I would like to put together a list of the top 10 photo locations in Illinois. This is NOT a “best train watching” list. I’m looking for the most scenic or dramatic locations for rail photography. Certainly, it’s a plus if the trains are frequent.
For example, Joliet is a great place to watch trains. It’s not particularly scenic, though. Where would be a great place to wacht the BNSF cross a river or pose against a dramatic October sky?
Many spots along the BNSF “C&I” line between Aurora and Rochelle would fit your description with bucolic rural settings and lots of great railroad action.
Try the little town of ameron, west of Galesburg… you have many small gravel roads that criss-cross lots of tracks, and distant vistas of cornfields to put in front of lots of freights and amtraks…also elevators for more dramatic shots…
A personal favorite of mine is the joint UP/CSX main crossing over the Kankakee River in Momence. Good traffic there too with 40-50 trains on a good day.
A little known spot is the bridge over the Fox River on the CN Freeport sub in South Elgin. A bike train parallels the river and you can get an excellent shot on the south side of the bridge. Only 2 trains a day though, but much more scenic than the UP bridge in Geneva over the Fox.
Also, if you are looking for dramatic skyline shots in Chicago, the 16th St. Interlocking of Metra’s Rock Island district and the CN is good, as is the 18th St or Roosevelt Rd. overpasses over Amtrak leading into Union station.
do ya mean Cameron? just jokin[:D] yeah, both BN and SF lines cross, over/under(SF-over BN) in cameron, and in town (galesburg, BN over SF) a few decent spots around town. i just happened to load some galesburg pics, to give a small idea http://rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=7525
About anywhere within ten or twenty miles of Dixon are great spots to find trains. The most busy is along the former C&NW main line. Nelson, which is west of Dixon, still sees a lot of action around the mainline crossovers, and still has an intact coal silo from the steam days; perfect for framing a diesel, but especially great for the few steam trips that come through every couple years! The areas east of Dixon along Route 38 provide for great train chasing, especially now that most of the corn has been harvested and Global 3 is up and running in Rochelle. The local farm buildings and numerous grade crossings are great spots to get landscapes with trains.
About ten miles north of town is White Pines State Park, which the BNSF to Minneapolis goes through on single track. Less busy than the UP but a bit more scenic. About a ten or fifteen minute hike will get you near the tracks - a great cross of outdoors activity and railfanning.
Hey, [#welcome] photogeek88! I’ve been through Dixon a couple of times, although I must confess that I prefer to go around it on I-88, headed for Rochelle.
There’s a great spot just east of Clinton Ia on Route 30. BNSF Peavine line crosses over UP mainline on girder bridge with lots of trees for backdrop. Have tried several times to get a good shot with trains on both tracks but no luck yet. Willy