The State Supported Illinois Trains (Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg, Illini/Saluki, and Lincoln Service) offer quite cheap and back tickets to and from Chicago especially when they are at low buckets. On previous trips to Chicago I had never really taken advantage of them (using them more to actually go places). These trips can only really be done in the morning and evening. Yesterday evening I might have done one except I had my CTA goals. This morning I was determined to go somewhere. My plan was to either go out to Plano via the Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr back (getting off at Naperville for Metra on the way back) or to Kankakee or Gilman via the Saluki (getting off at Homewood for Metra on the way back as well), unfortunately the morning of July 4th is a popular time to travel and the trains were all in a relatively high bucket. To make matters worse I discovered according to the Amtrak Website that the Metropolitan Lounge doesn’t open until 8:00am where I’m planning to stash my luggage until my departure east on the Capital Limited tonight. This rules out the Plano idea and cuts things very close from the Saluki.
As I eat my included breakfast in the hostel the solution for at least 100 AGR points and Amtrak/Metra stops outside of Chicago finally hits me. I can take a Metra Train at 8:40 out to La Grange for $4.25 and than head back on the Illinois Zephyr for $6.50 to earn 100 points.
I again am cutting it close. At 8:20 leave the hostel, jog up the steps at Library again. The Pink Line comes immediately I take it to Quincy and keep walking over to Union Station. I get to Union Station at about 8:30.
My first stop is the Metropolitan Lounge but find out (from a waiting passenger) that both the agent and red cap have ‘stepped away’ for a moment. With my luggage and I go to the crowded Metra ticket office where I buy my $4.25 ticket to La Grange from a recently installed TVM. The credit card swipe is so tricky that I need help from a Metra agent to swipe my card. It turns out there is a $7 holiday special ticket but I’m taking Amtrak back so not worth it. This ticket isn’t available from the TVM so the agent tells people who need the special ticket just to board. I go back to the lounge no sign of staff. At 8:35 the agent comes, followed soon after by the red cap. I flash my Select+ card, had over my backpack, receive both a red cap ticket and a small piece of paper (a readmission slip) that has the train number and coach written on it and mentions Metropolitan Lounges in Washington, New York and Philadelphia and am asked to come back at 5:30 for my train.
I head back to Track 3 and get on my Metra Train 2 minutes before its on time 8:40 departure. At 8:51 we pass under the CTA. Sitting on the ticket I buy my Amtrak ticket from La Grange Road to Chicago, the $6.50 transaction is successful but when I get the confirmation e-mail it has a message saying “LOCAL TRAVEL NOT PERMITTED — VALID ONLY WHEN CONNECTING TO/FROM ANOTHER A.” It’s the usual start and stop Metra ride on a line where the stations are ridiculously close together. I get to La Grange Stone Avenue on time at 9:08.
From there I have a little less than an hour to photograph this station and walk the less than half mile to La Grange Road where Amtrak stops. To my surprise the interiors of both historic depots are even open! I do make a point of calling up the priority number and an agent answers immediately who confirms I have a ticket that I have paid for on the Illinois Zephyr and she mentions nothing about the Local Travel Not Permitted restriction. I notice a bunch of people waiting for a Chicago-bound platform and voices announce that due to Mechanical failure the Metrolink train is 45 to 55 minutes late.
The Metra train eventually comes in at about 9:58. I wait on the normal Chicago-bound platform until I see Train #380, The Illinois Zephyr is wrong railing unannounced and is arriving on the westbound platform. I don’t get that great a photo of the train arriving before waiting for the train to come to a complete stop in the middle of the grade crossing. I technically illegally go around the gates but since the train I need to catch was wrong-railing without my prior knowledge I do it anyway and think its okay in this extreme situation. I don’t notice any other trains coming. The conductor is surprised to see me and asks we where I’m going “I say back to Chicago and Pittsburg” since the station is discharge only unless your making an Amtrak connection. My $6.50 ticket scans successfully, the conductor says “Glad to have you” and I board finding two seats beneath two LRG seat checks (the only two remaining on the train) from the two people who got off at LRG. It’s been a good quick 2 hour adventure for an extra 100 AGR points for less than $11 and getting two Metra stations and more importantly another Amtrak Station.
- 10:14 – Pass the late Metra train as we take the middle track.
- 10:19 – Western Avenue, a non-stop Amtrak run is so much faster.
- 10:23 – Enter Union Station with a “Thank you for choosing Amtrak” announcement with a bit of sarcasm.
- 10:25 – We enter on track 12 in view of the Cardinal with its lone Viewliner.
I see a crowd going out to track 8 without a train until they ask people to wait until the train actually arrives so passengers can get off. It’s where the very late Metra BNSF Line train my Amtrak train passed is supposed to arrive and then turn and become the next BNSF Line Departure to Aurora. Some people trickle back inside, others don’t. Getting off I walk by the cardinal and notice it has a Heritage P42 leading it.
The first order of my last 7 hours in Chicago is finishing the CTA Green Line (unfortunately the Lake elevated, not shared with the Red Line). I walk up to Clinton for the train and have to deal with terrible service as I deal with the last four stops I need on the Green Line. Trains are only running every 12-15 minutes so this takes awhile. I even get Metra passing the el at Austin where the lines are parellel. Then its time for the other railfanning of the day I’m really looking forward too. Experiencing the South Side Elevated that is currently shared by the red and green lines while the Dan Ryan is under construction. The CTA has put up some great temporary signs with stickers covering the original ones. They haven’t put stickers on the tiny ‘column’ signs that are all still for the green line. I find the signage particularly interesting at Halsted and Ashland/63rd where they’ve made most but not all of the green branding temporarily red. These stops are much faster since the Red Line has much better service than the green. I’m sure the passengers on the two 63 Street branches (normally served by just half the green line trains) are really enjoying their extra service. I also stop at Garfield where everyone is allowed to go through the turnstiles for free! They’ve also built a huge bus loop on a formerly vacant lot for the express buses run non-stop to and from each stop along the Dan Ryan.
I finish my time in Chicago getting some pictures of the Green Line signs in the Loop (with the PM Peak only notes) including unique signs at Quincy I also get a couple other subway stations in downtown that I need. Eventually its time for a meal and getting some food to go (I’m avoiding AmFood) to eat on the train as I make the final push on the Capital Limited via Pittsburgh continuing on the Pennsylvanian (and stopvers to the Keystone service) back home to New York.