Hugging Chicago’s lakefront, the original Illinois Central Railroad mainline was built in 1856 and electrified in 1926. Today, it is one of Metra’s busiest stretches of commuter railroad, with hundreds of daily trains carrying thousands of commuters into the Loop at Millennium Station. South of Roosevelt Road, there are also a few freight trains along the line, six tracks wide at this point. Sunday night, we were lucky enough to find one of those freight trains approaching the 35th St. overpass, under the ever-present Willis Tower, its headlight illuminating the wide right of way of the Mainline of Mid-America.
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Love this Nick, this rail line here is unappreciated by a lot of railroad photographers, in my opinion, probably because it lacks a lot of freight traffic. I was down here this past weekend and had a blast. The IC / Metra Electric just speaks Chicago for some reason.
Thanks Ryan, and yes, I agree. That section of railroad is so very busy with Metra and South Shore trains, and it just looks really old and industrial with the catenary supports and the other infrastructure around it. Plus the views of the skyline are hard to beat. That’s why I love the Air Line too.