Two and a half years after the closure of the last of its kind street-running 11th Street station, the station has returned to life this past week. The South Shore Line is one of the last interurbans left operating in the United States, and until 2021 retained one street-running section in Michigan City. However, as part of a project to upgrade the line the street-running section needed to be removed since, despite how interesting it may be to railfans, it is slow, dangerous, and single-tracked.
Train on the old street running section in Michigan City
After a long period of running shuttle buses, the street running alignment has been replaced by a double track alignment with a one-way street adjacent to it. Here is a typical section:
New dedicated ROW for the South Shore Line and the street running next to it
The station itself has been replaced with a new modern station with high-level platforms instead of crossing a lane of traffic:
Rebuilt 11th Street station
In addition to building new platforms, a new station building is planned, which will not only feature a parking garage and ground-level retail and a waiting area, but also feature apartments above the building.
On my trip to and from the station, we got to go fast. We were no longer crawling for two miles, but instead actually going fast. Boarding also was very quick thanks to the high platforms.
While most interurbans bit the dust decades ago, this one held on and has survived to today, and now is receiving some much-needed upgrades that will allow it to continue being a vital transportation artery for generations to come.
I have been following the Los Angeles Metro since about 2014. In 2014 they had a bunch of different construction projects queued up, and I was eagerly following them to the extent I could from the other side of the country. The first project to come to fruition since I started following them was the Expo Line (now E Line) Santa Monica Extension, which I got to ride only a few months after it opened.
Downtown Santa Monica, terminus of the Expo Line extension
One project that I was really excited about was the Regional Connector, a tunnel downtown which would bridge a gap in the light rail system. Prior to the Regional Connector, to get from a station on the Blue or Expo Line to the Gold Line, you had to take the Red or Purple Line, meaning that a trip from the Westside to Pasadena would require three trains. This obviously wasn’t an ideal situation and was never intended to be a permanent solution, but was the status quo for roughly two decades. However, that gap has now been bridged by the Regional Connector, which breaks the former Gold Line into two pieces and joins each piece with one of the lines coming out of 7th Street/Metro Center. Now we have the A Line from Long Beach to Azusa and the E Line from Santa Monica to East LA.
I immediately noticed the difference going from the Westside to Chinatown. Instead of a transfer at 7th Street/Metro Center and then another transfer that involves a long escalator and a lot of walking at Union Station, I could just change trains in the tunnel, saving me a lot of time and walking.
In addition to making getting around easier for people going across Los Angeles, this project also improves connectivity downtown by opening two new stations. The stations are, in my opinion at least, pretty impressive.
Platform at Little Tokyo
Entrance at Little Tokyo
Platform at Grand Ave Arts/Bunker Hill
Entrance at Grand Ave Arts/Bunker Hill
Platform at Historic Broadway
Entrance at Historic Broadway
In all, I’ve been waiting years for this to happen and am glad to see it come to life. A lot more is coming to the Los Angeles Metro in the coming years and I am excited to see it.
I am about halfway through photographing all of the stations on Metra right now. According to Wikipedia, there are 242 stations in the system, with two additional ones under construction. According to Flickr, I have photographed 120 of them so far (as of the time I write this there are three stations where I have the photos but haven’t uploaded them). My definition of a station may slightly differ from Wikipedia’s (for example I am counting Prairie Crossing on the North Central Service and Milwaukee District west as a single station), but regardless this puts me at about halfway done.
It certainly has been an adventure trying to photograph all of these stations when I don’t have a car. I was able to photograph the entire L system in about 2.5 years (and most of it was in 1.5 years after I moved here), but Metra is going to take a lot longer. For the L, the stops are mostly relatively close together, all lines run every day, and the frequencies are pretty good. Thus I was usually able to knock out 5-10 stations in a single expedition, using a combination of walking and trains between stations. However Metra isn’t so easy. For one thing, three lines don’t even run on weekends at all (I work a standard Monday-Friday schedule), so for those lines I’m limited to going during the week or finding alternate means to get to the stations. Then for the lines that do run on weekends, they run pretty sparse schedules, once an hour at best. Making things harder, way out in the suburbs the stations are often several miles apart and in many cases there isn’t any sidewalk or pedestrian path to take between them, limiting my ability to walk between them.
Despite these challenges, I have been able to get the photos I have so far. I was lucky enough that last summer, the Heritage Corridor offered promotional Saturday service, allowing me to photograph all but one of the stations on there (and the remaining one appears to be walkable from Joliet on the Rock Island District). I was also able to get a ride with a friend to photograph all of the stations on the SouthWest Service. The North Central Service will be more of a challenge, with so far only Antioch photographed (I took a day off work originally for another purpose but that ended up being cancelled, but since I still had the day off I took advantage of it being a sunny day).
For the other lines, I have used a combination of taking the train and walking long distances between stations where possible. For example there is a pedestrian trail between Ingleside and Fox Lake, allowing me to get those stations in one go. Also a lot of the stations closer to the city are in areas that do have sidewalks, allowing me to walk between them more easily (though it can still be a long walk).
Here are the tallies for each line, not counting the downtown terminus for each:
BNSF: 8 out of 25 (32%)
Heritage Corridor: 5 out of 6 (83%)
Metra Electric: 33 out of 48 (69%, including all stations within the Chicago city limits and on the South Chicago and Blue Island branches)
Milwaukee District/North: 6 out of 21 (29%)
Milwaukee District/West: 6 out of 21 (29%)
North Central Service: 2 out of 17 (12%)
Rock Island District: 15 out of 25 (60%, including all stations on the Beverly Branch)
SouthWest Service: 12 out of 12 (100%)
Union Pacific/North: 16 out of 26 (62%)
Union Pacific/West: 9 out of 22 (41%)
Union Pacific/West: 7 out of 18 (39%)
I have a lot more work to do for sure, but I’m getting there. I’ve got one line fully complete, only one station left on the Heritage Corridor, and four lines above halfway done. I also have photographed all of the stations on the South Shore Line, but will need to go back out there once Double Track is done to photograph the newer stations, and also once West Lake opens. Some of the stations are in Chicago city limits or inner suburbs and will allow me to walk between them, but some will require a combination of taking trains and walking. I’m not sure how I’ll get the stations on the North Central Service, but I’m sure I’ll make it work.
I traveled to San Francisco last week to meet up with some friends, and of course in the process took some photos of the new Muni Central Subway.
Formerly the T Third Street line after passing 4th and King continued along the Embarcadero and descended into a portal near Howard Street, continuing along the Market Street Subway and switching over to the K Ingleside. After the opening of the Central Subway, it now instead continues along 4th Street and descends into a tunnel at Bryant Street, continuing under 4th Street until crossing Market Street, then bends slightly north and continues under Stockton Street until reaching Washington Street and terminating there. Four new stations were built, one above-ground and three underground, with one station being a transfer to the Market Street Subway (both the other Muni Metro lines and BART) at Powell Street.
Actually getting these photos was an adventure since it was raining on and off the whole time, but I was able to get enough gaps in the rain at times I was able to get out with my camera to get the pictures I wanted. It also helped that a lot of the platforms were underground.
4th/Brannan looked pretty similar to the other above-ground stations on the T Third line with a high-level island platform in the street median with a ramp up at one end.
Platform at 4th/Brannan
The underground stations were all very deep, starting with Yerba Buena/Moscone.
Entrance at Yerba Buena/Moscone
Platform at Yerba Buena/Moscone
The line then interchanged with the Market Street Subway (including the other Muni Metro lines and BART) at Union Square (known as Powell on the other lines). They added some new entrances since this added a new (roughly) north-south platform in addition to the northeast-southwest one already there. The photo of the entrance was one of the only moments of sunlight I got on this trip.
New entrance in Union Square
Mezzanine above the Central Subway platform at Union Square (the Market Street Subway is at the end behind where I’m standing)
Central Subway platform at Union Square
It’s also worth noting how long the escalator ride down is, since it has to tunnel under both the Muni Metro and BART tracks:
Escalator down to the platform at Union Square
Finally the line continued a few more blocks under Stockton Street, ending at Chinatown – Rose Pak.
Entrance at Chinatown – Rose Pak
Platform at Chinatown – Rose Pak
Ridership on the new extension has apparently not been great, largely due to the fact that it isn’t that well connected with other bus and rail lines and it doesn’t actually go all that far. However, there are a number of proposals to extend the line further into the northwest part of San Francisco which currently doesn’t have any rail service. There were once proposals to run BART along Geary, but unfortunately none of those came to fruition. This subway could be the first step towards filling that gap and bringing rail to northeast San Francisco.
The architecture of the underground stations is pretty nice in my opinion. It’s definitely a lot more modern and impressive than a lot of the older systems, like what we have back in Chicago. I like that the stations are more open and pretty brightly lit, and the platforms are shiny compared to the dull concrete we have in Chicago. I hope that in the years to come they are well maintained and keep this appearance. Some of the older BART stations, like Embarcadero shown below, still maintain the bright and shiny appearance, so I have hope.
Platform at Embarcadero (taken in 2018)
In addition to the Central Subway project, the other big rail project in San Francisco right now is the electrification of Caltrain, the peninsula commuter rail line. I was able to take some photos of the new catenary system at San Bruno:
New overhead catenary at San Bruno
From their website, it looks like they hope to have electrification complete by the second half of this year, and electric passenger service starting second half of next year. This is exciting, and I hope that other commuter rail systems in the US consider electrifying as well.
I also got a bunch of other photos, but want to focus on one other. In 2017/2018 (the week around New Years), I was on the J Church and passed Mission Dolores Park. I noticed that there was a really good view of the skyline from that station, so I hopped off and got a picture:
San Francisco skyline from Mission Dolores Park in 2018
I liked how that picture came out, so I returned that evening for a nighttime picture:
San Francisco nighttime skyline from Mission Dolores Park in 2018
I was a little less satisfied with that picture. Due to a combination of a camera that wasn’t great for long distance night shots and my lack of skill with it, it didn’t come out as well as I wanted it to. When we decided we were going to San Francisco, I made plans to get a redo of that shot, and as luck would have it the first night we had enough of a break in the rain to make it happen:
San Francisco nighttime skyline from Mission Dolores Park in 2023
All things considered, I’m pretty satisfied with how that one turned out. It only took five years to get a chance to redo that shot, but I came back better than ever with a better camera and more knowledge on how to use it properly.
Another less dramatic change was the introduction of the new BART fleet. While the old trains are pretty worn out after their decades of service, the new ones are super sleek.
Old train on the left with a new train on the right
New train
New train interior
The new trains have a much more modern look to them, and they were quieter than the old ones too as an added bonus.
It was of course great reconnecting with friends, and it was great to see San Francisco again. I’m sure I’ll find myself there again someday.
It’s that wonderful time of year, where the Chicago L runs the Holiday Train! I was able to catch it on the Green Line (and apparently the Orange Line). I caught it heading west/south on the Green Line towards Cottage Grove:
At Kedzie
Inside, it was decked out for Christmas:
Inside the Holiday Train
We then headed down to Cottage Grove, where I got some exterior pictures as they turned the train around:
Back of the Holiday Train at Cottage Grove
Santa flatcar
The train then headed back towards downtown, but then at Roosevelt they announced that instead of continuing back towards Harlem/Lake it would turn into an Orange Line train, running around the loop then heading out towards Midway. That was an unexpected twist of events.
At Midway
At Midway
Santa flatcar at Midway
At Midway, the train sat on the yard platform for a while, then was moved into the yard to end its run for the day.
It’s always nice to see some Christmas spirit on the CTA. It’s also a nice touch for something so many of us rely on every day. Christmas season has begun.
On October 1, 1947, the Chicago Transit Authority was formed, taking over operations for city buses, streetcars, and rapid transit lines. Today marks the 75th anniversary, and to mark that occasion, they ran several old railcars and buses in the Loop today.
First, I got to Daley Plaza around 8:45am so I could get a ticket on the first train. Not only did I get a ticket, I also scored a 75th anniversary pin and two awesome posters. The main boarding location was Clark/Lake, and the first railcar to arrive was a 4000 series train:
CTA 4272 at Clark/Lake
Then came the train I was booked on, a 6000 series:
CTA 6712, approaching Clark/Lake
I then got to take a ride around the Loop in that car:
Interior of CTA 6712
After that, I was able to ride on a 2400 series train:
CTA 2455 arriving at Clark/Lake
I took that train around the Loop as well. The 2400 series felt a lot more familiar, not being all that different (at least from a passenger point of view) from the 2600 and 3200 series we still use today.
CTA 2489 interior
After returning to Clark/Lake a second time, I photographed trains from the other platform:
CTA 4271 at Clark/Lake
CTA 6711 at Clark/Lake
I then finally was able to catch a ride on the 4000 series train:
CTA 4000 series interior
I then returned to Clark/Lake yet again and photographed the 2400 series train and the 4000 series train together:
2400 series and 4000 series trains together at Clark/Lake
Then I headed over to Quincy to photograph the historic trains in the context of the one station that has retained its historic appearance.
CTA 2490 at Quincy
CTA 4271 at Quincy
CTA 6711 at Quincy
Then, I rounded out the day taking an old bus, GMC 301, around downtown from Daley Plaza:
CTA 301 at Daley Plaza
They also had bus 3706 on static display in Daley Plaza:
CTA 3706 in Daley Plaza
All in all cool to see. It’s a reminder of everything that it took to get us to where we are now. We are now awaiting the 7000 series L cars which will result in the retirement of the 2600 and 3200 series, and I guess that means the next time they do an event like this those will be part of their heritage fleet. Here’s to another 75 years of the CTA.
I recently had the good fortune of being able to take a vacation to Toronto. The chief reason I took this trip when I did was because Line 3 of the Toronto Subway, also known as the Scarborough RT, is closing soon.
For some context, here is a map of the Toronto Subway as of the time I post this:
Toronto Subway map (from TTC)
Line 3 is that short blue one way off to the east. It serves Scarborough, a suburban part of Toronto, Unlike Lines 1, 2, and 4, which run conventional rapid transit equipment mostly underground, Line 3 runs smaller automated railcars powered by linear induction motors and is fully above-ground. The idea was that since Scarborough was a lower-density area than most of the rest of the Toronto Subway service area, they would use a somewhat “lighter” technology that cost less to operate and maintain.
The route is only six stations over four miles, and is entirely suburban, requiring a connection at Kennedy to reach downtown Toronto. Additionally, the ridership is very low compared to the rest of the system, with only one station besides Kennedy (Scarborough Centre) ranking better than 40th out of 75 among subway stations.
Owing to the fact that the line currently has fairly low ridership, operates different technology than the rest of the subway, and the fixed infrastructure and rolling stock are old enough that they all would need to be majorly overhauled or replaced entirely, the government of Ontario has decided to replace it with an extension of Line 2. The extended Line 2 would cut farther east to a more residential area instead of the current industrial corridor seen between Ellesmere and Kennedy.
I wanted to see what was there before it’s lost to time, so here’s what I found:
Interior of a train
Train departing Kennedy
Train at Kennedy
The design of the stations definitely looked pretty dated. There hasn’t been much change since they opened in 1985, and you can definitely see that in their design. I also was delayed because of mechanical problems at Kennedy, reflective of the issues the line faces right now.
Scarborough Centre
Entrance at Scarborough Centre
Scarborough Centre was definitely the most active part of the line. I actually saw a good number of people getting on here. It’s right next to the Scarborough Town Centre shopping mall, and also has a number of connections with TTC and GO buses. This is the only station (other than Kennedy) that will be served in approximately the same location by the Line 2 extension.
Entrance at Ellesmere
Other entrance at Ellesmere
Platform at Ellesmere
Ellesmere is the lowest ridership station in the entire Toronto Subway system, and I could see why. It’s pretty isolated, and it doesn’t even directly connect with Ellesmere Road (which bypasses the station on the overpass). There really isn’t anything around the station.
Platform at Lawrence East
Entrance at Lawrence East
Lawrence East also felt somewhat isolated, but not as bad as Ellesmere. It helps that it has a bus connection on Lawrence.
McCowan
McCowan
Platform at McCowan
I’m surprised McCowan doesn’t have higher ridership numbers, given that it’s located in what looks to be a reasonably high density area with several bus connections. I guess this can be attributed partly to its proximity to Scarborough Centre.
Entrance at Midland
Platform at Midland
Midland, on the other hand, doesn’t surprise me it has low ridership (second lowest in the entire system after Ellesmere). It only has one bus connection and appears to be in a fairly low density area without any major housing or employment centers or other destinations nearby.
With all this, it makes sense why they’re replacing this with an extension of Line 2 and rerouting it. The current train mainly just serves commuters from the Scarborough Centre area heading to Kennedy, and they have to make a transfer there, while a Line 2 extension would eliminate that transfer. The rerouting will also hopefully attract more passengers by going through a residential area instead of an industrial one. Of course avoiding having one short line that’s incompatible with the rest of the system (increasing maintenance costs and adding operational complexity) will also be a good thing. However, it is a shame that the residents of Scarborough will have to go roughly seven years without rail service between when Line 3 closes and the Line 2 extension opens.
As promised in my earlier photo set on demolition in Miller Beach (Gary), here is a photo set of all the demolition in Michigan City. I originally was planning to do this in March or April after all the snow melts, but the construction schedule forced a change of schedule. It looks like they’re planning on starting new construction on 11th Street right at the beginning of March, and I wanted to photograph everything after demolition was (mostly) completed but no new construction had started. As a result, there were a few buildings left standing that will be demolished in the future and there is a bunch of snow in my pictures.
Unlike Miller where only a few buildings near the station were demolished to make way for station expansion and a new parking lot, the demolition in Michigan City was widespread. They are moving from the current alignment of a single track down the middle of 10th and 11th Streets to a double track alignment adjacent to a one-way street, repurposing the southern (eastbound) lane to take the place of a second track. As part of the process, a number of buildings need to be demolished. Additionally the area north of 11th Street between Franklin and Pine Streets is being demolished to allow building a new parking garage and station building. As a result, there were a large number of houses and other buildings that needed to be demolished.
Additionally, to my knowledge, only commercial properties were demolished in Miller. However most of the buildings demolished in Michigan City were homes.
I did my best to capture as many homes as possible before demolition, but I didn’t really make concrete plans for this project until after some demolition had already begun so in a good number of these I am missing the “before” photo. Due to the large number of buildings, I don’t have much to say for most of these, just pictures.
Without further ado, I present the Requiem for Northwest Indiana, Part 2: Michigan City. This is without a doubt the longest post I have ever made here.
716 E 11th St
Before demolition
After demolition
523 E 11th St
After demolition (from a side street)
517 E 11th St
Before demolition
After demolition
After demolition (from the back)
513 E 11th St
Before demolition
Before demolition
Before demolition
After demolition
After demolition
509 E 11th St
Rear view
505 E 11th St
This house is still standing but will be demolished soon.
Back of the house
Front of the house
501 E 11th St
416 E Main St
1102 Cedar St (First Christian Church)
This site used to house the First Christian Church. This is by far the biggest building that was demolished, it was nearly a whole block long by itself. It is also used on Wikipedia (as of the time I write this) as the headline image in the article about the South Shore Line.
For those not aware, the South Shore Line is currently undertaking a major project to double track the line from Gary to Michigan City (currently mostly a single track) and make a number of other improvements to the line, including improving access and parking to stations, making most stations accessible to passengers with disabilities, increasing speeds, and other things. However, as is often the case with major public works projects, there are property impacts. Specifically, buildings near the Miller station (in Miller Beach, Gary), Portage/Ogden Dunes station, and all along 10th and 11th Streets in Michigan City need to be demolished to allow for the construction.
I have been undertaking a major project to catalog the construction, and as part of that I have been photographing as many buildings as I can before and after demolition. New construction hasn’t started yet, but demolition is mostly complete, giving a strange intermediate state with a lot of empty land full of what once was. This is a grim reminder of that progress always comes at a cost.
I thus present the Requiem for Northwest Indiana. This is part 1, specifically focused on the area around the Miller station.
For this photo set, I took the train out to Miller and arrived just before noon. This was my first time traveling out there in the snow (and thanks to the snow last week there was quite a lot). I got off the train at a snowy station:
Miller station in the snow
And now, I present the buildings that were lost.
Warehouse
The largest structure demolished as part of this process was a warehouse. This barn had been seized by eminent domain before I photographed it and judging by the condition was probably already abandoned well before then.
Warehouse before demolition from the west
Another view of the warehouse before demolition from the northwest
The demolition was still in progress, but most of the walls had been demolished by this point.
Warehouse during demolition from the north
Warehouse during demolition from the west
Barn
There was a barn nearby that also had been slated for demolition. I have no idea what the barn was used for or who owned it. I also imagine this had been abandoned for quite a while before I photographed it.
Barn before demolition
Empty lot after demolition from the north (the fence is no longer there either)
Empty lot from the south
Roxxy’s
Roxxy’s was a bar along the Dunes Highway. According to Google Maps it celebrated its 75th birthday relatively recently (the picture was uploaded in April 2019). I actually had to submit an update to Google to explain that the business was now gone (for my “proof” I gave one of the pictures below).
Roxxy’s before demolition
Same view of Roxxy’s after demolition
View from the side of the former site of Roxxy’s
M&M Beauty Supply
Just south of Roxxy’s was the M&M Beauty Supply. According to Google Maps, they have a few other locations in/around Gary. The building itself was demolished, but the sign remained, at least for the time being. As I did with Roxxy’s, I had to submit an update to Google Maps explaining that this location no longer existed.
M&M Beauty Supply before demolition
Another view of M&M Beauty Supply before demolition
In this case, I was able to pretty closely mirror the viewpoints of the “before” pictures (I did not have the pictures with me when doing this photo set).
M&M Beauty Supply lot after demolition
M&M Beauty Supply lot after demolition
Garage
At about 5811 US-12, there was some sort of garage building that also looked like it had been abandoned well before I got there. I do not know what used to be there, unfortunately.
Garage at 5811 US-12 from the north before demolition
Garage at 5811 US-12 from the southwest before demolition
Empty lot where the garage used to stand from the north
Empty lot where the garage used to stand from the south
Porky’s Pit
Next to the garage was Porky’s Pit, a barbecue place which also appeared to be abandoned before I started my “before” pictures.
Porky’s Pit prior to demolition from the north
Empty lot where Porky’s Pit used to stand after demolition from the north
Empty lot where Porky’s Pit used to stand after demolition from the south
Empty Lots West of Lake Street
Next to Porky’s were two empty lots that were still empty before I started. They were overgrown at the time but it looks like they’ve been cleared.
Empty lots west of Lake Street from the north before land clearing
Empty lots west of Lake Street from the north after land clearing
Empty lots west of Lake Street from the south after land clearing
With all of this, demolition in Miller Beach is mostly complete. New construction will start soon, and it will be interesting to see what develops. However we cannot lost sight of what was lost in the process.
In March or April (once all this snow melts), I’ll continue this project in photographing all the demolished buildings in Michigan City.
At long last, I have photographed all 145 stations on the Chicago L! If you just want to see the pictures and not read the rest of this post, check them out here.
My first published photo was taken on March 9, 2019 at Adams/Wabash:
Photo at Adams/Wabash
…and my last published photo to complete the set was taken at Morgan on November 6, 2021:
Photo at Morgan
This was a really fun project, even if exhausting at times, especially near the end where I was trying to finish before it started snowing and we were less likely to get clear skies so I had to take advantage of the chances I got. This involved a lot of days getting up, eating breakfast, loading a day pass onto my Ventra card, and heading out the door to the Red Line then spending most of the day out on the train in parts of the city far from home and ending the day with an hour or two of sorting photos and choosing which ones to upload.
In the course of this project I really came to appreciate the diverse nature of the system. It ranges from utilitarian like Bryn Mawr (for now) to very old-fashioned like Ashland (Green Line) and Quincy to modern like Washington/Wabash and Wilson and everything in between. Meanwhile, the track structures range from elevated to embankment to ground-level to freeway median to open-cut to tunnels. Adding to that, the scenery ranges from industrial to suburban to medium density to ultra-high density as well. Really a big mix of everything.
This project also was a really cool way to experience the city, since I didn’t just go to the stations and take some photos and leave, but instead often walked between adjacent stations and on occasion got lunch on the go (best one was Italian Beef at Nicky’s near 35th/Archer). Walking through the neighborhoods really helped me get a good feel for the area. This also helped me improve my photography skills and figure out more about what conditions are/aren’t good and which techniques work and which ones don’t.
Going forward, I do have a few gaps to fill, between certain parts of stations I couldn’t/forgot to get to for various reasons or stations that received significant changes since I originally photographed them (for example, the three Blue Line stations under Milwaukee Avenue received new flooring). I’ll hit those as I have time, but am not in any hurry. I also of course will continue photographing the ongoing construction in my part of the city. I want to photograph Metra stations (I already have photographed all the stations on the South Shore Line), but am in less of a hurry to do that. After all, Metra doesn’t run anywhere near as frequently as the L does (and some lines don’t run on weekends at all).
