Quick question folks… I grew up in an area near Western Springs and used to ride/watch the Racetrack growing up. Still remember those green E8/9’s howling downtown.
My question is: Did METRA go straight from the E8/9’s to the F40PH-2’s? Or… did they run the F40PH’s for awhile before the -2’s?
Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Jeff
Jeff, they used a few of the older F40PH units during the transition from the E-9 units and until the F40PH-2 units started to be delivered. We still see some of the older units from time to time but mainly the PH-2 units and the brand new MPI units (which I really like the sound of). I have lived very close to the racetrack for almost 15 years not and really miss the old E9 units. Jim
Thanks so much for the reply and information! I’m going to be modeling the racetrack and wanted to know if I would be prototypical using some F40PH’s AND E9’s in the same time period. I was in college out of state at this time and forget the transition time period. No model manufacturer has made an F40PH-2 yet (to my knowledge…)
Thanks again - this is a GREAT line to model and I’m pretty excited about it.
Jeff
The racetrack has definitely undergone some very good changes over the years. I really like the new MPI engines. I hope someone has some pictures of them I could see. Thanks.
Mike
http://www.jefflubchanskycpa.com/NERR9912NSHVLTN-JU27-3DG941.jpg
Yes, you can mix the green E’s with F40’s!
http://www.jefflubchanskycpa.com/n&e.html
If you check these links, at least 4 of these units came down here to Nashville to spend the winter out of the cold. Actually, the Tennessee Central RR Museum uses E’s on their excursions & used to use them on the dinner trains. Some of them could be used for commuter trains here. At my last visit to the Museum, they are still there, with their US flags. I think the flags were applied during the first Desert Storm?
I think BNSF had 25 E’s to cover racetrack service. In the conversion, some of the regular F40’s would appear in place of the Winnebago units. I don’t remember seing any F40C’s. This was done so crews would be familiar with the performance of F40’s.
I thought those four units looked familiar. They’re for sale!
Of course, you could model the three-track line back 20 years earlier and have steam O-4’s (4-8-4) and O-1’s (2-8-2) and even one Prarie (2-6-2) and lots and lots of Pacifics even some handling bilevel Budd gallery cars, mised with E-7’s, E-8’s and an occasional E-5 on a through streamliner.
There is no question that mixing E-9’s and early F40’s would be prototypical and just fine. I recall seeing them mixed in daily operation for about two years or so until the final retirement of the E-9’s. Seems odd that these days I get excited about seeing an original F-40 the way we did when we saw an old E unit at the very end. I also would love to see an F-40 in Amtrak service (we get three Amtrak trains in each direction every day here in Aurora), but with the exception of hte “cabbage” cars those days seem to be over. Progress I guess.
Mr. Paddlers:
Did you know that they tore down the old station in Western Springs? It’s being replaced on the same skinny site with a new structure.
The Stone Avenue station at La Grange, if it still exists, was one of the prettiest on the line and worth modeling, I would think.
Yes, it is still there and I agree with you that it is really nice. I truly like any of these old style stone and brick stations, such as this one and also Naperville.
One of the modeling magazines had plans for the Stone Avenue station years ago, so you’re right with that assessment. I’ll nominate Highlands for a neat station (without disagreeing on Stone Avenue, of course!).
I’ll submit, though, that these stations are both enhanced by their park-like surroundings. I wi***here were more like them.
Yeah… I did hear that Western Springs’ station was torn down. I do plan on modeling the old water water in Western Springs. I personally always thought that the station at HIGHLANDS was the most pretty on the line. That, and the one-lane “rainbow” bridge right next to it. Used to beg my mom to drive over that when I was a little kid coming back from getting my hair cut in Hinsdale! 
Thanks for all of the info and help. I just got an EBAY copy of the 1993 TRAINS magazine on METRA and CHICAGO. Beautiful spread and great articles. It confirms that there were F40PH’s on the roster mixed in with the E units and the "Bago’s…
Thanks again - Would love to keep this thread going for awhile and get other thoughts on the RACETRACK!
Paddler
Trains recently had an article about how the “Baby Bullets” are routed around local trains on the Caltrans SF to San Jose and Gilroy operation. But that sort of stuff has been around for possibly 80 years Chicago - Aurora, where rush hour expresses run around locals. Of course, it is three track, but the dispatching is really interesting to behold.
It takes real effort to find a bad spot on the Chicago-Aurora line. My personal favorite is at Lavergne (Ridgeland Ave) in Berwyn. It isn’t particularly scenic but the IC Iowa line crosses above the BNSF at this point and the freights are slowing to enter Clyde or haven’t attained track speed after leaving.
DONT FORGET THE OLD BROOKFIELD STATION WHICH WAS MOVED TO THE OTHER (NORTH ) SIDE OF THE TRACKS AS A MUSEUM BEFORE THE MOVE IT STILL HAD A STICKER IN ONE OF THE WINDOWS FROM THE 1964 ANIVERSARY
Some of the Historical Societies along the route have old maps and pictures that might be worth checking out. Many of the commuter trains used to run to Downers Grove and there was a small yard, turntable, and engine facility along the north side of the tracks. Most of it is gone now, but the spur to the lumber yard is still in use and it’s a frequent parking place for MOW equipment. Another interesting spur is the Pepperidge Farm bakery just east of Fairview. A local still switches covered hoppers there, usually late morning. The grade there is one reason for the demise of the E-units.
The long distance passenger trains used to stop at some of the suburban stations. LaGrange I know of for suure, possibly Hinsdale and Naperville for some others?? Another interesting station I remember was Riverside, also the bridge over the River just west of there.
La Grange Road was indeed a stop for the long-distance trains, a practice which predates Amtrak. The only other stop that comes to mind is Aurora. Amtrak changed its stop from Aurora to Naperville after a major terminal rebuilding which moved the suburban station in Aurora off the main line.
Berwyn (Oak Park Avenue) also has a nice station which has been rehabbed recently.
“The grade there is one reason for the demise of the E-units.”
How come? Was the grade too steep for the E-units? I loved those green monsters growling westward every night…
No way any grade on “The Racetrack” was ever too steep for the E-9’s, they could handle anything on the line until they were retired. Long live the E-9.