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printman2000

Engineer
Joined
Nov 9, 2005
Messages
3,786
Location
Amarillo, Texas
I am in Chicago right now and may have some time tomorrow to get down to CUS. I would like to do a quick round trip ride on Metra, but since I am traveling do not have the time to scour the Metra website to see what trains leave CUS all hours of the day and which station would be a easy turn around. I would probably be there at, or right after lunch time.

I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction. Which line would you suggest I look at and to which station from CUS. I would want it to be a pretty quick round trip. No more than two hours, preferable less.

Thanks!
 
Just taking a quick glance at the schedules, the BNSF line which heads through LaGrange, Downers Grove, Naperville and Aurora among others. It's a fairly high speed line (79mph right?) And there are some early-afternoon express trains both directions if you like just getting on a train and being able to run for a while. Can't say I've been to the cities along the line myself, but I can certainly recommend the line from a railfan's perspective. It's on the "Chicago Racetrack" which is a triple-track BNSF line with lots of traffic: freight, METRA, and Amtrak.

Word of warning though, I think it is the busiest METRA line with the two Naperville stations being the busiest at least on the line so be wary of crowds during rush hour.
 
Thanks to your suggestion, I did end up on the BNSF line. I decided to just go to the Hollywood stop and back. There was to be only a 20 minute layover to catch a return train. My only real problem was the return train was about 20 minutes late and the temp outside was in the lower 20's. There is nothing but a platform so I was pretty cold. If I had gotten off one stop earlier, they had a station with an indoor waiting room. Oh well.
 
Wanted to add, this was my first ever trips in gallery cars. On my trip out, I rode in what seemed to be a newer version. On the return trip it was in an older car. I was surprised by how small the windows were on the older car.
 

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