FL9

After we pulled out of St. Louis on Amtrak 22, I had the camera ready as we passed various yards on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.  Just short of a place called WR Tower, we passed two CSX ES44DC’s on a northbound freight.

A few minutes later at WR Tower we got to see the result of an ALCO switcher being rebuilt with EMD parts as we passed ex? Manufacturer’s Raiilway #253 undergoing repairs.

We had left St. Louis about 45 minutes late, but many miles of relatively smooth 79 mph running brought us into Springfield with about half of that made up.  Even with a power line across the middle of our view from the train, the state capitol building was impressive.

After our station stop, we held up for a few minutes at the end of double track to meet Amtrak Train 301, the “Lincoln Service”, a regional train out of Chicago.

We would overtake cars on the parallel interstate for awhile, and then when the big road would swing around a town, we would slice throughg at speed with the P42DC’s K5LA announcing our passage.  The old downtown in Lincoln, IL was representative of these towns as we slowed for a station stop.

Soon after we arrived at the famous depot in Joliet, IL where a Metra commuter train was tied up on the old Rock Island.

Local train watchers?  If so, the platform they occupy has seen many thousands of trains over the years.

Shortly after pulling away, we passed a pair of BNSF AC4400’s running light heading in the opposite direction towards the depot.

 

Now running up the double track Canadian National commuter and freight line towards Chicago, a few minutes later we passed a southbound local powered by one of their GP40’s.

We started to see more urban scenery, and soon we spotted two Chicago signatures, the Sears Tower in the distance and a moveable bridge in the foreground.

As we closed in on Union Station, my camera  was drawn to the numerous Metra commuter trains.  Taking advantage of my location not available under normal railfanning conditions, first up was one of their new MP36PH-3S locomotives.

This was followed a few seconds later by SW1500 #8 switching commuter cars outside the shop building.

Just before we plunged into the darkness of the station, my last shot was of F40PHM-2 #187 backing its train into the platforms.  I checked my watch and we were now within 5 minutes of being on time.

Our car attendant Phyllis hooked us up with red cap Rudy Cerdas, who was nothing short of superb in helping us to get our carry-on and checked bags out to a taxi, which he hailed with a whistle loud enough to shatter glass.  We agreed to meet Rudy at the same spot at 1:00pm the next day so he could help us make our connection for the Empire Builder.

I had forgotten what it was like to ride in a city cab where the most important things are the horn and the driver’s ability to squeeze past pedestrians and other vehicles at high speed with only milimeters to spare.  We covered the eight blocks to the hotel in short order, and soon Judy and I were enjoying the room, the laundry facilities, and the restaurant downstairs.  Sleep came easily, and I did not have to strap myself in.