Trip to Chicago - The first two days

Hi, Friend Dale Diacont and I left my home in Rockville, MD about 6:30 AM on September 1 heading for Chicago. Our plan was to spend 2 days traveling stopping to photograph along the way, 2 days shooting in the Chicago area, 2 days at the Illinois Railway Museum and then head for home.

Our first stop was at Spencer, OH where we hoped to find at least one Wheeling and Lake Erie train as two of their lines cross here.  Since nothing was happening we headed for our next destination, a causeway on the former New York Central, now NS, between Bay View and Danbury, OH.  On the way we came across this E unit and train in Wellington Ohio.  The train is operated by the Lake Shore Railway Association.

After photographing the Lorain and West Virginia we continued on.  Dale spotted a large grain operation in Clarksfield, OH so we stopped to investigate and found this GE center cab switching cars.

Our last target of the day was this causeway which is part of the NS Chicago Line.  All of the photos (above and 3 below) were taken from Bay View, OH.  The train in the photo above is east bound and the train in the 3 photos below is westbound.

We spent the night in Maumee, OH and drove to Beverly Shores, IN the next day where I photographed the station.

We then moved further west where we caught this eastbound South Shore train (above and below) at Ogden Dunes.

When I was out this way in 2008 with Stan Short we passed this location (Kenndy Avenue overpass in Hammond, IN) one afternoon.  However, the light for this shot is only good in the AM so we passed it up and I wanted to return.  A few weeks before we left I saw a photo which I was pretty sure was taken in this area and the caption gave a good location so it was easy to find.  On the Indiana Harbor Belt this is Gibson Junction and in 2008 a tower stood where the control cabinet is now located.

This view is from the other side of the bridge, looking east (above and below).

The UP train in the photo 2 above pulled out of a small yard, ran north until it cleared some switches and then backed down so it could drop its train at the tank farm in the background.

Continuing west we explored the area around the old State Line tower, now gone.  We photographed a west bound (above and below) just west of the Hammond station before moving on.

In Chicago we found a Harbor Belt switcher sitting just west of the state line and

a pair of Belt Ry of Chicago SD40s with a CN unit near the Calumet River.

On returning to the State Line tower area we caught another westbound and

an eastbound.

Next we moved to East Chicago, IN where we found another Harbor Belt switcher and

a CN unit still in IC paint switching.  Shortly after this we spotted the empty hot metal train heading west and gave chase.

We were able to beat the hot metal train to an open spot just west of Gibson Yard.  However, before the hot metal train showed up a UP train of auto racks left,

a pair of Harbor Belt GP40s arrived (the same ones shown with the coal trains at Gibson Jcn.),

a Harbor Belt SD20 came out for some head room while switching, and

a CP train of auto racks left.

Finally, just before 5 o'clock the hot metal train showed up.

Thanks for looking.