36 minutes? Only at 3:00 am! Give yourself between 1-1.5 hours, or better yet, give yourself an hour for a trip on the El from O’Hare, and the bus from downtown.
Orsonroy:
Do you know about the roundhouse I asked about?
O’Hare is actually right off the I-90/294 intersection, not I-80, as mentioned above. I know this because i fly out of O’Hare on a regular basis and always come from the west on I-90. This puts it NW of Chicago itself and close to Park Ridge, Midway is to the SE of Chicago, near the Indiana border.
Hope that clears everything up, You should seriouslyly see if you can get an extra day (move the flight to a weekend?) and look at the various stores in the chicagoland area, almost all of them are great.
The only roundhouse I really know about in the area is west of the city, which is the old CB&Q roundhouse in Aurora, which is now a restaraunt. I know of several existing turntables in the area (Proviso, BRC’s, CN’s ex-Milwaukee), but no roundhouses. Of course, I don’t do a whole lot of fanning in Chicgao, so I’m probably not the best person to ask!
Terry,
I’m so glad you mentioned that. I saw the same roundhouse 4 weeks ago flying from Cleveland to Chicago and wondered the same thing myself. (I think(?) it was near the lake but I’m not positive.) I was talking to someone so I didn’t have much of a chance to look. I’m sure my nose print is indelibly etched in the plane window though. If I remember correctly, it was connected to a huge yard, too.
Tom
P.S. Nice pics of the Science Museum, BTW. [:)]
I think I found it: Gary, IN (longitude -87.35406, latitude 41.61417) with turntable
Terraserver:
Just in case, trying from normal hosting site:
Terry,
That may be it. The roundhouse was a least 180 degrees plus. I didn’t have a chance to take much notice of the turntable. I think I remember there being a considerable yard attached…[%-)] (I wish I’d be able to take a better look. [:(])
Anyway, thanks for the research.
Tom
I would definitely go to des plaines hobby over chicagoland hobby which i stated in above post. I was there (des plaines hobby ) today. A larger selection of train equipment in any gauge. I just found my new LHS.
stocz2
There is, I believe, a roundhouse in Joliet - right across from Silver Cross hospital. I was at the hospital, and walked past a window on the 5th floor, and went “holy ****! A roundhouse!”
I believe it’s the Elgin Joliet & Eastern (?) railway. They also have a yard full of Metra passenger equipment over there.
Rob
THe best hobby shop near O’Hare is Des Plaines hobby, with Chicagoland and Hill’s the only remaining ones nearby. The Nscale shop in Franklin Park closed. O’hare is NW of downtown Chicago.
Midway is about 15 miles SW from downtown, about 5 miles from I-55. An old tome hobby shop, Trost, is about 2 miles east on 63rd st near Kedzie. There are some other small shops in the SW suburbs.
Another good old timer is Al’s in Elmhurst. I don’t know about Palatine.
Some shops may be open one evening a week. THey also may have limited Sunday hours.
All kidding aside, check out DesPlaines Hobbies. I go there often, you’ll like it. Also, close to O’Hare (15-20 min. drive) are two more hobby stores you’d want to visit. Chicagoland Hobbies, located on N. Northwest Hwy. has a fair amount of HO stuff, with much more O. Ram train & Hobby, on N. Higgins road is almost strictly HO. I work at O’Hare and live very close to both Ram and Chicagoland (visit too often!), so if you need directions, contact my email fcnota@ameritech.net
Ram is an excellent shop, just don;t wear perfume or cologne when entering! Rich has severe asthma problems which are triggered by these scents. Ram is the type of shop that will get merchandise a month before anybody else and it’s also a great shop for HO vehicles.
Vito Larucci
Chicagoland is also a mecca for traction buffs–I go there whenever I am in Chicago to load up on traction parts and components. The Franklin Park shop was nice, it made a wonderful addition to the “Railroad Days” festivities when I was there a couple of years ago, and it had a nice club layout underneath–I was disappointed to discover it was no longer around on my last trip.
Haven’t been to Ram Trains, will have to check them out on my next trip. I hear good things about Golden Spike Hobbies which I understand is closer to Midway…
Don’t forget Al’s Hobby in Elmhurst.
Also, If the dates work out, you’re going to want to check out…
Thanks for all of the info. I made DesPlaines, Chicagoland, and Hills. I would rate them in that order. Unless you are interested in some older brass models, Hills has very little of interest. It appears they are trying to get out of the HO business.
Charlie[:)]
RAM is an interesting place to visit, especially if you are looking for slightly older kits that are not generally available. IIRC, his stock was stacked floor to ceiling in a couple of rooms, so have time to look.
However, the owner is a bit of a character, and when I visited there, only took checks “from people he knew” and only accepted Visa card. (I haven’t tried to use a Visa debit cardor traveler’s cheques.) So make sure you visit the ATM before visiting RAM.
At least that’s how it was when I visited there some years ago.
Hill’s used to be a really good train shop. Over the years though, its focus seems to have changed to collector tinplate, and collectible toys. Now and then they get some interesting used stuff. (I think because of its reputation, a lot of people approach Hill’s when Dad or Grandpa goes to the big Model Railroad Club in the Sky.) But as of right now, Hill’s is not an especially good all around hobby shop.