How the Cardinal leaves Chicago

Classic Trains General Discussion
1

I rode the Cardinal out of Chicago in mid-November and noticed that we did not exit the old Pennsy maineline at Colehour Junction. I asked the conductor and got her cheat sheet of various mileposts and railroad names but I can’t piece it all in sequence. The railroad she has listed:

CN MP 31.0-25.2 (ex GTW?)

UP MP 20.0-9.0

BRC MP 16.0-15.3

NS CP 518-521

METRA for 4 miles

I thought she mentioned something about a quick ride on B&OCT for probably not even a train length.

Can any one help me unravel this maze?

2

The Bernice Cutoff, which began at Colehour Junction, has mostly been abandoned. The Cardinal’s route out of Chicago is as follows:

Chicago Union Station trackage to 21st Street, former C&WI (now Metra/UP) to Dolton Junction, CSX/UP joint line (former C&EI) to Thornton Junction, GTW to Dyer, CSX (former MON) beyond.

3

Thanks for the quick reply. The conductor mentioned the B&OCT as a link between two of the other roads. Is that true and where would that occur?