Elgin (at Chicago Street) is the main station for the city of Elgin Illinois. It is the location of the main storage yard for the Milwaukee District West Line, and the terminus of all weekend (trains generally running every two hours) service. Most weekday trains (running every hour or better) continue about 3 miles beyond this station to Big Timber Road-Elgin, a newer more suburban station with more parking. The station is nestled on the western banks of the Fox River, allowing passengers to get unique views of trains and the train yard from across the river where the city center of Elgin is located. The station complex begins at the grade-crossing of Chicago Street and runs south. Across the street from the station is the modern Pace Elgin Transit center with 4 covered lanes for buses (each able to accommodate 2 buses) nestled between the tracks and the Fox River, extending a block north to Highland Avenue. There is a also a small building with a small waiting room and Ventra Machines inside.
The main two platforms for the two track mainline begin at the grade-crossing of Chicago Street with the eastern platform (primarily for Big Timber Road and terminating trains), extending much further, becoming a narrow island platform about a third of the way from the grade-crossing, when a tail track in the train yard begins at a bumper block. This means the station has two through tracks and one terminating track.
Passenger amenities include a small brick station house (also used as a yard office) along the eastern platform (just before the siding's bumper block) which includes a ticket window open for one shift: 4:30am to 12:15pm Monday-Friday, 5:00am to 12:15pm on Saturday. There are also 23 public parking spaces in a small lot along this platform. The opposite western platform (used by Chicago-bound trains) has a much larger 124 space parking lot along it and a small brick building that contains parking pay stations. This parking lot has a fence at its southern end and becomes and employee parking lot that leads to the majority of the train storage tracks in the yard south of the station.
All Photos taken on 4 June, 2017
Big Timber Road 