Category: Chicago

After just under six years, I have photographed all 243 stations on the Metra system, finishing off with McHenry. Anyone interested in seeing the photos can find them on this site.

On March 12, 2019, I unknowingly started what would end up being a nearly six year long project. As part of a spring break trip to Chicago, I took a picture of Millennium Station on the way to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. I also took pictures of a few other stations on the Metra Electric District and Union Station on that trip. I didn’t at the time intend for this to be part of any sort of project, just a one-off railfan photo set.

After that trip I had a very strong desire to move Chicago, and a year later I would realize that desire after getting a job here. My original railfan ambitions were just to photograph all the L stations, but once I finished that in 2021, I set my sights a bit higher and decided to photograph all the Metra stations. It was certainly a much bigger challenge, since Metra runs a lot less frequently than the L with stations much farther apart and often lacking pedestrian infrastructure. Making it even more challenging is that not all of the stations have weekend service (I work Monday-Friday), so I had to devise some interesting ways to get to those stations.

Even for the stations with weekend service, getting to them was not always easy. I spent a lot of time waiting at stations for trains only running every one or two hours, walked many miles on suburban roads and trails between far-apart stations, picked up many diet cokes and chocolate milks at convenience stores near stations, and ate many meals at restaurants throughout the suburbs. Now, for some highlights:

Rails, Trails, and Ales

The Heritage Corridor doesn’t normally run on weekends, but the past few summers or falls, they have run promotional Saturday service to provide access to the natural areas near the line. I took advantage of this service to photograph the stations along the line, taking a few separate rides and walking long distances on the suburban streets, and riding a few Pace bus routes.

Rental car for the North Central Service

To visit the stations on the North Central Service, other than one time I had a day off work and rode out to Antioch, I rented a car to get to the various stations. I photographed every station from Prospect Heights to Lake Villa in one very long day trip with a rental car I picked up at O’Hare, and then also photographed a few stations on the Milwaukee District/North Line along the way.

SouthWest Service

For the SouthWest Service, a fellow railfan with a car expressed interest in joining me for a day of Metra photography, so we went to all 12 stations from Wrightwood to Manhattan in one afternoon.

Station (re)openings

I was also able to attend the opening celebrations of a few stations along the way. Peterson/Ridge was the big one, being a new infill station along the Union Pacific/North Line to provide service to the western part of Edgewater.

I also was able to attend the opening celebration at 147th Street/Sibley Boulevard on the Metra Electric District in Harvey. The station was completely rebuilt over the course of two years. While the station had reopened earlier in the week, I was there for the opening celebration.

Other random highlights

27th Street: unpleasant street access

27th Street definitely wins the award for worst entrance. I don’t normally do videos, but the entrance was so ridiculous that I needed to take a video to show just how obnoxious it was to get from the street to the platform.

2023 Canadian wildfires

I also had an interesting experience photographing a few Union Pacific/North Line stations during the 2023 Canadian wildfires. The smoke in the air certainly gave a unique effect. Notice that there are still clear shadows and bright colors, but the sky is a dull gray.

O’Hare Transfer: a missed opportunity

O’Hare Transfer seems like a major missed opportunity. It’s right next to an extremely busy airport, but the service is very infrequent and the connectivity to the airport really isn’t great. First you have to take the ATS out to the parking garage, and then walk outside a decent way to get to the Metra platforms. If they could find a way to improve connectivity and run much more frequent service, maybe something similar to the Union Pearson Express in Toronto, that would make Metra a much more attractive option to get downtown. Currently, if you factor in the time on the ATS and how long you’ll spend waiting for a train, the Blue Line is almost always the superior option.

CPKC Final Spike Tour

In May 2024, CPKC brought out their steam locomotive as part of a tour. The Chicago leg of the tour was at the Franklin Park station, so I headed out there with a few friends to go see it.

Looking forward

There is more Metra to photograph going forwards. Pretty soon, the Auburn Park station will open, and in a few years we will hopefully see three new stations on the Milwaukee District/West on the Rockford extension. We also will see a few new stations on the South Shore Line this year as part of the West Lake Corridor. In addition to all that, there are a number of ongoing and planned station rebuilds and renovations, so I’ll be out to photograph those as they finish and time permits.

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.

Here are a few photos I’ve gotten so far:

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:

Inside, it was decked out for Christmas:

We then headed down to Cottage Grove, where I got some exterior pictures as they turned the train around:

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, 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:

Then came the train I was booked on, a 6000 series:

I then got to take a ride around the Loop in that car:

After that, I was able to ride on a 2400 series train:

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.

After returning to Clark/Lake a second time, I photographed trains from the other platform:

I then finally was able to catch a ride on the 4000 series train:

I then returned to Clark/Lake yet again and photographed the 2400 series train and the 4000 series train together:

Then I headed over to Quincy to photograph the historic trains in the context of the one station that has retained its historic appearance.

Then, I rounded out the day taking an old bus, GMC 301, around downtown from Daley Plaza:

They also had bus 3706 on static display 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.

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:

…and my last published photo to complete the set was taken at Morgan on November 6, 2021:

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).

I have now photographed every station on five of the eight lines of the L: Blue, Brown, Orange, Purple, and Yellow! Of the three remaining lines I have eleven stations left if I’m counting correctly.

My most recent expedition was to photograph the rest of the Blue Line, and in keeping with the blue theme the sky also was a very deep blue. I photographed the rest of the Congress Branch:

In particular I got one very nice photo at UIC-Halsted, juxtaposing the station with the downtown skyline:

I also photographed Washington, which somehow I had never photographed all this time despite its central location:

I also photographed two abandoned stations along the Congress Branch in the process:

Then I headed up to Logan Square to get lunch, and on the way home photographed the new flooring at Chicago:

Compare this to the flooring in 2019:

Definitely an improvement, looked like they were doing the same thing at Grand and Division too.

Honestly not much more to say, this was just a status update and some more pictures. Eleven stations to go if I’m counting correct, and I’ll hopefully get them done in short order.

My ongoing project to photograph the Chicago L unofficially started on March 9, 2019, when I took a spring break trip to the city, unaware I’d live there a year and a half later. The first photo taken in Chicago (at least that I deemed worth publishing) is this one, of the entrance to Millennium Station:

Interestingly, the first four train stations I photographed in Chicago were all Metra, on March 9, 2019: Millennium Station, McCormick Place, 55th-56th-57th Street, and Museum Campus/11th Street. The situation there was I was going to the Museum of Science and Industry but stopped at McCormick Place along the way to photograph it, and then headed back to 11th Street to visit the Field Museum. The first photo I took and deemed worthy of publication on the L was at Adams/Wabash:

The date on Flickr is listed as March 10, but it was actually taken very late on March 9 since my camera was still set on Eastern Time due to coming from Cleveland. Little did I know that this would start my most ambitious photography project so far. I photographed a number of stations in/near downtown as part of that trip, and then returned to Cleveland.

In December 2020 I flew out to Chicago to interview for the company that ended up hiring me, and photographed two stations: O’Hare (where I flew in) and Chicago (Red) (near my hotel).

In March 2020, I had been hired for my current job in Chicago and came back to visit apartments. At that point I knew I would be moving here and had in the back of my mind that I eventually wanted to photograph all the L stations. I stayed in Rogers Park (near Morse) and toured apartments all over the north side. I photographed a number of stations in the process, but knew I would come back.

Since then, I have photographed all but about 25 stations. I have photographed all stations on the Loop, North Side Main, Ravenswood Branch, State Subway, Kennedy/O’Hare Branch, Evanston Branch, Skokie Branch, Englewood/Ashland Branch, and Jackson Park/East 63rd Branch. I also have photographed all but one station on the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway and at least half of the stations on the Dan Ryan Branch, Cermak Branch, South Side Elevated, and Congress Branch. The big ones remaining are the Lake Street Elevated (just under half done) and Midway Branch. I am taking advantage of every good weather opportunity I get, so with any luck I will have this in the bag soon. If not, I’m not in any hurry. Once this is done, it will be without a doubt my most ambitious photography project so far.

I’m not sure what will come next – maybe photographing as much of Metra as I can? I’m not sure how realistic photographing every Metra station is given that there are over 200 of them and Metra doesn’t run anywhere near as frequently as the L (I don’t have a car) and some lines don’t run at at all on weekends.