Passenger Trains > The Amtrak Hiawatha and the Hop (and the CTA L too)

Earlier this weekend I rode a quick round trip from Chicago to Milwaukee.
(Thanks again to all those who responded to my Milwaukee station area question).

On Friday 10/11 I flew to O'Hare and rode the Blue Line L to downtown (Clinton St.) to get to Union Station.  On the way I like seeing those rail logos on the bridges - CN on the (ex-Soo Line?) bridge near the airport; C&NW closer into the city.  Anyway, the Blue Line was crowded with air passengers.  At Union Station I board Amtk #337 for Milwaukee; that train was crowded.  Once in Milwaukee I checked out The Hop streetcar. Here are some pics 
1. Just north of Union Station the train passes under this former truss bridge.  I couldn't tell if it is ex-rail or ex-road; all of the surrounding material has been removed.
2. The Hop shop in Milwaukee, under I-794
3. Hop route map at the Intermodal end-point.  The M-Line is in operation; the L-Line is shown on the map as a future overlap/extension.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/19 22:05 by casco17.

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4. Hop streetcar approaching Intermodal end point stop; the Amtrak/Greyhound (Intermodal) station is across the street at right.
5. Hop L-line loop track; I don't know when service is planned for this line
6. Hop Streetcar at Burns Commons, the east end of the line.  Lake Michigan is in the distance.

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7. Amtrak #332 at Milwaukee on Saturday morning.  There was a line of passengers who boarded, but it was not as crowded as the Friday afternoon train.
    There was an eastbound (southbound?) double-stack train on the right main, so the Amtrak train ran left main until Sturtevant, where it crossed over.
8. Ex-C&NW crossing at Mayfair.  Sure there are diamonds in L.A., but no multi-track crossings like this.
9. On time arrival at Chicago.

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10. Train status monitors.  Of the LD trains at least the Cardinal was forecasted to be on time.
I had some time to kill, so I rode the L; I chose the Green Line.  It's not easy to get pics with luggage in tow.
11. This northbound train (on what I think is/was the BRC) passes under the Green Line near Cicero station.
12. After riding back to the Clark/Lake station, I got this pic of a Blue Line construction announcement.  There was one station bypassed and some slow sections on Saturday; still the train got to O'Hare without too much delay.

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13. CTA Blue Line station at O'Hare.  For a big city airport I thought it worked pretty well; i had made this connection before.  They had people on site to provide information and free maps.
14. MTA Green Line at El Segundo.  After riding a noisy and well patronized system, I get back to L.A. with its much quieter and lightly patronized system.  Will ridership improve once the Crenshaw Line opens (2021) and People-Mover opens (2023)?  Time will tell. 

Thanks for viewing.

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Great photos and trip report, thanks for sharing.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe LA has more freeways than any other Metropolis in the US, which I believe is why other Metro areas like Chicago & New York have a greater dependency on Public Rail Transit.  I think LA Metro Rail will achieve "If you build it, they will come" with their rail transit lines, but unless the freeways crumble into history, then ridership will never be what it is elsewhere day to day.

The SB Hiawatha trains typically run 'wrong main' from Milwaukee to south of the General Mitchell Airport station due to the fact that there is only one platform on the east side of the tracks at the airport.

casco17 Wrote:
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> 1. Just north of Union Station the train passes
> under this former truss bridge.  I couldn't tell
> if it is ex-rail or ex-road; all of the
> surrounding material has been removed.

This bridge used to carry the Metropolitan West Side Elevated tracks over the steam railroads below (C&NW and Milwaukee Road). It has been repurposed as a signal bridge.
https://www.chicago-l.org/history/4line.html#Met

casco17 Wrote:
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> 11. This northbound train (on what I think is/was
> the BRC) passes under the Green Line near Cicero
> station.

Yes, this is the Belt Railway of Chicago. This line connects to the Canadian Pacific ex-Milwaukee Road about a mile north of this location.

In LA there is the multi track BNSF crossing of the UP San Pedro Branch at Hobart (former site of Hobart Tower).

MyfordBrowning Wrote:
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> In LA there is the multi track BNSF crossing of
> the UP San Pedro Branch at Hobart (former site of
> Hobart Tower).
Yes, along with the UP xing near DT Junction and further east near Norwalk Blvd.
I should have said multiple tracks with passenger trains on both routes, as both the ex-MILW and ex-C&NW have multiple tracks and both lines have passenger service, though I think the ex-C&NW is Metra commuter only (they are trains so they count).