Trip to Chicago - Afternoon of the third day

Hi, In the early afternoon we moved north to Blue Island, IL.

Our first stop was at the old Rock Island Station, now used by Metra.  A Metra SW1500 was on hand to move some electric MUs off a connection from the Metra Electric line onto the old RI track for movement somewhere.

As a train in each direction was due shortly we decided to wait.  Unfortunately, an Iowa Interstate freight was experiencing difficulty and had one of the tracks tied up.  A tie gang was on the other track so neither the outbound train nor the inbound train stuck behind the disabled freight could move.  It was frustrating as we could see the outbound train just around the curve north of the station.  While we waited we heard a number of trains blow for Blue Island Junction out of sight a few blocks away.

Finally we gave up and headed over to the junction.  The first train we saw was the outbound commuter train that we had waited almost an hour for at the station.  The track curving to the left is CSX while the track that goes straight ahead is Indiana Harbor Belt.

Traffic dried up for awhile by the time we made our move and we saw only one train in the hour plus we were there.  It is shown above on the old B&O Chicago Terminal, now just CSX.

About 4:30 we relocated back to the station for rush hour and photographed Metra trains for the rest of the day.

Note that trains do not necessarily use the tracks next to the station.

The Western Avenue bridge provided a safe vantage point to photograph the station area (above and two below).

Thanks for looking.