, there's only a single (south) platform consisting of a long slab of concrete covered by asphalt with light fixtures, plus a temporary shelter, and a wooden ramp for wheelchairs. Don't know if a second platform between MT 1 and 2 will be built, although there appears to be enough room for one, I have a hunch that it won't be. But in any event, the permanent station probably won't be ready 'til spring at the earliest...
As a side note, while checking out the new stations today at LaFox and Elburn, I was really surprised at how many other people were checking it out as well, particularly at LaFox. Even more impressive was the fact that most of the other people didn't appear to railfans, but potential customers. Many of them actually got out their cars to take a look around, and some even joined me while walking on either end of the platform. Just getting acquainted with the new station true, but I didn't expect such a turnout.
Another interesting note about the LaFox and Elburn stations is that the main waiting room and shelters for both are along MT3, the south track, whereas all stations from Geneva eastward (except Kedzie) have the main waiting room along MT1, the north track. So it appears that inbound trains will be stopping at MT3 at LaFox, then crossover at Peck to MT1 for the remaining journey to OTC. Also, the Elburn station is pretty much bare bones for right now, there's only a single (south) platform consisting of a long slab of concrete covered by asphalt with light fixtures, plus a temporary shelter, and a wooden ramp for wheelchairs. Don't know if a second platform between MT 1 and 2 will be built, although there appears to be enough room for one, I have a hunch that it won't be. But in any event, the permanent station probably won't be ready 'til spring at the earliest...
--Dorian--
I like how both stations are accessible off Keslinger Rd., keeping the traffic away from from Elburn's downtown area and LaFox Rd.
It appears that when outbound trains finish their runs at Elburn, they'll continue west on the north track about 1,000ft past Rt. 47, then flip onto MT2, then MT3. I don't remember if the crossover between MT2 and MT3 is between Rt. 47 and 1st St, or if its east of 1st St.
It appears that when outbound trains finish their runs at Elburn, they'll continue west on the north track about 1,000ft past Rt. 47, then flip onto MT2, then MT3. I don't remember if the crossover between MT2 and MT3 is between Rt. 47 and 1st St, or if its east of 1st St.
Went out and got most of the rush tonight, line-up as follows:
Number 39: 132, 84xx
Number 41: 153, 84XX, 84XX
Number 58: 84XX, 132
Number 45: 180, 8453
Number 47: 145, 84xx, 84xx
Number 49: 160, 84xx
Number 51: 147, 8458
Number 53: 167, 84xx
Number 55: 138, 8442
Number 57: 125, 8465
Comments
For anyone interested, don't try going out to Brundage Road...We were on the southwest side of the tracks; we were asked to leave by Union Pacific M.O.P. Rowe...So anyone planning trips there, you can check that off your list...Was good while it lasted, though.
Number 39: 132, 84xx
Number 41: 153, 84XX, 84XX
Number 58: 84XX, 132
Number 45: 180, 8453
Number 47: 145, 84xx, 84xx
Number 49: 160, 84xx
Number 51: 147, 8458
Number 53: 167, 84xx
Number 55: 138, 8442
Number 57: 125, 8465
Comments
For anyone interested, don't try going out to Brundage Road...We were on the southwest side of the tracks; we were asked to leave by Union Pacific M.O.P. Rowe...So anyone planning trips there, you can check that off your list...Was good while it lasted, though.
AMTK84 wrote:I heard this morning that the pedestrian crosswalk at Geneva was removed. Any idea why?In case you missed it...
www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=144282
--Dorian--
Today's RR history lesson: A synopsis of the previous relationship dating a half-century ago between the CNW and Blackberry (known today as Elburn). Very interesting...
www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=146111
www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=146111
--Dorian--
Be careful, or you'll end up sleeping with the corn...
Sleepyheads ride to end of the line and wake up in the wilds of Elburn
By Virginia Groark and James Kimberly, Tribune staff reporters. Freelance reporter Rita Hoover contributed to this report
January 30, 2006
Matt Smaizys was so groggy upon first opening his eyes Friday night that he
thought it was good news when the conductor told him the Metra train he was
riding was only a couple of minutes from Geneva.
But he woke up for real when he realized the westbound train was that far
past the station where he had parked his car that morning.
"This stinks," said the Sugar Grove man, a treasury analyst who used his
cell phone to call his mother, Karen, to pick him up after the train finally
stopped in Elburn. She drove him to the restaurant where family members had
gathered to celebrate his 24th birthday.
For more than 20 years, Geneva was the end of Metra's Union Pacific West
Line. But on Monday, trains on the route began traveling 8 1/2 miles farther
west, stopping in LaFox before depositing riders in the tiny village of
Elburn, whose population was about 2,750 in 2000.
Although the line was extended fewer than 10 miles, it might as well be 100
for passengers who find themselves stuck there.
Forget about a restaurant, there's not even a pay phone--just a gray trailer
serving as a temporary warming hut and a parking lot. And taxi service is
almost non-existent.
Despite that, Elburn and Kane County officials are thrilled by the new
mass-transit access to downtown Chicago. But the line's new rural terminus
has posed an interesting conundrum for Metra riders who have forgotten to
get off at their stop or simply slept right through it.
Known as "sleepers" by some or "ride-bys" by others, such passengers who
missed their stops previously and wound up at the old "end-of-the-line"
could wait for a cab at Cabooses Bar and Grill at the Geneva station.
`We have nothing out here'
But in Elburn, resources are scarce.
"We are a little bit more unique in that we have nothing out here," Elburn
Police Chief James Linane said.
On Tuesday night, Linane had found a puzzled woman at the town's new
station.
"She said, `Where am I?'" he recalled.
Like many stranded passengers, she was having trouble even locating Elburn's
downtown, which is about a half-mile walk along a pedestrian path from the
stop, Linane said. Unlike Chicago, there are no bright lights to serve as a
beacon.
The same experience could await riders on the Southwest Service Line this
week. Those who miss the Orland Park stop at 179th Street could find
themselves 12 miles south in rural Manhattan, that route's new terminus
starting Monday.
There, riders will be greeted by a heated brick depot a few blocks from the
downtown. There is no pay phone, though the town is trying to get one there,
according to Village Administrator Tom Pahnke. There is also no taxi service
in town, which is about 10 miles from Joliet and was home to about 3,330
people in 2000, although Pahnke thinks the number has nearly doubled since
then.
Riders would have to walk through Park District property to get to the
downtown, but Pahnke is confident they would find it.
"It's the only well-lit place beyond the parking lot," he said.
Passengers sleeping through their stop is not a new phenomenon, according to
Bernard Butcher, a conductor who has worked on the Union Pacific West Line
since 1986. He knows of people dozing right through their stop in Wheaton,
only to wake up three stops later in Geneva.
While it most often happens late Fridays and Saturdays when people may have
downed a few drinks during a night on the town, Butcher said he has seen
people sleep through a stop during an afternoon weekday rush hour.
Charles MacBrayne, who owns Fox Cab Dispatch in Geneva, estimates there are
about 8 to 10 of them a week at Geneva. He said his company often "rescues"
sleepers.
Smaizys said he "always" sleeps on the train, both mornings and evenings,
although he might have to break that habit now that Geneva is no longer the
end of the line.
When he was a college student living in Naperville, Smaizys slept on his
ride home from a summer job and sometimes had to call his mother to pick him
up in Aurora, he said.
"I can't believe I'm doing this again," he said.
Rich Vlach, owner of Cabooses, said he has at times driven stranded Metra
riders to West Chicago or Wheaton.
Vlach said some commuters who end up at his restaurant are a bit angry at
their misfortune.
"A lot of times we end up being the whipping boy here because they figure
we're part of the railroad and it's our fault they fell asleep on the train
and it's our fault there's no train to take them back," he said.
But at least those stranded in Geneva could stop in Cabooses for a cup of
coffee or a slice of pie, he said.
"Now they are literally out in the middle of a corn field," he said. "At
least we were a bit of an oasis. We could help a little bit. But if they
don't have a cell phone, they are sleeping with the corn."
Crews to check on passengers
Metra is aware of the issue and has asked train crews to take extra care to
make sure people don't sleep through their stop, said agency spokeswoman
Judy Pardonnet.
"The crews walk through and remind people," she said. "They are doing it
more because now the end of the line has changed."
Tony Aguilara, a conductor on the Union Pacific West Line, said he tries to
pay attention to his passengers. If someone is asleep, Aguilara checks the
zone on the ticket, if it is displayed, and wakes the person when the train
nears the appropriate stop. If he spots a weary person boarding the train,
he will ask their destination and try to remember to wake them at their
station, he said.
"Sometimes, if they are hiding up in the corner, I'll forget about them," he
said.
Linane, Elburn's police chief, is trying to make it easier for those missed
passengers to get picked up. On Wednesday he posted what he calls a "you are
here" aerial map at the stop to let people know where they are in relation
to the downtown. He also has posted names and numbers of taxi companies and
a towing service, in case riders who did intend to get off at Elburn arrive
to find their cars have died.
But he notes those resources only work if someone has a phone. So he also is
making arrangements to get a pay phone installed at the station.
Fox Cab secured a telephone number with the Elburn "365" prefix in
anticipation of the new station, said MacBrayne's son, Rob. The younger
MacBrayne met the train in Elburn a few nights last week so passengers could
see his cab and, he hopes, will think of the company if they ever need a
lift.
He is confident that there will be a demand for his service, which will cost
$26 for a ride to Geneva. With its sparse buildings amid farm fields, the
Elburn stop could be intimidating for those who unexpectedly find themselves
stranded, MacBrayne said.
"It's kind of rough out there," he said. "If you came into there, you
wouldn't know where to go."
That was the case for one man whom an Elburn police officer encountered
about 11 p.m. Tuesday. The man meant to get off at the La Fox stop but slept
through it, Linane said. With no trains scheduled to go east until 5:53 a.m.
and not a taxi in sight, the police officer drove him to his car in La Fox,
Linane said.
"My officers' obligation is to stay in town and respond to calls here in
town," he said. "But if we come across someone and it's an unsafe situation,
we're not going to leave them. It may not be taking them back to their car,
but we'll take them to a safe and warm place."
----------
jkimberly@...
vgroark@...
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Sleepyheads ride to end of the line and wake up in the wilds of Elburn
By Virginia Groark and James Kimberly, Tribune staff reporters. Freelance reporter Rita Hoover contributed to this report
January 30, 2006
Matt Smaizys was so groggy upon first opening his eyes Friday night that he
thought it was good news when the conductor told him the Metra train he was
riding was only a couple of minutes from Geneva.
But he woke up for real when he realized the westbound train was that far
past the station where he had parked his car that morning.
"This stinks," said the Sugar Grove man, a treasury analyst who used his
cell phone to call his mother, Karen, to pick him up after the train finally
stopped in Elburn. She drove him to the restaurant where family members had
gathered to celebrate his 24th birthday.
For more than 20 years, Geneva was the end of Metra's Union Pacific West
Line. But on Monday, trains on the route began traveling 8 1/2 miles farther
west, stopping in LaFox before depositing riders in the tiny village of
Elburn, whose population was about 2,750 in 2000.
Although the line was extended fewer than 10 miles, it might as well be 100
for passengers who find themselves stuck there.
Forget about a restaurant, there's not even a pay phone--just a gray trailer
serving as a temporary warming hut and a parking lot. And taxi service is
almost non-existent.
Despite that, Elburn and Kane County officials are thrilled by the new
mass-transit access to downtown Chicago. But the line's new rural terminus
has posed an interesting conundrum for Metra riders who have forgotten to
get off at their stop or simply slept right through it.
Known as "sleepers" by some or "ride-bys" by others, such passengers who
missed their stops previously and wound up at the old "end-of-the-line"
could wait for a cab at Cabooses Bar and Grill at the Geneva station.
`We have nothing out here'
But in Elburn, resources are scarce.
"We are a little bit more unique in that we have nothing out here," Elburn
Police Chief James Linane said.
On Tuesday night, Linane had found a puzzled woman at the town's new
station.
"She said, `Where am I?'" he recalled.
Like many stranded passengers, she was having trouble even locating Elburn's
downtown, which is about a half-mile walk along a pedestrian path from the
stop, Linane said. Unlike Chicago, there are no bright lights to serve as a
beacon.
The same experience could await riders on the Southwest Service Line this
week. Those who miss the Orland Park stop at 179th Street could find
themselves 12 miles south in rural Manhattan, that route's new terminus
starting Monday.
There, riders will be greeted by a heated brick depot a few blocks from the
downtown. There is no pay phone, though the town is trying to get one there,
according to Village Administrator Tom Pahnke. There is also no taxi service
in town, which is about 10 miles from Joliet and was home to about 3,330
people in 2000, although Pahnke thinks the number has nearly doubled since
then.
Riders would have to walk through Park District property to get to the
downtown, but Pahnke is confident they would find it.
"It's the only well-lit place beyond the parking lot," he said.
Passengers sleeping through their stop is not a new phenomenon, according to
Bernard Butcher, a conductor who has worked on the Union Pacific West Line
since 1986. He knows of people dozing right through their stop in Wheaton,
only to wake up three stops later in Geneva.
While it most often happens late Fridays and Saturdays when people may have
downed a few drinks during a night on the town, Butcher said he has seen
people sleep through a stop during an afternoon weekday rush hour.
Charles MacBrayne, who owns Fox Cab Dispatch in Geneva, estimates there are
about 8 to 10 of them a week at Geneva. He said his company often "rescues"
sleepers.
Smaizys said he "always" sleeps on the train, both mornings and evenings,
although he might have to break that habit now that Geneva is no longer the
end of the line.
When he was a college student living in Naperville, Smaizys slept on his
ride home from a summer job and sometimes had to call his mother to pick him
up in Aurora, he said.
"I can't believe I'm doing this again," he said.
Rich Vlach, owner of Cabooses, said he has at times driven stranded Metra
riders to West Chicago or Wheaton.
Vlach said some commuters who end up at his restaurant are a bit angry at
their misfortune.
"A lot of times we end up being the whipping boy here because they figure
we're part of the railroad and it's our fault they fell asleep on the train
and it's our fault there's no train to take them back," he said.
But at least those stranded in Geneva could stop in Cabooses for a cup of
coffee or a slice of pie, he said.
"Now they are literally out in the middle of a corn field," he said. "At
least we were a bit of an oasis. We could help a little bit. But if they
don't have a cell phone, they are sleeping with the corn."
Crews to check on passengers
Metra is aware of the issue and has asked train crews to take extra care to
make sure people don't sleep through their stop, said agency spokeswoman
Judy Pardonnet.
"The crews walk through and remind people," she said. "They are doing it
more because now the end of the line has changed."
Tony Aguilara, a conductor on the Union Pacific West Line, said he tries to
pay attention to his passengers. If someone is asleep, Aguilara checks the
zone on the ticket, if it is displayed, and wakes the person when the train
nears the appropriate stop. If he spots a weary person boarding the train,
he will ask their destination and try to remember to wake them at their
station, he said.
"Sometimes, if they are hiding up in the corner, I'll forget about them," he
said.
Linane, Elburn's police chief, is trying to make it easier for those missed
passengers to get picked up. On Wednesday he posted what he calls a "you are
here" aerial map at the stop to let people know where they are in relation
to the downtown. He also has posted names and numbers of taxi companies and
a towing service, in case riders who did intend to get off at Elburn arrive
to find their cars have died.
But he notes those resources only work if someone has a phone. So he also is
making arrangements to get a pay phone installed at the station.
Fox Cab secured a telephone number with the Elburn "365" prefix in
anticipation of the new station, said MacBrayne's son, Rob. The younger
MacBrayne met the train in Elburn a few nights last week so passengers could
see his cab and, he hopes, will think of the company if they ever need a
lift.
He is confident that there will be a demand for his service, which will cost
$26 for a ride to Geneva. With its sparse buildings amid farm fields, the
Elburn stop could be intimidating for those who unexpectedly find themselves
stranded, MacBrayne said.
"It's kind of rough out there," he said. "If you came into there, you
wouldn't know where to go."
That was the case for one man whom an Elburn police officer encountered
about 11 p.m. Tuesday. The man meant to get off at the La Fox stop but slept
through it, Linane said. With no trains scheduled to go east until 5:53 a.m.
and not a taxi in sight, the police officer drove him to his car in La Fox,
Linane said.
"My officers' obligation is to stay in town and respond to calls here in
town," he said. "But if we come across someone and it's an unsafe situation,
we're not going to leave them. It may not be taking them back to their car,
but we'll take them to a safe and warm place."
----------
jkimberly@...
vgroark@...
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
--Dorian--
Below are links to recordings of Union Pacific West line action, as heard from just east of LaFox Road:
METX132, number 49, 1-27-06
METX136, Number 51, 1-27-06
METX140, Number 53, 1/27/06
METX160, Number 55, 1/27/06
METX126, Number 51, 1-30-06
METX142, Number 53, 1-30-06
METX135, Number 47, 1-30-06
METX135, Number 41, 1-31-06
METX132, number 49, 1-27-06
METX136, Number 51, 1-27-06
METX140, Number 53, 1/27/06
METX160, Number 55, 1/27/06
METX126, Number 51, 1-30-06
METX142, Number 53, 1-30-06
METX135, Number 47, 1-30-06
METX135, Number 41, 1-31-06
While driving through Elburn on the way back from DeKalb, I noticed two sets of double headers in the Elburn yard. I don't remember which units are double headed. Which trains on the UP-W are the double headers?
Last edited by MetraBNSF on Fri Feb 03, 2006 1:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
UP West Line train #57 (5:40 PM from OTC to Elburn) needs another coach added. At 7 cars, it's one of the shortest rush hour consists on the line (most others are 8 or 9 cars), and it was always pretty full prior to Jan. 23, when it only ran as far as West Chicago. Now that it runs all the way to Elburn, it's consistently standing room only.