B1G - The Big Train
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lakeshoredave wrote:currently what is the busiest freight route into chicago?
I do believe it's NS Chicago line as when i went to the BNSF Racetrack nothing came through for a good hour.cbehr91 wrote:It's gotta either be the UP Geneva Sub or the NS Chicago Line, especially with the oil traffic boom.
And it's Mendota.
That means absolutely nothing. I've spent stretches of time on the NYC where I would see nothing for anywhere from 1-3 hours, and times where they run non-stop. Same goes for the BNSF, every freight line has its dead times.Matt Short Line H wrote: I do believe it's NS Chicago line as when i went to the BNSF Racetrack nothing came through for a good hour.
Small sample sizes are small.Matt Short Line H wrote:lakeshoredave wrote:currently what is the busiest freight route into chicago?I do believe it's NS Chicago line as when i went to the BNSF Racetrack nothing came through for a good hour.cbehr91 wrote:It's gotta either be the UP Geneva Sub or the NS Chicago Line, especially with the oil traffic boom.
And it's Mendota.
As busy as Rochelle is, I've seen stretches of up to a couple hours without a (moving) train in sight. Time of day/week has a lot to do with the lulls between trains, especially on the west side of Chicago. For example, I noticed Rochelle was particularly dead (both lines) during the weekday afternoon rush hour, but when the commuter traffic dies down (presumably), the freight traffic starts to move again. I've seen the same thing happen on the NS Chicago line, as far as afternoon lulls go. When you start spending periods of several hours trackside, on a regular basis, you'll get a much better feel for how busy a line is, especially if nothing is affecting traffic (such as the maintenance work windows that are apparently affecting parts of the Chicago line this summer).Matt Short Line H wrote:I do believe it's NS Chicago line as when i went to the BNSF Racetrack nothing came through for a good hour.
NS and CSX are about the same with about 70 to 85 trains a day up there. Unless you're counting AMTRAK moves there is no way it's near 100 freight moves. OP was asking about freight moves.Notch 8 wrote:With close to or over 100 trains daily, the Norfolk Southern ex-New York Central mainline is by far the busiest freight line in the Chicago Area...
Frankly, I don't know which is busiest, but I live a few minutes away from both the BNSF and UP lines (and close to the CN ex-EJE) and I've seen periods of train after train and also hours of no traffic on all three. The CN probably has the least traffic of the three, but I'm not sure it counts in the OP's criteria. Just an observation...SteveHiuzenga wrote:I got to spend 30 minutes in downtown Wheaton on UP's mainline....8 trains in 30 minutes....yes, I'll still vote for this mainline as the busiest....
GreatLakesRailfan wrote:As busy as Rochelle is, I've seen stretches of up to a couple hours without a (moving) train in sight. Time of day/week has a lot to do with the lulls between trains, especially on the west side of Chicago. For example, I noticed Rochelle was particularly dead (both lines) during the weekday afternoon rush hour, but when the commuter traffic dies down (presumably), the freight traffic starts to move again. I've seen the same thing happen on the NS Chicago line, as far as afternoon lulls go. When you start spending periods of several hours trackside, on a regular basis, you'll get a much better feel for how busy a line is, especially if nothing is affecting traffic (such as the maintenance work windows that are apparently affecting parts of the Chicago line this summer).Matt Short Line H wrote:I do believe it's NS Chicago line as when i went to the BNSF Racetrack nothing came through for a good hour.
For the OP, I would hazard a guess that the UP line from Global 3 is the busiest, but that's based on personal observation of that line (as opposed to some of the other contenders for the title).
GreatLakesRailfan wrote:As busy as Rochelle is, I've seen stretches of up to a couple hours without a (moving) train in sight. Time of day/week has a lot to do with the lulls between trains, especially on the west side of Chicago. For example, I noticed Rochelle was particularly dead (both lines) during the weekday afternoon rush hour, but when the commuter traffic dies down (presumably), the freight traffic starts to move again. I've seen the same thing happen on the NS Chicago line, as far as afternoon lulls go. When you start spending periods of several hours trackside, on a regular basis, you'll get a much better feel for how busy a line is, especially if nothing is affecting traffic (such as the maintenance work windows that are apparently affecting parts of the Chicago line this summer).Matt Short Line H wrote:I do believe it's NS Chicago line as when i went to the BNSF Racetrack nothing came through for a good hour.
For the OP, I would hazard a guess that the UP line from Global 3 is the busiest, but that's based on personal observation of that line (as opposed to some of the other contenders for the title).
cbehr91 wrote:Small sample sizes are small.Matt Short Line H wrote:lakeshoredave wrote:currently what is the busiest freight route into chicago?I do believe it's NS Chicago line as when i went to the BNSF Racetrack nothing came through for a good hour.cbehr91 wrote:It's gotta either be the UP Geneva Sub or the NS Chicago Line, especially with the oil traffic boom.
And it's Mendota.
Must have been a weekend. You should have seen at least some Metra.
When it was a dead hour no Metra, No BNSF, no nothing. For a hour i waited and nothing. Signals were good and this was at 12:30 in the afternoon. I mean come on.Y@ wrote:That means absolutely nothing. I've spent stretches of time on the NYC where I would see nothing for anywhere from 1-3 hours, and times where they run non-stop. Same goes for the BNSF, every freight line has its dead times.Matt Short Line H wrote: I do believe it's NS Chicago line as when i went to the BNSF Racetrack nothing came through for a good hour.
Do you mind if I ask where you were waiting?Matt Short Line H wrote: When it was a dead hour no Metra, No BNSF, no nothing. For a hour i waited and nothing. Signals were good and this was at 12:30 in the afternoon. I mean come on.
Brookfield, ILGreatLakesRailfan wrote:Do you mind if I ask where you were waiting?Matt Short Line H wrote: When it was a dead hour no Metra, No BNSF, no nothing. For a hour i waited and nothing. Signals were good and this was at 12:30 in the afternoon. I mean come on.
Well it happens... what day of the week?Matt Short Line H wrote:Brookfield, ILGreatLakesRailfan wrote:Do you mind if I ask where you were waiting?Matt Short Line H wrote: When it was a dead hour no Metra, No BNSF, no nothing. For a hour i waited and nothing. Signals were good and this was at 12:30 in the afternoon. I mean come on.
Yard in Elmhurst? Is there something near Elmhurst besides Metra's yard/facility?Tsidephotos476 wrote: UP's Geneva sub. Real good, every time I've went there has been lots of UP freights mainly I'd guess because of the intermodal terminal out in Rochelle and the yard in Elmhurst.
That used to be the EJ&E, back in the day...Tsidephotos476 wrote:Unknown CN sub located around Aurora.
Where is there a Metra yard in Elmhurst? I think he's referring to Proviso, directly east of Elmhurst.GreatLakesRailfan wrote:Yard in Elmhurst? Is there something near Elmhurst besides Metra's yard/facility?Tsidephotos476 wrote: UP's Geneva sub. Real good, every time I've went there has been lots of UP freights mainly I'd guess because of the intermodal terminal out in Rochelle and the yard in Elmhurst.
That used to be the EJ&E, back in the day...Tsidephotos476 wrote:Unknown CN sub located around Aurora.