I live near the Ravenswood Rockwell stop where the trains run at ground
level. I sometimes watch the trains through an upstairs bedroom window (I
even decorated the room with CTA and train paraphernalia, including an El
seat from the City of Chicago store, but that's another story). Late last
night they were doing maintenance on the tracks with a big machine that said
"Torsion Beam" on the side. From what I could see, the long machine moved
forward on the tracks tie by tie with two hydraulic(?) grabbers toward the
front pulling up on the rail as four prongs toward the back pushed down into
the ballast rock between the ties. Although I love trains, I don't know much
about the track maintenance side of things. Can anyone tell me what this
machine accomplishes?

Thanks,
Dave Johnsen

P.S. I just got a CTA map tie for my birthday. Very cool! It's available at
their online store.

1501 S Canal is the address of the METRA Control Center. All Metra owned
lines (except Milwaukee Div) are dispatched from this point (ex-IC
electric,ex-CRI&P).

I thought there was a plan to set up a joint dispatch center in a south
suburb. Maybe they liked Metra as neutral territory.

----- Original Message -----
From: Gene Poon <sheehans@...>
To: All-Aboard <all-aboard@...>
Sent: Thursday, June 08, 2000 5:08 PM
Subject: {A-A} Chicago Joint Operations


> From Altamont Press:
>
> "In an effort to bring better traffic flow,
>  a more even distribution of trains over various
>  routes available, and overall coordination
>  of efforts in the greater Chicago region,
>  the railroads that serve the Windy City have
>  initiated a joint operations center at 1501
>  South Canal St.
>
> "Each of the railroads that is a part-owner
>  of the Belt Rwy of Chicago, and those non-owners in
>  BRC but ones that figure in the "Chicago
>  equation" will staff the office with a s
>  uperintendent and support personnel. This
>  means that the players will include Burlington
>  Northern Santa Fe, Belt Railway of Chicago,
>  Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX,
>  I&M Raillink, Indiana Harbor Belt, Norfolk
>  Southern, Union Pacific, and Wisconsin Central.
>
> "The main points of the "Train Operations Protocol
>  Document" are:
>
>  1) Equal dispatching of all roads' trains without
>  discrimination
>
>  2) Trains to be dispatched by "class,"
>  i.e. - Commuter/Passenger, Intermodal, Automotive, and
>  Manifest.
>
>  3) Equal treatment of foreign line trains and
>  home road trains on the home roads' trackage
>
>  4) Take trains of same class / priority on
>  first come, first served basis.
>
>  The Protocol document is being distributed
>  to the affected railroads' train dispatchers, tower
>  operators and yard managers in the form of a
>  printed handout, a video with pretty good shots of
>  the major Chicago bottlenecks, and a brief
>  question and answer session. The same
>  presentation will be made at all the participating
>  railroads."

That is a "Tamper" that lifts the rail slightly, then slides the old tie out
and puts the new one in. Check <A HREF="http://www.chicago-l.org/">http://www.
chicago-l.org/</A> for any other cta rail related info.
Sean Gash

----- Original Message -----

From: zoo9579@...

To: chicagotransit@egroups.com

Sent: Saturday, June 10, 2000 1:29 AM

Subject: [chicagotransit] Re: Digest Number 25

That is a "Tamper" that lifts the rail slightly, then slides the old tie out
and puts the new one in. Check <A HREF="http://www.chicago-l.org/">http://www
chicago-l.org/</A> for any other cta rail related info.
Sean Gash

---

---

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$4 million transit system, thats million not billion, these guys are my kind
of system builders!


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/article/0,2669,SAV-0006170142
,FF.html

\Article is gone, but as I recall it cost $5 millioin, not $4 million.  Still,
that's five million dollars per double-track mile.  Does anybody recollect what
Daley's "Circulator" was going to cost?  About $50 million per mile, I think.
Let's contract with Kenosha to build & operate some lines in Chicago.  Budget:
     Track, rolling stock & support facilities        $5 million/mile
     r-o-w acquisition                                               $5
million/mile
     bribes & lobbying                                             $1
million/mile
        TOTAL
$11million/mile

--Chuck Metalitz
    taxpayer@...
EDWARD ROBERT SIROVY wrote:

> $4 million transit system, thats million not billion, these guys are my kind
> of system builders!
>
> http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/article/0,2669,SAV-0006170142
> ,FF.html
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Find long lost high school friends:
> http://click.egroups.com/1/5535/10/_/631382/_/961307824/
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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>   Subscribe:    chicagotransit-subscribe@onelist.com
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>
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>   http://www.onelist.com/community/chicagotransit

At 9:39 PM -0500 6/18/00, chuck metalitz wrote:

>\Article is gone...

It was still there at 10:34 PM for me. The address wrapped to a second line in
the original message. Try the address below and make sure the whole address
appears in your browser's address window.

<http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/article/0,2669,SAV-0006170142,FF\
.html>

If you still can't read it, let me know. The page has a link which will e-mail
the story.
--
Bob LeBailly
lebailly@...

This is why I think something more substantial then just a wooden gate is
needed. I like the barrier gate made by B&B systems. It doesn't require all
the real estate that the Dragnets used in Central Illinois do. The B&B will
not stop a semi like the Dragnet will but will keep a rearended auto from
being pushed onto the tracks by any other auto or light truck.
>
>       Nobody hurt as crash spins minivan into train
>       BY DAVID R. KAZAK Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer
>
>
>       Arlington Heights resident Maria Harisiadis was reaching for the
cell
> phone in her car when she looked up and drove into the unthinkable
Wednesday
> morning.
>       Another car on westbound Kensington Road, just east of Wolf Road,
was
> stopped as the railroad crossing gates came down. Harisiadis, 41, said she
> swerved, but not before her Dodge Caravan collided with the back of the
> Jaguar X16.
>
>       The crash's force spun Harisiadis' car around, and it came to rest
on
> the tracks. That first collision, Harisiadis said, was shock enough. She
> doesn't even remember the 48-car freight train slamming into the Caravan.
>
>       In the Jaguar, Mount Prospect resident Stephanie Olson was watching,
> along with her three children, as the train rambled closer when, she said,
> her car was hit without warning and pushed under the crossing gates.
>
>       "All I thought was this train is coming and it's going to take this
> car with it," said Olson, who is 34. But that didn't happen. Olson's car
> stopped just inches from the train's path.
>
>       But she had no way of knowing that, she said.
>
>       "The first thing I thought of was to get the kids out," she said.
But
> one of the Jaguar's doors was jammed, so her stepson, 18-year-old Michael,
> had to kick it open.
>
>       All the children scrambled to safety. So did Olson. They watched as
> the train - which police said was going about 20 to 25 mph - slid past
their
> car and hit Harisiadis' minivan.
>
>       Harisiadis was treated for injuries and released later Wednesday
from
> Holy Family Hospital in Des Plaines. She was ticketed for failure to
reduce
> speed to avoid an accident, Mount Prospect police spokesman Bill Roscop
> said.
>
>       Roscop added that both women are very lucky, and the accident
> highlights the need to be cautious with the use of cell phones in cars.
>
>       "This is a reminder of how dangerous cell phone use can be while
> driving," he said. "This accident could have been much, much worse."
>
>       That fact isn't lost on Harisiadis, who said, "I'm very fortunate to
> be alive."
>
>       Daily Herald

Relayed from All-Aboard list

> Metra is looking for heavier power then F40/59s for its longer trains,
some
> of which do exceed 10 cars. Metra also runs 70 mph. (Why not 79? Maybe not
> geared that high to handle heavy loads and accelerate faster.)
> Will EMD propose an F70?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Stanley S. Brandt <71066.1332@...>
> To: <all-aboard@...>; Baitcher, Howard <h_baitcher@...>;
> Both, Martin <mboth@...>; Burd, Jim <jburd8@...>; Geigner, Logan
> <yardmstr@...>; Hakkarinen, Bill <wdhkk@...>; Harnish, Rick
> <Midwesthsr@...>; Marc Magliari <mmagliari@...>; Maxwell, Don
> <railtwo@...>; Miller, Howard <hamiller@...>; Patrick,
Scott
> <scottpat@...>; Craig Schmidt <craig@...>; Streeter,
> Paul <pstreeter@...>
> Sent: Friday, June 23, 2000 12:19 PM
> Subject: {A-A} unusual occurrance
>
>
> > On Saturday, June 24, Chicago's Metra commuter rail agency will run a
> > special ttrain powered by an Amtrak Genesis locomotive over the
Milwaukee
> > District West Line between Chicago Union Station and Big Timber Road in
> > Elgin.  The consist will include 9 coaches and a Metra F40 loco, and the
> > purpose is to determine the operating characteristics of a Genesis loco
in
> > simulated commuter service, as Metra is planning to order new locos
soon.
> > This train will make all stops on its three round trips,, but will not
> > carry passengers.
> >
> > The schedule is not precise, but the first trip will leave CUS shortly
> > after the regular 7:30a departure, and running time to Big Timber is 1
> > hour, 14 minutes.  The special will return to CUS 10:45a-11:00a, and
> depart
> > CUS again shortly after 11:30a and finally shortly after 2:30p.
> >
> > --Stan Brandt / 20th Century Railroad Club / Chicago
>
>

I just put the July version of my Cable Car Home Page on the server:
http://www.geocities.com/cable_car_guy/cablecar.html

It includes some new items:
1. San Francisco Miscellany: An illustrated excerpt from "South of the Slot"
by Jack London.  I remember old folks using that term when I was a young
folk.
2. Chicago:  To celebrate this site being recommended in the upcoming issue
of "First & Fastest", a magazine about electric railways in the Chicago
area, I added a picture of State Street at night.
3. Other new links and photos.  See What's New for details.

As I mentioned last month, I'm also happy because Yahoo has added a new
section:
U.S. States > California > Cities > San Francisco >
Travel and Transportation > Mass Transit > San Francisco Municipal
Railway (MUNI) > Cable Cars

Next month: An article about cable cars in Philadelphia.  Philadelphia was
the third US city to have cable cars.

Regards,
Joe Thompson
The Cable Car Home Page (new url alias)
http://www.geocities.com/cable_car_guy/cablecar.html
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

> ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding----------------

> Jon Hilkevitch
> Amtrak salutes Kirk Brown
>
> Four years ago, Illinois Transportation Secretary Kirk Brown was
> railing at Amtrak for its record of miserable service and frequent
> equipment breakdowns in the Midwest. Amtrak's state-supported train
> service in Illinois--to the tune of almost $26 million from the state
> since 1997--has since improved significantly, Brown concluded.
>
> On Friday, Amtrak recognized Illinois transportation officials for
> their help and patience by honoring Brown with the passenger
> railroad's 2000 Amtrak President's Award for State Partner.
>
> Illinois has committed nearly $250 million under the Illinois FIRST
> program toward improvements in passenger rail service that will lead
> the way to a network of high-speed trains racing across the Midwest,
> with Chicago's Union Station serving as the hub.

> The following article was selected from the Internet Edition
> of the Chicago Tribune. To visit the site, point your browser
> to http://chicagotribune.com/.
> ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding----------------
>
>
> Article forwarded by: Edward Robert Sirovy
>
> Return e-mail: esirovy@...
>
>
>
> ---Forwarded article----------------
> BE REASONABLE ON TRAIN RULES
>
>
>
>   The Norfolk Southern Railway Co. is taking Hammond, Ind., to court
> over a law limiting to five minutes the amount of time trains can
> block crossings. Though anyone can sympathize with the frustrations of
> jammed traffic, Hammond's law is too restrictive to be fair and may
> cause problems for towns with less restrictive, more workable
> regulations.
>
> Hammond grew up along a rail line in the late 1800s. Meatpacker George
> Hammond got the railroad companies to competitively bid, and lay down
> tracks, so that they could get his business. And railroads have been a
> dominant force there ever since.
>
>     Too dominant, many drivers would say.
>
> Downtown Hammond was built when there was no smart growth, only
> growth. Major city streets are sliced into bite-size chunks by rail
> lines, and getting across town without being stopped by at least one
> train can be only a fantasy. Now that automobiles are the primary
> means of travel, building overpasses has become very expensive.
>
> Like many Rust Belt cities, a lot of the Hammond industries that used
> the rails have closed down or cut operations. But the tracks still go
> through, and they still get used. Trains sometimes stop, back up, then
> slowly move forward again. And drivers get stuck.
>
> For nearly 30 years Hammond and other Northwest Indiana towns have
> been trying to negotiate, cajole or punish railroad companies into
> repairing grade crossings and reducing traffic tie-ups. Now that
> Hammond also has a casino on Lake Michigan, the need to let traffic
> flow across town to the lakefront has a greater economic, as well as a
> convenience, factor.
>
> One popular method of control has been to write tickets and assess
> fines when crossings are blocked for too long. Many laws set a
> particular time limit, often 10 minutes, that a train can block an
> intersection or stand unmoving.
>
> Hammond's law, passed in April 1999, goes one big, unfriendly step
> further. The law bans trains from blocking a crossing for more than
> five minutes, and it levies fines of up to $2,500 per violation. With
> the large number of crossings and relatively slow speed dictated by an
> urban environment and federal law, Norfolk Southern has racked up more
> than $2.5 million in fines.
>
> In turn, the railway is now suing the city in federal court, claiming
> interference with interstate commerce. Other towns worry that their
> laws may be rendered unenforceable by a court ruling in favor of the
> railroad.
>
> Municipalities have a right to control what goes on their own streets,
> and no court should rule otherwise. But the Hammond law, considering
> the circumstances, is unreasonable. Better that the city brings its
> train rules in line with other towns and work toward agreement, not
> animosity.

Gov Ryan supports plan for "L" train fron Chicago to NW Burbs.

  http://63.67.107.59/searchdata/36711/news/localdup/1rest.htm

Relay from All Aboard List.

I think they'll have to carry everybody for nothing!

----- Original Message -----
From: <HowieDash@...>
To: <all-aboard@...>
Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2000 2:51 AM
Subject: {A-A} Amtrak Rolls Out New Logo, Guarantee


> Amtrak Rolls Out New Logo, Guarantee
>
> .c The Associated Press
>
>  By LAURENCE ARNOLD
>
> WASHINGTON (AP) - Amtrak introduces a new logo and a new commitment to
> customer satisfaction on Thursday, promising to compensate riders unhappy
> with their experience on America's national railway.
>
> Amtrak passengers who believe they did not receive a safe, comfortable and
> enjoyable trip will be entitled to a certificate good for future Amtrak
> travel at equal cost.
>
> ``We know of no other passenger transportation provider that offers
anything
> of this kind,'' said Bill Schulz, Amtrak's vice president for corporate
> communications.
>
> Schulz said the guarantee technically began on Tuesday - Independence
Day -
> although Amtrak officials were preparing to announce it Thursday morning.
>
> Also being unveiled is a new logo. Gone is the ``pointless arrow'' design
> that has represented Amtrak since its creation in 1971. The new design,
> Schulz said, depicts three parallel lines winding their way to a horizon.
>
> ``There's a new look to Amtrak that allows Americans to take a new look at
> Amtrak,'' Schulz said.
>
> Formed by Congress from a collection of failing passenger railroads,
Amtrak
> has struggled with financial troubles over the years. Facing a
congressional
> deadline to wean itself from federal operating subsidies, the intercity
> railway is working to recreate itself in image and substance.
>
> Earlier this year, in a departure from past practices, Amtrak officials
> announced plans to add new passenger routes and expand into package
delivery
> rather than make cuts in order to balance the books.
>
> Amtrak also launched a full-scale promotional campaign for new high-speed
> service beginning in the Northeast and spreading to other busy corridors
> throughout the nation.
>
> But the much-awaited ``Acela Express'' high-speed service between
Washington
> and Boston, originally scheduled to begin at the end of 1999, is still not
> rolling. Federal watchdogs warn that continuing delays in the start of
> service - the latest target is August - threaten Amtrak's ability to reach
> self-sufficiency by the end of 2002, as ordered by Congress.
>
> The watchdogs also question how Amtrak is using the money it has. Phyllis
> Scheinberg, associate director for transportation issues at the General
> Accounting Office, told a congressional panel in March that Amtrak is
> spending most of the federal tax dollars it gets from Congress to maintain
> equipment rather than to invest in new equipment or better tracks.
>
> Amtrak officials remain relentlessly upbeat about their ability to reach
> self-sufficiency and the prospect of attracting travelers frustrated with
> congestion on highways and in the air.
>
> ``This satisfaction guarantee represents our promise to travelers that
Amtrak
> will treat you like a guest and make service excellence the central focus
of
> everything we do,'' said Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, chairman of
Amtrak's
> governing board.
>
> Schulz said Amtrak prepared for the new guarantee program by training its
> 25,000 employees ``to take personal initiative and do what is necessary to
> solve guest problems.''
>
> Amtrak is counting on dissatisfied riders to bring any complaints to the
> attention of an employee in hopes of getting it addressed. But that will
not
> be a prerequisite for seeking a service guarantee coupon after an
> unsatisfactory trip.
>
> ``We think this is going to be a very powerful statement to the guests who
> ride us, and to those who haven't yet tried us,'' Schulz said.
>
> AP-NY-07-06-00 0154EDT
> *^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > Send mail for positing to the list: all-aboard@...
> > To unsubscribe, use:  http://www.railspot.com/gif/railspot/list.html
> > OR, mail: majordomo@...  message: unsubscribe all-aboard
> > eMail Web-archived: www.railspot.com/gif/railspot/archive10.html
> *^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Common sense is so uncommon!!!
>
>       Woman admits losing foot crawling under train her fault
>       BY CHRIS CLAIR Daily Herald Staff Writer
>
>
>       No matter how bad you think your week has been so far, Jennifer
Padulo
> can top it.
>       On Monday, the 25-year-old Palatine woman tried crawling under a
> Chicago-bound Metra train in a misguided attempt to board before it left
> Mount Prospect's downtown station.
>
>       Instead, she wound up trapped beneath the train as it pulled out,
and
> one of the cars ran over her right foot, severing all five toes.
>
>       Then, when Padulo got to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk
Grove
> Village, doctors told her she was pregnant.
>
>       That was on Monday.
>
>       Since then Padulo has learned she has no insurance to pay her
mounting
> medical bills, missed the first day of her new job at UPS, discovered
she'll
> be in the hospital at least another 10 days and will miss a Saturday
concert
> that she paid $60 to see, has no idea whether she'll ever walk normally
> again and realized she can't sue anyone because the whole mess is
"probably
> my fault."
>
>       "If I had it to do over again, I would have never crawled under that
> train," Padulo said Wednesday. "I'm not crawling under anything ever
again."
>
>       So, what would lead someone to crawl on hands and knees underneath a
> 100-ton train car?
>
>       Padulo said she and her friend, Danielle Huculak of Wheeling, were
> tired of waiting. The two, eager to sample the food and see fireworks at
the
> Taste of Chicago, had already waited 20 minutes for the train when they
> realized they had left something in the car, parked on the south side of
the
> tracks.
>
>       They went to get it, and when they returned, the train was pulling
> into the station, Padulo said. But they were on the wrong side. The pair
> banged on the south side doors, but they didn't open.
>
>       Suddenly, Huculak ducked underneath the train, hoping to hail a
> conductor. Padulo followed, thinking her friend would stop the train.
>
>       But as she crawled under the car, the train started moving. Padulo
> scampered out the other side, but not in time to get her foot out of the
way
> of the steel wheels.
>
>       "I knew right away," Padulo said. "I felt my foot come off. I was
just
> lucky it was only my foot under there, or it could have been a huge
> disaster."
>
>       Huculak was unhurt.
>
>       As the train rolled away, its crew unaware Padulo was writhing in
pain
> on the asphalt, Gene Marzelli jumped out of his car.
>
>       According to police reports, Marzelli was waiting for the train in
the
> southbound lane of Emerson Street. He tied a belt around Padulo's ankle to
> slow the bleeding.
>
>       As many as six other witnesses had watched as Huculak and Padulo
> crawled under the train, and the train ran over Padulo's foot, police
said.
>
>       Now Padulo is recovering in a hospital bed, and officials at both
> Union Pacific, which runs the Northwest line, and Metra are scratching
their
> heads. Crawling under a train, they say, is not a good thing to do.
>
>       "It's very unwise, to put it mildly," Metra spokesman Frank Malone
> said.
>
>       Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis was even more adamant. "The two,
> especially the lady that was injured, put herself in a very dangerous
> position by crawling underneath the train," he said.
>
>       Davis said it seems more and more people are crawling under, over
and
> around trains these days, resulting in an increasing number of injuries
and
> deaths.
>
>       This is despite a nationwide effort to educate people about the
> dangers trains pose.
>
>       "It's something we work extra hard in trying to educate people,"
Davis
> said. "The railway industry, as well as the Federal Railroad
Administration
> and various state railroad agencies are puzzled as to why this is
> happening."
>
>       Daily Herald

Copley Papers
>
>      Trolley Museum extends into Blackhawk preserve
>
>          Grading is complete, poles to hold the trolley wire are in place,
> and track work has begun on the Fox River Trolley Museum's extension into
> Blackhawk Forest Preserve.
>
>          Work on the extension in St. Charles Township began almost as
soon
> as the snow melted, Edward Konecki, museum president, said.
>
>          As grading was done by Hilquist Bros. Excavating Inc. of Batavia,
> with trenching and culvert work by MIC Inc. of Batavia and soil testing by
> Applied Geo Science Inc. of Schaumburg, the museum entered into a contract
> with Swanson Construction Co. Inc. of Alsip to supply the rail, ties,
> switches and other material to construct the 2,700-foot extension, Konecki
> said.
>
>          The firm installed a switch near the south end of the existing
> museum mainline in April, along with 250 feet of track, which will be used
> as a staging area for completion of the extension.
>
>          Another contractor, Aldridge Electric Co. of Libertyville, in
late
> May installed the trackside poles from which the 600-volt DC wire will be
> hung. It supplies power to the museum's historic fleet of streetcars and
> interurban electric railway equipment.
>
>          Work to date has exhausted the $250,000 grant obtained from the
> state of Illinois through legislation sponsored by Sen. Doris Karpiel,
> R-Roselle.
>
>          "Museum volunteers will be working to continue construction into
> the forest preserve throughout the 2000 season," Konecki said. "The goal
is
> to open the extension at the beginning of our 2001 season."
>
>          Planning for the extension was done to preserve trees that have
> grown in recent decades in Blackhawk Forest Preserve on the site of the
> former Coleman family farm. The route goes through a former gravel pit
> using, in large part, right of way of the abandoned Illinois Central
> Railroad quarry spur.
>
>          "The extension is part of the Forest Preserve District's plan for
> habitat restoration in the Blackhawk Forest Preserve area in the form of
> prairie," Konecki said.
>
>          An additional goal is to keep the extension harmonious with
> history. The Coleman family operated a privately owned amusement park on
the
> site of Blackhawk Forest Preserve, complete with a music pavilion, a
> baseball diamond, areas for other games, a picnic grove and a boat landing
> on the Fox River, said Bruce Moffat, museum historian.
>
>          Coleman Grove, as the park was known until 1935, generated so
much
> passenger traffic for the Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric Co. trolley
> line that it had its own stop, Konecki said.
>
>          "The concept for the new Blackhawk Forest Preserve station is
> basically a re-creation of the turn-of-the-century Coleman Grove depot,"
he
> said. "We have pictures taken by (rail fan and photographer) Ed Frank. It
> was wooden, basically a three-side shelter."
>
>          Konecki said the museum is looking forward to the day when Fox
> River Line trains soon again will take riders to the picnic grove, as the
> trolley line's trains did more than 65 years ago.
>
>          "We think it's only appropriate," he said.
>
>          The Fox River Trolley Museum, 365 S. LaFox St., on Route 31 in
the
> village of South Elgin, is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization
> dedicated to preserving the colorful history of the Chicago-area's
electric
> railways.
>
>          It is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays and holidays from
mid-May
> through early November, and Saturdays throughout the months of July and
> August.
>
>          For information, or to become a member or charter a trolley, call
> (847) 697-4676.

Aurora Beacon News - Copley Papers

FYI - The smaller older of the two CB&Q roundhouses was converted into a
restaurant.
          The rest of the shops complex was converted into a Metra parking
lot.

>      Roundhouse serves as sweet resource for ESPN
>
>       By Mike Norbut
>       STAFF WRITER
>
>        Hour-long special: Program to air near one-year anniversary of
> Payton's death
>
>
>          AURORA - David and Teri Brost had never been to Walter Payton's
> Roundhouse before, so the New Lenox couple figured their 29-year
anniversary
> Monday would be a good time for a visit.
>
>          Yet they weren't surprised to find themselves sharing space in
the
> Walter Payton Museum with a television camera crew as they admired the
> impressive collection of Sweetness memorabilia.
>
>          "I just see through these pictures just how wonderful of a person
> he was," Teri said of the museum exhibits. "You get a chance to see him
with
> his family and his friends."
>
>          "We're talking about probably the greatest player to ever play
the
> game," David said. "And let's be honest. He had a way of bringing everyone
> together, and making everyone feel special."
>
>          Payton's personality and personal successes were what drew a crew
> from the ESPN television sports network to the Roundhouse on North
Broadway
> here Monday. The three-man team spent the afternoon capturing footage for
a
> new hour-long special on Payton as part of the network's SportsCentury
> series, a collection of documentaries about the world's most influential
> sports figures.
>
>          The network aired a half-hour special on Payton last year, but
> wanted to update it since the former Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running
back
> died last November of complications of a rare liver disorder. The special
> should air on both ESPN and ESPN Classic in October, shortly before the
> one-year anniversary of the legend's death, said Daniel Bernstein, a New
> York-based producer working on the project.
>
>          "When this aired originally, he was still alive," Bernstein said.
> "We're trying to update it and expand on it. Something he was very well
> known for is the Roundhouse. I've interviewed several people, and they all
> mention it."
>
>          More than anything, the Roundhouse represents Payton's successes
> after football, which will be a focus for the program, Bernstein said.
> However, shots of the memorabilia in the museum will come in handy as the
> crew looks for images to help "fill in the blanks," he said.
>
>          "We talk about Jarrett inducting his father into the Hall of
Fame,
> and his Hall of Fame jacket is here," Bernstein said. "We talk about him
> being a jokester, and there are photos here showing that. One of the
points
> I'm illuminating is Walter did not come from an era of multimillion-dollar
> contracts. So we want to show an example of his business successes."
>
>          Roundhouse owner Scott Ascher, Payton's former business partner,
> was happy to oblige the camera crew and eager to point out some of the
> museum's prized collections, along with the stories that went along with
> them. He also pointed out the museum's guest book, which he reads every
day.
>
>          "I believe nobody's looking for finality with the life of Walter
> Payton," Ascher said. "That's why they come here and sign this book.
People
> come here to talk to him."
>
>          Or about him.
>
>          "This special is what needs to be done, what should be done,"
> Bernstein said. "It's my pleasure if I can make a compelling hour about
such
> a compelling man."

> The following article was selected from the Internet Edition
> of the Chicago Tribune. To visit the site, point your browser
> to http://chicagotribune.com/.
> ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding----------------
>
>
> Article forwarded by: Edward Robert Sirovy
>
> Return e-mail: esirovy@...
>
>
> Comments:
> This locomotive was obtained in a trade with the Henry Ford Museum.
>
> ---Forwarded article----------------
> CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS, UNION SPIES TO RIDE RAILS AGAIN AT MUSEUM
>
> By Dave Barnes
>
>   In the midst of the Civil War, on April 12, 1862, a band of Union
> spies, deep in Confederate territory, stole a train outside Marietta,
> Ga., while its passengers and crew were having lunch in a nearby
> restaurant.
>
> The trainjackers' mission was to speed north, tearing up rails and
> burning bridges behind them. What ensued was a daring and dramatic
> chase, with Confederates in the locomotive "Texas" dogging and finally
> catching the Union train, which was being pulled by "The General."
> Some of the Union spies, including their leader, James Andrews, were
> hanged.
>
>     Some of the spies, known as Andrews' Raiders, were the first
> recipients of the Medal of Honor, established by Congress in 1862,
> although Andrews was ineligible because he was a civilian.
>
> For Henry Vincent, who is both an Illinois Railway Museum volunteer
> and Civil War re-enactor, Saturday's re-creation of "The Great
> Locomotive Chase" on the museum grounds in Union will mark the
> culmination of a year's planning.
>
> "We knew what we wanted to do, but we didn't know how to put it all
> together," said the retired Hampshire resident, who portrays Brig.
> Gen. John Brannan of the Union Army of the Cumberland when he's not
> volunteering in the museum's car department.
>
> Vincent and Jerome Kowalski, who will portray Maj. Gen. George H.
> Thomas, recruited more than 200 re-enactors to flesh out the day's
> events.
>
> "We'll have a force of about 25 Union soldiers holding off 125
> Confederates," Kowalski said. The cast also will include "worried
> mothers and grieving widows at the station and boys getting on the
> trains to go off to war," Kowalski said.
>
> Playing the part of the General will be the museum's own
> American-class locomotive, characterized by its configuration of four
> drive wheels behind a four-wheel pilot truck. Both the Texas and the
> General were American-class locomotives, but the museum's engine was
> built in 1915.
>
> "We can't have everything," Vincent said. "Even though it's newer, it
> should give the same feel to what we want to accomplish."
>
> Because the museum's locomotive is inoperative, the re-enactment will
> center on the period after the General ran out of fuel and water and
> coasted to a stop, to be stormed by Confederates.
>
> Other highlights will include artillery demonstrations and a
> presentation on the railroads' impact on the Civil War. The Civil War
> Day program will begin at 11 a.m., with the re-enactment of the
> General's capture scheduled for about 3 p.m.

From Toronto:



> The Globe and Mail

>       POSTED AT 5:28 PM EDT    Thursday, July 20
>
>       CN, Burlington terminate merger
>
>       By MELANIE SEAL
>       Globe and Mail Update
>
>
>       Canadian National Railway Co. and its proposed U.S. partner
terminated
> their merger Thursday after seeing their goal of creating North America's
> biggest railway stymied by a U.S. regulatory body.
>
>       The Montreal-based firm and Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
> Co. of Fort Worth, Tex. said in a joint statement that waiting for the
> $6-billion (U.S.) deal to be approved, which they said could take up to
> two-and-a-half years, was not in shareholders' best interests.
>
>       In late December, 1999, CN and BNSF announced their merger that
would
> create North American Railways. The new company would have been comprised
of
> an unparalleled 80,000-mile network, linking eight provinces and 33 U.S.
> central and western states with a work force of 67,000.
>
>       The deal was CN's second bold foray into the United States. In a
> $2.4-billion deal approved by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board in
> March, 1999, the Canadian company bought Chicago-based Illinois Central
> Corp., creating a rail network linking Canada's Atlantic and Pacific
coasts
> to the Gulf of Mexico.
>
>       But things were different a year later in March, 2000, when the same
> board imposed a 15-month moratorium on new rail mergers while it prepares
> new rail merger guidelines.
>
>       The CN-BNSF merger lost steam Monday when a U.S. Court of Appeals
> upheld the merger ban.
>
>       The ruling was a blow for the two companies that had hoped to
complete
> the move by August, 2001. Any regulatory decision on the transaction would
> unlikely be made before late 2002.
>
>       The two companies said Monday they would have to re-evaluate the
> railroad alliance.
>
>       "We had looked forward to creating a company that could have been
the
> leader in every aspect of the rail industry," Paul Tellier, president and
> chief executive officer of CN, said in a statement Thursday. "But the
delay
> and uncertainty caused by the STB's moratorium and proposed rule making
made
> it impossible for us to continue with our combination efforts."
>
>       The two companies said that they intended to continue to strengthen
> the ties that they have already established, and to go through with any
> improvements and efficiencies that were envisioned as part of the
alliance —
> as long as they can be realized by two separate entities.
>
>       There will be no breakup fees because the companies agreed to undo
the
> alliance.
>
>       BNSF operates one of the largest rail networks in North America,
with
> 54,000 kilometres of track covering 28 U.S. states and two provinces.
>
>       CN spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans
> to the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert,
B.C.,
> Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and key cities of
Toronto,
> Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, St. Louis, and Jackson, Miss., with
> connections to all points in North America.
>
>       Shares of CN closed down $1.85 (Canadian) to end at $44.40 on the
> Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday, while BNSF shares closed down 25 cents
> (U.S.) at $24.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Chicago Tribune
> ---Forwarded article----------------
> Riders halted in their tracks
>
> By Noah Isackson<br> and Courtney Challos
>
> An outbound Metra train sideswiped an inbound train just south of
> Union Station during rush hour Friday evening, injuring at least one
> person and frustrating more than 24,000 Metra and Amtrak riders, some
> of whom faced more than two-hour delays.
>
> About 5 p.m., a train bound for Orland Park clipped a car on a train
> arriving from Aurora on an adjacent track, said Metra spokesman Frank
> Malone.
>
> The trains were traveling at no more than 10 to 15 m.p.h., and all
> wheels remained on the tracks, he said. But the trains remained
> unmoved on the tracks for hours while Metra investigators examined the
> scene of the accident.
>
> "The collision was minor, but it's huge in terms of the inconvenience
> to passengers," Malone said from Union Station. "This is certainly a
> major disruption of our schedule."
>
> Metra officials had not yet determined how many people were injured,
> but Malone said all known injuries appeared to be minor. He theorized
> that many of the passengers on the inbound train might have been
> standing up and preparing to exit when the trains collided.
>
> One person was being treated late Friday at Northwestern Memorial
> Hospital. A nursing administrator could not provide information on the
> injuries.
>
> The accident occurred at a confluence of several tracks about 500 feet
> south of Union Station's south concourse. At that spot, the engine of
> the outbound train clipped an end car of the inbound train, said Metra
> spokesman Tom Miller.
>
> The resulting bottleneck in one of the station's most heavily traveled
> areas crippled schedules for the Heritage Corridor, SouthWest Service
> and Burlington Northern Santa Fe lines, Miller said.
>
> Investigators were at the site of the accident Friday but had yet to
> determine how or why trains traveling on parallel tracks managed to
> make contact.
>
> But such details seemed of minor concern to commuters Friday. For
> most, the real issue was how they would get home.
>
> Shortly after the first delays were announced, commuters spilled into
> the Union Station courtyards, lobbies and bars. Many grabbed their
> cell phones to tell friends and family that their weekend was on hold.
>
>
> Among the annoyed commuters was Leah Cipra, a legal secretary bound
> for Plainfield, who had planned to celebrate her 32nd birthday with
> her family Friday evening.
>
> "I'm frustrated," Cipra said with a long sigh. "I've been commuting
> for nine years, and I've never seen this station at a complete
> standstill."
>
> With fewer tracks in use, Cipra and others were forced to stew until
> Metra workers announced departures on bullhorns. With each
> announcement, crowds moved from gate to gate, rushing to get a seat.
>
> "I am so annoyed, I'm furious," said Maria Estrada, 27, of Summit,
> waiting for a train announcement. "I hope someone picked up my kid at
> day care."

> ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding----------------

> Metra trains collide at Union Station
>
> By Jill Blackman<br>and Michelle Collins
>
> Two Metra trains collided during the height of the afternoon rush hour
> today at Union Station, forcing major delays and cancellations for
> thousands of passengers. At least two people were injured, officials
> said.
>
> An outbound train headed for Orland Park and an inbound express train
> from Aurora grazed each other shortly before 5 p.m., Metra spokesman
> Frank Malone said. He called the incident a "low-speed collision," and
> that neither train was going any faster than 10 to 15 m.p.h.
>
> Malone said one woman suffered cuts on her arm and was taken to
> Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and that a man suffered minor
> injuries; Malone did not have the hospital where that passenger was
> taken.
>
> Malone said officials from Metra, Amtrak and Union Station are
> investigating what caused the collision, which an Amtrak spokeswoman
> said occurred at the Harrison Street interlock underneath the station.
>
>
> "We want to get to the bottom of this," Malone said. "This shouldn't
> happen."
>
> Passengers on the Orland Park-bound train were not able to leave Union
> Station until almost three hours after the incident occurred.
>
> At one point Orland Park-bound passengers were led to a train track,
> only to find out it was a track for an Aurora-bound train.
>
> "There was a sense of panic, because we didn't know where to go," said
> Michelle Romero of Worth, a passenger on the 4:57 p.m. Orland
> Park-bound train involved in the incident.
>
> Jim Ignacek of Oak Lawn, another passenger on the Orland Park train,
> described the collision.
>
> "You felt the force of the break," he said, "and then you felt the
> impact. And then the train went dark."
>
> Ignacek said passengers sat for about five or 10 minutes in the dark
> until he was told by Metra conductors that there was a collision. He
> said he then had to walk on the rails back to Union Station.
>
> Jessica Catalano of Chicago Ridge also was on the 4:57 p.m. train, and
> concurred that it took conductors about 10 minutes to inform
> passengers of the accident, and that the public-address system on the
> train did not work.
>
> Malone said "several hundred" passengers were on the Orland Park
> train; he did not have an estimate for the number of passengers on the
> inbound train.

Union Station
Subject: Chicago Tribune Photos



>
http://www.chicagotribune.com/multimedia/image/display/0,1224,33026-23483-1-
3,00.html

The bridge that carries 2 UP(CNW) and the WC lines over US14 is being
lifted!

  http://63.67.107.59/searchdata/36730/news/localcook/4rest.htm

There is already a chicago transit list that nobody puts anything in.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Duncan" <paulpatine@...>
To: <IlliniRail@egroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2000 9:21 AM
Subject: [IlliniRail] Metra List?


> I am soon going to be launching my own website, and
> was thinking of having a Metra, or Chicago area
> message board. I like e-mail lists, but prefer
> bulletin boards. My question is how many of you guys
> would like something like that?

Chicago Union Station air quality is an old story.
When the air rights were sold, the builders were required to put ventilation
towers in all their buildings above the tracks. These ventilation towers
have exhaust fans that pull the air thru plenums to the roof of each
skyscraper. This includes the now unused 1930s post office and the newest
post office. Control of this equipment is in the hands of the building
owners. As owners and chief engineers change, these systems are forgotten
about. (Whats this switch for? Doesn't seem too doo nothen.) Because Amtrak
personel have no control over this stuff, they forget about it to. The
systems may never have worked properly in the first place.

Constant can of worms!

From the All-Aboard list.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray Dunbar" <rdunbar@...>

> AA:
>
> Full link click >http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/poll25.html <
>
>                Summary:Excessive levels of a toxic compound were
>                detected this summer in
>                Union Station, where air quality has been a lingering
>                concern, the
>                Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
>
>                Officials at Amtrak, which owns the South Loop station
>                used by the
>                national railroad company and Metra, insisted that no
>                commuters or
>                employees were ever at serious risk from the high levels
>                of nitrogen
>                dioxide discovered last month.
>
>                The air quality, they said, improved significantly after
>                officials decided
>                to pump fresh air into engine cabs and stop
>                diesel-burning trains from
>                idling in the station.
>
>                "We found that there were some levels that were exceeding
>                [federal
>                Occupational Safety and Health Administration]
>                standards," said
>                Debbie Hare, an Amtrak spokeswoman. "But the exposure
>                level was
>                very minimal."
>
>                Tests revealed that levels of nitrogen dioxide--found in
>                diesel
>                emissions and known to aggravate respiratory illnesses
>                and
>                asthma--varied from less than one molecular part per
>                million to 10
>                parts per million, she said. The higher readings usually
>                lasted less
>                than a minute, and the exposure was limited to the engine
>                cabs and
>                areas of several platforms on the south end of the
>                station during
>                afternoon rush periods, she said.
>
>                OSHA's workplace regulations require that measurements
>                not exceed
>                an average of five parts per million over 15 minutes.
>                Outside the
>                workplace, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
>                requires that
>                levels not exceed an average of 0.05 parts per million
>                over a year.
>
>                Federal officials said there's no requirement that they
>                be notified in
>                such cases, and they're uncertain whether guidelines were
>                exceeded.
>
>                Either way, the nitrogen dioxide levels were a concern.
>
>
> --
> Ray Dunbar, AA List Manager
> Longview, TX

Wonder who these people are. Can we network?

> ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding----------------

> ---Forwarded article----------------
> TRANSIT IMPROVEMENTS OVERDUE, RESIDENTS SAY
>
> By Susan Kuczka
>
>   Road rage has become a popular term for the frustration displayed by
> motorists stuck in traffic. But on Wednesday, it was "bus rage"
> victims who were venting their anger with the public transportation
> system in the far north suburbs.
>
> "I have been horrified at how hard it is to get around," said Amy
> Parker, a Deerfield resident whose sentiments were echoed by many
> speakers during a two-hour public hearing in Waukegan.
>
>     The event was organized by a new statewide organization called the
> Campaign to Build Illinois Transit, a coalition of transit riders,
> labor groups and community organizations.
>
> The group is holding public hearings across Illinois to develop
> legislative proposals to take to Springfield this fall.
>
> A bipartisan group of state lawmakers from Lake County, including Sen.
> Terry Link (D-Vernon Hills) and Reps. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest),
> Sidney Mathias (R-Buffalo Grove) and Timothy Osmond (R-Antioch),
> attended the hearing at the Waukegan Public Library.
>
> Most people talked about the need for expanding transportation
> services throughout Lake County, especially near business corridors
> and commuter train stations where connections with bus service are
> sometimes difficult to make.
>
> "Our concerns are really that we need more funding and increased
> services, especially for seniors and the disabled," said Loretta
> Kristan, who runs a program for senior citizens in Waukegan Township.
>
> "Convenience is the key to any public transit proposal," said Jeri
> Monroe, a trustee in Long Grove, a community that has consistently
> supported public-transit projects that reduce the need for new
> roadways.
>
> "I think it's obvious to everybody that public transit needs to be
> expanded," said Peter P. Krupczak, vice president of administrative
> affairs for the College of Lake County in Grayslake.
>
> "There seems to be a willingness, but only if the private sector picks
> up the cost and bears the risk," said Krupczak, who complained about
> buses not coordinating their schedules with commuter trainsstations.
>
> "It would seem to me to be a very small adjustment in the
> [bus] schedule to have them come to the station," said
> Krupczak, who urged more evening transit services for students at the
> growing community college.
>
> In 2002 a University Center offering undergraduate and graduate
> degrees is scheduled to open at the campus, which will make the need
> for transportation even greater, Krupczak said.
>
> William Baltutis, executive director of the Transportation Management
> Association of Lake-Cook, which represents business interests, said
> that although transportation issues frequently get a lot of lip
> service, action is needed.
>
> "We need to move the issue of transportation to the front burner,"
> Baltutis told state lawmakers.
>
> The legislators in attendance seemed receptive to suggestions and
> offered a measure of hope.
>
> Mathias recalled the positive results that occurred when community
> activists and officials came together recently to fight for
> installation of a second track for Metra's North Central Line, for
> which funding was approved by a House Appropriations Committee in
> May.
>
> "When we all got together, we made it happen," he said.
>
> David Loveday, a spokesman for the Regional Transportation Authority,
> which oversees suburban bus operations provided by Pace, said the RTA
> is in the process of reviewing its service in Lake County.
>
> "We want to provide the best service we can," he said, noting the
> shuttle bus service provided between train stations and employers
> along Lake-Cook Road has been an unqualified success.

The minutes of the various Amtrak Reform Council Meetings Have finally been
placed on the ARC web site.

I urge all of you to read them with an open mind about the issues and the
participants.

  http://www.amtrakreformcouncil.gov/minutes.html

Mang goes for handcar world record - Lake Villa Review [07-27-00]
Mang goes for handcar world record
About seven years ago, while living in California, Lake Villa resident Gary
Mang ran across an old railroad handcar in the city of Yermo, where the
Union Pacific Railroad ran tracks.

The car, built in the 1920s, had seen much better days.

Mang, an employee of the Union Pacific Railroad, hauled the unwanted
railroad relic to his father’s house in Apple Valley, CA., to see if they
could rebuild it. And, to test the car, they installed 70 feet of track on
his father’s desert home property.

To keep the car as authentic as possible, Mang and his father did research
at railroad museums, libraries and historical societies.

Six months later, they had a shiny, refurbished railroad handcar that could
really fly. Problem: what to do with this esoteric toy that was so much fun
to operate. Racing the cars came to mind.

With much enthusiasm, Mang helped start various handcar races across the
country.

Two years ago, Mang, wife April and four children, moved to Lake Villa, when
he was transferred to Chicago to manage track maintenance for the Union
Pacific. He then helped to bolster the sport that he helped start before he
came.


Handcar races

On Aug. 20, the Union Pacific will sponsor the 6th Annual Railroad Handcar
Races on a 300-meter long railway course at Petersen Park in McHenry. Each
team will consist of four “pumpers” and one pusher. The two-time defending
champion Steel Horsemen from Proviso Township will compete in a 60-team
field.

Mang said there will be other area teams, as well as teams from California,
Utah, Nevada and Canada. Area railway teams work for the Union Pacific,
Wisconsin Central Railroad and others. Practice runs will be held on Aug. 12
and 19.

This year, said Mang, his Union Pacific team will attempt to break the world
record, of just under 22 seconds, set by a team in England in 1989.

“To break the record we'll have to get up to 21, 22 mph,” he said. Mang’s
team won a handcar invitational in Canada recently, “the first time an
American team has won in 22 years,” he said.

Mang’s team’s car was built by co-worker, Charlie Smale, a welder in the
maintenance department. The car, with some compromises on the historic
specifications, is 7-feet long, 56 inches wide, has 16-inch wheels (instead
of 20 inch) and weighs about 1,500 pounds.

Smale, working from historic photos, made the platform out of cedar and used
wrought iron for the hardware.

Between $10,000 and $12,000 in materials went into the car, which Smale
started in 1996 and completed in 1997, with help from coworker John
Plebanek. It has been in four races.

Railroad cars were used by railroad employees until the 1960s, when they
were replaced by motorized “speeders,” small, enclosed cabs on railroad
wheels. In the 1970s, railroads went to modified automobiles.


Teamwork

“People think you have to be big and muscular to pump these cars and it’s
not necessarily so,” said Mang. “What you have to have is teamwork. It’s the
synergy of everyone working with unity on every stroke. One year we had a
175-pound team come within a half second of winning the entire event.”

“It takes cardio, legs, back, and arms to make the cart go and keep it
going,” said Mang. “The cart is geared (at about a 4 to 1 ratio) and once
you get it up to full speed, it’s just momentum.”

But it’s the type of momentum, with two flying pump handles, one at each end
of the cart, that the pumpers have to stay in absolute sync with as the car
races down 300 meters of track.

The handcar races in McHenry serve several purposes. They raise money for
hospital charities; in the last five years the annual races have raised more
than $78,000 for hospital equipment, said Mang.

The races further appreciation of railroad history and the mechanical
components used over the years.

And the annual events, plus other races in Canada and the U.S., serve as
family functions, said Mang.

The competitive aspect has American handcar teams chasing a world record set
by a team in Great Britain. The record is also recorded in the Guiness Book
of World Records, Mang said.

Competition at Petersen Park runs from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is held in
categories for: Men’s Heavyweight (team average over 230 pounds); Men’s
Middleweight (under 230 pounds); Masters (over 40 years old); Women’s; Co-Ed
(two men and two women); and Rookie, for first-time racing teams.

To get to the free races at Petersen Park, take Route 120 west into McHenry,
turn north on Route 31 to McCullom Lake Road, and take a left to Petersen
Park Lane. Anyone interested in learning more about handcar racing may
contact Mang at 847-623-6155.

The suburban Star newspapers are owned by the Sun-Times

>      Officials feel 'left out' of high speed rail planning
>
>       Thursday, July 27, 2000

>
>       By Susan DeMar Lafferty
>
>       The Star
>       New Lenox, like other communities, is feeling "left out" of Amtrak's
> ambitious plan for a high-speed rail route that could go through the
> village.
>
>       Village officials said they found out only late Monday about the
> public hearings set for yesterday afternoon in Joliet regarding plans for
a
> $285 million High-Speed Rail (HSR) passenger service from Chicago to St.
> Louis.
>
>       The hearings were the first time they were given the opportunity to
> comment on the proposal. A second hearing is scheduled for tomorrow in
> downtown Chicago.
>
>       "We've been left out of the loop, like other communities," said
> Village Administrator Russ Loebe during Tuesday's village board meeting,
in
> which trustees discussed their stance on the plan.
>
>       The proposed service calls for 16 high-speed trains per day
traveling
> through the village at top speeds of 110 miles per hour. The Metra
commuter
> rail line, which runs from Chicago to New Lenox, is one of three proposed
> routes for this new rail service. Other options would be to use Metra's
> Heritage Corridor line through Lemont and Lockport, or the Illinois
Central
> tracks from Chicago south to Kankakee.
>
>       "I'm surprised the federal government has not been more forthright
in
> letting us know what is happening in our backyard," said Trustee Gary
> Mueller.
>
>       Mayor Mike Smith said the village "was not properly notified of any
> proceedings."
>
>       "We are not necessarily opposed to high speed rail, but we have a
lot
> of questions that have not been answered," he said. "They could have come
> here and made a presentation to us."
>
>       Village officials were questioning what impact the new service would
> have on the existing Metra commuter service, on the five at-grade
crossings
> in the village, and on their future plans for a bike/pedestrian trail
along
> Hickory Creek.
>
>       Additionally, they are wondering who will be paying to upgrade the
> crossings and install barrier medians or fencing along the rail route.
>
>       Representatives from the village were planning to voice these
concerns
> at yesterday's public hearing.
>
>       Board members decided not to pass a resolution opposing the HSR
> service, as other communities have done, but have sent a letter detailing
> their concerns.
>
>        Susan DeMar Lafferty may be reached at (708) 802-8806