Still On Track

Two more photos from the Alaska Railroad, a scenic trip from Denali south to Whittier.

Railroad Day

No reason, it just felt like a railroad day today. These images were collected in Alaska in 2008.

Railroads 6

Our last railroad image is, fittingly, a historic caboose, bringing up the rear.

Railroads 5

Railroads 4

Very scary turnout switch; engineers must pay attention!

Railroads 3

Alaska Railroad, 2008

Railroads 2

The Super Chief!

Railroads

This week our posts will dig through the archives for some images of Railroad engines, cars, or other items. Here is a full-size steam engine reminiscent of so many Lionel train engines of the 1940s and 1950s.

Locomotives

Train fans love locomotives. After all, it is not much of a train without the engine. For a railfan photographer, engines have everything: power, size, shape, color. Here are a pair of my engine photos.

Commuters

Passenger railroading today revolves around commuters. Here are a pair of Metra shots, taken before all the current news stories of the air pollution trailing behind these diesel engines.

Railfan Images

A few more images of a Railfan, loving the signs and the engines and the cars and even the tracks. Here are a few from the railroad museum in Union, Illinois.

Riding the Rails

Still escaping from the blizzard with one more view from the Union Pacific, focusing on the wheel truck. The other image is from a Milwaukee Road company car.

Union Pacific

The classic Electromotive diesel engine in the powerful UP markings. This is a greatly preserved unit.

On the Railroad

In honor of the fact that I am a bit tired of looking out the window and seeing winter, I looked up some railroad photos to look at this week. Maybe it will take the imagination on a trip away from winter snow of Chicago.

Train Racing Sunset

In the previous post we saw a small underpass for the CN rail line through Pratt's Wayne Woods. As I prepared to leave the area, a lengthy train came through, complete with CN engine, racing through the area shortly before sunset.

Banks of the Fox

Between sightings of the Elgin eagles, I looked here, there and everywhere. Here we see a boat ramp, frozen in and snowed over, and the Metra rail tracks which flank the river along the west bank.

Hold On There

With a chance to move more than once, I saw a good portion of the Fox Hunt. Just as the group approached the east side of town on the return route, a freight train pounding down the Canadian National line caused a short holdup.

To a train buff such as myself, the delay only allowed some closeup rail photography.

Prarie Path Bridge

In nearby Wayne, a portion of the Prairie Path through DuPage County was closed for several months as a new bridge was installed over the single railroad track. This is one of the freight lines that have been subject of controversy as more trains are now allowed to use the line.

A short walk to and over the bridge yielded some interesting images.

About Those Details

Walking up along the Fox Valley Trolley right-of-way from Blackhawk Forest Preserve shows the details I mentioned in the previous post, whether it is the old manual switch device, the intricate rail work that is the midst of the switch, or whether it is the road bed itself flanked by the overhead power lines.

Look closely at the top of the tracks and you see that by May, when these photos were taken, the trolleys have not been running for several months. Tracks in current use are polished by every wheel that turns upon them, sometimes gleaming almost clearly enough to see reflections on them.

Blackhawk Forest Preserve

Located on Route 31 south of South Elgin and north of St. Charles, the Jon Duerr-Blackhawk Forest Preserve is the terminal end of the rail track leading from the Fox Valley Trolley Museum. Offering rides on old-fashioned and reconditioned trolley cars, the museum runs cars down to Blackhawk and back. The ride of about three miles is more than worthwhile in enjoyment for railroad fans.

A visit to Blackhawk is also valuable for those interested in the railway. Walking on the right-of-way gives you an unmatched look at details of the construction of railways, how switches and crossovers work, and other interesting items.

Here we have an image of the terminal platform (there is no station at Blackhawk) at the end of the line, as well as the wye-switch that allows two trains to run on a single track. In the next few posts we will be looking at Blackhawk and another forest preserve and take a peek into Elgin at sunset.