Passenger Trains > Metra Lunch Break at Clinton Street

Today saw the first sunshine of the New Year in Chicago. I took advantage of the extreme blue conditions and trekked over to the Clinton Street crossing of the Metra tracks just west of Union Station. In a few minutes, I was rewarded with trains led by three different locomotive models.
1. Metra F59PH 99 leading the 12:30 Milwaukee West departure for Elgin.
2. Metra MP36PH-2 401 leading an empty train to the Western Avenue Yard.
3. Metra F40PH-3 124 leading the 12:35 Milwaukee Norrth departure for Fox Lake

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Here's that repatriated ex-CNW gallery car behind the 124. It had spent several years on the Virginia Rail Express after retirement from Metra. With severe equipment shortages, Metra has repurchased several of these cars.

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GREAT Metra shots, Kevin!  And nice car variety too.

-Tom

Was a very blue day and highlights the Metra's well.
Bob

That car belongs up on the bridge!  LOL!

kevink Wrote:
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> Here's that repatriated ex-CNW gallery car behind
> the 124. It had spent several years on the
> Virginia Rail Express after retirement from Metra.
> With severe equipment shortages, Metra has
> repurchased several of these cars.

Actually, this car was sold to the Maryland Mass Transit Administration (MARC) and then sold back to Metra.  Note the reflective stripe panel on the end sheet.  For some reason Metra did not take off the MARC orange and blue reflective panels on the end sheets.  The VRE cars do not have that feature.

SilverPeakRail Wrote:
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> kevink Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Here's that repatriated ex-CNW gallery car
> behind
> > the 124. It had spent several years on the
> > Virginia Rail Express after retirement from
> Metra.
> > With severe equipment shortages, Metra has
> > repurchased several of these cars.
>
> Actually, this car was sold to the Maryland Mass
> Transit Administration (MARC) and then sold back
> to Metra.  Note the reflective stripe panel on
> the end sheet.  For some reason Metra did not
> take off the MARC orange and blue reflective
> panels on the end sheets.  The VRE cars do not
> have that feature.

They were odd birds on the MARC system and captive to the Brunswick Line, which has no high-level platforms.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

Like to see Metra paint one yellow and green like they did the Club car.

SilverPeakRail Wrote:
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> Actually, this car was sold to the Maryland Mass
> Transit Administration (MARC) and then sold back
> to Metra.  Note the reflective stripe panel on
> the end sheet.  For some reason Metra did not
> take off the MARC orange and blue reflective
> panels on the end sheets.  The VRE cars do not
> have that feature.

Thanks for the correction. I had forgotten about the cars that went to MARC.

Posted from iPhone

joemvcnj Wrote:
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> Like to see Metra paint one yellow and green like
> they did the Club car.

After seeing what they did with the 405 https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4702608, I’ll stop saying it’ll never happen. In the meantime, we still have a complete set including the locomotive at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/19 09:32 by kevink.

For my money, I like the F40's looks the best. Sure miss them on Amtrak.

irhoghead Wrote:
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> For my money, I like the F40's looks the best.
> Sure miss them on Amtrak.

That's funny because when they were on Amtrak all we heard was how you guys hated them because they were so noisy and that they rode rough.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder?