Random Metra

[strictures]

16 minutes ago, Busjack said:

Don't have a date, but when the rebuild came up, and the single track idea was tried and failed, Metra said it would use the 3 track footprint to keep service going.

Also, there are currently 3 tracks in Evanston (at least in the area of Emerson St), with enough footprint for a 4th track (used to stage track panels). IDK if the 3rd track is connected to anything.

The third track is just a siding, although I think it used to connect with the Mayfair cutoff which was removed also in the 90s'. It was also available as a turnback track at one time. For some reason, pre-assembled track panels have been stored on the west side of the embankment north of Davis St. for at least 15 years.  On that siding north of Davis street, I remember seeing a dead coyote there, but they never removed it & watched it shrink & decay over a year's time.

[Busjack]

3 hours ago, strictures said:

The third track is just a siding, although I think it used to connect with the Mayfair cutoff which was removed also in the 90s'. It was also available as a turnback track at one time. For some reason, pre-assembled track panels have been stored on the west side of the embankment north of Davis St. for at least 15 years.  On that siding north of Davis street, I remember seeing a dead coyote there, but they never removed it & watched it shrink & decay over a year's time.

This is an interesting history of the Mayfair Cutoff, including that there was a northeast to southeast junction, allowing a loop passenger train. From the Google Map to which the article links, it looks like the westernmost track (now the track panels) started around Noyes St. and now is discontinuous around the cutoff. The easternmost track runs north to Emerson, but seems to peter out about there.  The artice indicates that the Cutoff was abandoned a  bit earlier than you indicated.

[strictures]

On 4/19/2023 at 4:58 PM, Busjack said:

This is an interesting history of the Mayfair Cutoff, including that there was a northeast to southeast junction, allowing a loop passenger train. From the Google Map to which the article links, it looks like the westernmost track (now the track panels) started around Noyes St. and now is discontinuous around the cutoff. The easternmost track runs north to Emerson, but seems to peter out about there.  The article indicates that the Cutoff was abandoned a  bit earlier than you indicated.

The C&NW delivered the 2400 series cars to the CTA Skokie Shops via the cutoff, as I regularly saw them on the North Line in the 80s & took a number of photos of that.  I even saw 2403-4 on the siding than ran down to grade to Tempel Steel & behind the Hines Lumber yard at Balmoral & Wolcott.   The siding off the North Line is still there, but the track that crossed Wolcott to Tempel Steel is gone.  Without the cutoff, now the 7000s must be put on special low center flatbed trailers & sent to Skokie via the Dan Ryan, Kennedy & Edens Exwys to Oakton St.

[Busjack]

9 hours ago, strictures said:

I even saw 2403-4 on the siding than ran down to grade to Tempel Steel & behind the Hines Lumber yard at Balmoral & Wolcott.   The siding off the North Line is still there, but the track that crossed Wolcott to Tempel Steel is gone. 

That would have been quite a bit south of where I described. Essentially, the cars would need some way to get to Mayfair (Cicero and Montrose) or to the junction in Evanston, although since that junction seems to have existed through the late 1970s when the 2400s were delivered, that would have been possible.

[Busjack]

Another interesting related post. I was reading a history of Northwestern University, which pointed out that when Clark Hinman, its first president, recommended not building on property they had in Chicago (at 231 S. LaSalle St.), they conferred with Walter Gurnee, who was building what now is the UP-N, and the first high ground was Ridgeville, now Evanston.

[strictures]

15 hours ago, Busjack said:

That would have been quite a bit south of where I described. Essentially, the cars would need some way to get to Mayfair (Cicero and Montrose) or to the junction in Evanston, although since that junction seems to have existed through the late 1970s when the 2400s were delivered, that would have been possible.

The 2400s were delivered to the C&NW North Ave yard, then the short local freight, always pulled by an EMD SW 1500 that delivered empty gondolas to Tempel Steel & picked them up full of scrap continued on to Evanston & then Southwest to the Skokie Shops, vie the Mayfair Cutoff & then took the Tempel scrap further on.  The 2400s were all tied down to Trailer Train flat cars that had rails bolted to the wooden deck & a curved piece of steel matching the curve of the outer wheels welded to the rails & then tied down with heavy chains.  I assume a crane lifted them off the flatcars.  The empties never came back on the North Line, as the local freight was always one way Northbound.

[Busjack]

8 hours ago, strictures said:

I assume a crane lifted them off the flatcars.

At least with pictures of 6000s, work motors just pulled them down a ramp.

[Busjack]

13 hours ago, strictures said:

on to Evanston & then Southwest to the Skokie Shops,

I thought the angle of the abutments on either side of Green Bay Road wasn't correct for SE to S, and driving around and looking at high voltage wires and angular lots, and then verifying my observation on Google Maps indicate that the abutments were for the turnback (note the curve south of Public Storage and Public Storage in the background of the StreetView) and the Cutoff itself must have gone through where Walgreens is now.

[strictures]

17 hours ago, Busjack said:

I thought the angle of the abutments on either side of Green Bay Road wasn't correct for SE to S, and driving around and looking at high voltage wires and angular lots, and then verifying my observation on Google Maps indicate that the abutments were for the turnback (note the curve south of Public Storage and Public Storage in the background of the StreetView) and the Cutoff itself must have gone through where Walgreens is now.

There were two ways to go from the North Line to the Cutoff.  One was an acute turn from the south & the other was a easy turn to the north, so it was a giant wye.  There were two bridges over Green Bay Road a couple of blocks apart..

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, strictures said:

There were two ways to go from the North Line to the Cutoff.  One was an acute turn from the south & the other was a easy turn to the north, so it was a giant wye.  There were two bridges over Green Bay Road a couple of blocks apart..

Thanks. Apparently the evidence of the second one (I would guess around the Social Security office) isn't evident from Green Bay Road.

[krzysiu221322]

Does anyone know what font Metra uses on its station signs?

 

[strictures]

2 hours ago, krzysiu221322 said:

Does anyone know what font Metra uses on its station signs?

 

It sure looks like it's Helvetica, which most transit agencies use due to the fact it's very readable.  There's a documentary about the font, titled Helvetica, which bizarrely & amazingly leaves out that fact!  The letter "a" is what tells me it's Helvetica, as it's very distinctive.

Microsoft's Arial font is almost identical, with very minor difference to avoid copyright laws. 

[EdwardL803]

What exactly do the signs labelled "1/2" indicate? Are they half-mile markers?

[sw4400]

On 5/24/2023 at 10:01 AM, EdwardL803 said:

What exactly do the signs labelled "1/2" indicate? Are they half-mile markers?

That is a 1/2 mile marker, yes.

[artthouwill]

4 hours ago, sw4400 said:

That is a 1/2 mile marker, yes.

A mile marker in relation to what?  A crossover?  A junction?  A signal?  A station?  A zone?

[busfan2847]

On 5/26/2023 at 1:22 PM, artthouwill said:

A mile marker in relation to what?  A crossover?  A junction?  A signal?  A station?  A zone?

On the former C&NW lines the zero milepost is at Chicago Ogilvie Transit Center.

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, busfan2847 said:

On the former C&NW lines the zero milepost is at Chicago Ogilvie Transit Center.

So that picture was taken 1/2 mile from Oglivie?  I'm guessing either the N Or NW line?  I don't recall seeing any mile markers on the West Line, but then I never was really looking for them.

[busfan2847]

19 hours ago, artthouwill said:

So that picture was taken 1/2 mile from Oglivie?  I'm guessing either the N Or NW line?  I don't recall seeing any mile markers on the West Line, but then I never was really looking for them.

No the mile markers show the distance from Oglivie. The 1/2 mile markers do not show the miles they are between.

[urbanguy0508]

How many different stopping patterns are there currently for each of Metra's lines? Is there by any chance a list that groups train runs by stopping patterns for all 11 lines in the network?

[Busjack]

3 minutes ago, urbanguy0508 said:

How many different stopping patterns are there currently for each of Metra's lines? Is there by any chance a list that groups train runs by stopping patterns for all 11 lines in the network?

Every line has its own. Look up the schedules on metra.com. They also changed with the pandemic.

[Jackson Blue Line]

On 10/31/2019 at 12:54 PM, richii0909 said:

These are the best Metra seats.. you can sink into them.... very plush.. Anyone else ever ran into these?

I ran into some very similar seats today on a BNSF coach on the UPNW line. The only difference from the seats on these photos is that the handles were black instead of silver.

[strictures]

10 hours ago, Jackson Blue Line said:

I ran into some very similar seats today on a BNSF coach on the UPNW line. The only difference from the seats on these photos is that the handles were black instead of silver.

The best seats were the ones on the old C&NW painted coaches, which had orange leather & the seat backs flipped over, not just pulled over to change directions.  The seat backs were metal, not upholstered on both sides.

And I don't believe you'll run into a Burlington coach on any other lines.  The ones the Burlington used to order when they ran the operation had perfectly rectangular windows & the Burlington also required a stronger car end structure than the C&NW, Milwaukee Road & Rock Island to prevent the coach from getting crushed in a crash.  All the other roads bought coaches where the windows were & are rounded at the corners.  Plus the Burlington ones actually have that name still on them,& I've never seen one on any other Metra lines.

[busfan2847]

2 hours ago, strictures said:

The best seats were the ones on the old C&NW painted coaches, which had orange leather & the seat backs flipped over, not just pulled over to change directions.  The seat backs were metal, not upholstered on both sides.

And I don't believe you'll run into a Burlington coach on any other lines.  The ones the Burlington used to order when they ran the operation had perfectly rectangular windows & the Burlington also required a stronger car end structure than the C&NW, Milwaukee Road & Rock Island to prevent the coach from getting crushed in a crash.  All the other roads bought coaches where the windows were & are rounded at the corners.  Plus the Burlington ones actually have that name still on them,& I've never seen one on any other Metra lines.

Although not ordered by Burlington, some of the West Suburban MTD cars 7100-7121 have appeared on the UP lines. I have definitely caught 7112 on UP-NW.

[Jackson Blue Line]

Who else noticed that many of the rehabbed 8400s already are starting to smell bad? Now it seems like it's always the 6000s/8500s that smell good.

[artthouwill]

11 hours ago, Jackson Blue Line said:

Who else noticed that many of the rehabbed 8400s already are starting to smell bad? Now it seems like it's always the 6000s/8500s that smell good.

What are you smelling?    Brakes?  Uncleanness lavatories?