A reminder of yesteryear in Downtown Kenosha.

With the long day at the museum behind me I had my sights set on an adventure across northern Illinois. This trip would take me from small towns, to the big city, to a picturesque drive along the shores of lake Michigan all the way. Following a well thought out drive, my trip would follow one railroad or another. Leaving Rockford, IL, I followed the Canadian National and Union Pacific lines to Elgin. Both lines were devoid of trains. Needless to say, I was not too happy about how my day was starting.

Hoping for a change in scenery in Elgin, I found my way to the westernmost stop on the Metra's Milwaukee Division located at Big Timber station in Elgin. Aware that there is a Metra yard in Elgin I thought it would be located here; but, after driving around in circles, I failed to locate the yard. I snapped a picture of the small station.

Set to leave town and onto my next stop, a few blocks into town, sun's glinting off the side of silver railcars caught my attention. I actually yelled, "There it is!" Making an "Xrayguy turn," I bumped a curb and coasted into the station's parking lot next to the yard. I could see six trains all lined up waiting for their next call to duty. A long platform ran in-between the tracks. I eyed it as a great spot to get some pictures from. Not knowing if Metra has a photo policy like Amtrak, I was luck enough to have three section employees working just feet away. Asking them if it was ok to walk down the platform to get some pictures, the response I got was unexpected: "Of course, its public property. Have fun." One man even pulled out his timetable and told me when the next train was due. I thanked him for the info and made my way down to get my first shots of Metra power.

I was able to shoot two of the seven F40PH locomotives and one MP36-3S locomotive [on the outside they look like our new Northstar commuter locomotives]. After exhausting all possible angles, I waved goodbye to the section guys and hit the road for my next stop - the Canadian Pacific's Bensenville and Franklin Park yards.

Cruising the roads I kept a good eye on the tracks hoping to see the approaching lights of a train. However, being Sunday, I would not see a train until I arrived in Bensenville. CP 293 was waiting in Bensenville, it sat between a road and O'Hare airport, just under the approach lights to a runway. Getting a few shots of the train, I ventured on to find the yard. A quick note on Bensenville: if you have ever watched the show Life After People, visit Bensenville! The neighborhood west of the yard has been bought by the airport and is now block after block of vacant houses, buildings, and schools. The sight is enough to give you a chill. But its worth it because the yard runs right through the ghost town and offers a great vantage point to shoot the trains or at least the power in the yard.

The power today was just three IC&E SD40-2s keeping two CP GEEPs company, along with 293 still holding outside of the yard. There was nothing going on here. Driving out of the ghost town, I made a few turns and found myself crossing the tracks just in time to see the oncoming headlamps of a westbound Metra train. Quickly parking, I got out in time to shoot my second Metra MP36-3S. Just as quick as she came - bang - she was gone.

Moving on to Franklin Park - CP's Illinois version of Shoreham yard. I had hoped for better luck, but it was not to be. The only thing I could find here was the Soo 4603 tied down. Taking a shot - at least I could now say I have seen a train here - I moved onward to North Lake and UP's Global II intermodal yard.

When I arrived at North Lake I was happy to find what had been missing at the last two stops. I would also find something that would shut me down: rain. And lots of it. No way I'm I standing on a bridge in a downpour, I guess I will just have to come back again some other day. Jumping on the freeway to get through Chicago quicker was not a good idea. The rain only made traffic slower. Although, it gave me time to see lots of CTA elevated trains running people to and from the city.

After an hour in stop-and-go traffic, I made it to the northside of Chicago. Off the freeway and back to the tracks. This time I would follow the UP and Metra tracks all the way into Wisconsin. The sun decided to come out about the time I arrived in the city of Highland Park. It was here I caught a southbound Metra train. One thing about all the cities along this route is, they must not want to see the trains! The right-of-way is flanked by trees; making it hard to see what, if anything, is moving. As I got to the Navy's Great Lakes station, the trees were now gone and I found myself pacing a northbound coal load, all they way to North Chicago. I managed to get infront of it and some shots of it at the Metra station.

Once the train cleared, I noticed people were standing around for the next southbound Metra train. Waiting for the chance, I got detail-shots of the F40PH loco and four Bi-level cars it had in-tow before she blasted off to the big city. By this time the UP coal train was long gone. That was fine with me.

I headed just up the road to Waukegan, where there was another Metra yard along with a UP and former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E) yard. Waukegan is a great town. Six Metra trains were laid up in perfect shooting positions. The Union Pacific had five AC44 road units and six UPY GP15ACs. In the EJ&E yard was a lone Grand Trunk & Western GP38-2. All of these locomotives ended up on my memory card.

Leaving town I glanced over at a power plant, wondering if I would see the UP coal train, I found myself looking at two industrial units. Both are former Commonwelth Edison units; one being an SW1, and the other a SW1200. Making a beeline toward them, I found a spot where I could climb onto the hood of the car and grab some long zoom shots. They turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Glowing on my find I worked and exhausted all that the city had to offer. I pushed north across the border into Kenosha, WI and the end of the Metra line. I found two more F40PH units.

Kenosha is a small "big" city that has a lot to offer, including an operating street car line. As luck would have it, I did not have to wait long before one of the cars made its way down Main Street. Noticing the time, it was close to 5 pm and I had been on the road for close to 8 hours! I did not have the energy to chase the trolley around town and decided to keep heading on to Milwaukee before the sunset. I continued to follow the tracks into Milwaukee; not seeing another train was ok by me! With three, very long days of railfanning behind me, I was ready to take a break. I have to admit, the CP tracks between Milwaukee and Chicago were right outside my hotel window. I kept a vigil by the window well into the night watching the Amtrak commuter trains run past, every hour or so, until I fell asleep in my chair.

I took the next day off from railfanning to attend to some business in town. Come back next month to read about my journey home to Minnesota. I chase the Canadian Pacific from Milwaukee to La Crosse and back into the cities along the BNSF St. Croix subdivision. Until then - good luck railfanning. Be safe, and I'll see you by the rails.