CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - 10 DEC 2021

Chicagoland is no stranger to the term "superhighway", whether it be in reference to the Interstate Highway system or its predecessor on rails. With dozens of lines radiating out of the city-on-the-lake, Chicago is the most important railway hub in the world!

While Chicago holds this title largely thanks to the huge volumes of freight traffic being moved into, out of and through the city, it also remains a passenger rail hub, including most of Amtrak's long-distance intercity services and the commuter network known as Metra.

Heading west out of the dense urban core, BNSF's Chicago Subdivision has no fewer than three tracks all the way to the distant suburb of Aurora. With 97 Metra trains on the pre-pandemic timetable, plus dozens of repositioning moves and plenty of BNSF freight traffic mixed in, this stretch of railroad has long been known as the "Racetrack" for its ability to run train after train, often side-by-side.

In this edition of the Thornapple River Rail Series, we'll document this incredible railroad as it has never been done before, including scenes from all 26 stations, along with many more points in between. We'll cover the timetable, track diagrams (see link nearby) and history while enjoying over 250 freight and passenger trains, representing all kinds of different operations on this stretch of railroad.

This is BNSF's Metra Racetrack, a Railroad Superhighway, presented by the Thornapple River Rail Series.

LOCATIONS/CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
4:51 Big Rock
7:01 Somonauk
7:58 Sandwich
10:17 Plano
12:50 Bristol
14:46 Sugar Grove
15:49 Aurora, Downtown
16:38 CB&Q and Metra History
20:02 Aurora, Hill Yard
26:54 Eola
30:08 Route 59
34:00 Naperville
45:05 Lisle
49:11 Belmont
53:18 Downers Grove
58:47 Fairview Ave
1:02:52 Westmont
1:11:10 Clarendon Hills
1:18:31 West Hinsdale
1:22:58 Hinsdale
1:27:42 Highlands
1:29:19 Western Springs
1:35:05 Stone Ave
1:38:48 LaGrange
1:45:24 Congress Park
1:50:53 Brookfield
1:57:39 Hollywood
2:02:48 Riverside
2:05:52 Harlem Ave
2:10:02 Berwyn
2:15:14 LaVergne
2:23:29 Cicero
2:30:30 Western Ave
2:33:23 Halsted St
2:37:55 Canal St Wye
2:45:53 Roosevelt Road
2:59:15 Polk Street
3:10:12 Union Station

TIMETABLES
Pre-Pandemic: https://flic.kr/p/2mRvcVG
Pandemic: https://flic.kr/p/2mRt9wF

TRACK DIAGRAM - for all of the trackage seen in this documentary, I have created a companion diagram with all of the signals and switches shown, including all of Union Station.

Direct-download the full-size graphic at this link: https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/5...
Or, view on Flickr here: https://flic.kr/p/2mRsXpF

Thanks for watching! Make sure to leave a like and subscribe, for more from the Thornapple River Rail Series! Your support keeps this channel rolling – don’t forget to leave your thoughts and questions in the comments below!

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Videography Equipment:
- Primary: Sony FDR-AX53 4K Camcorder
- Radio Scanner: Uniden Bearcat BC125AT
- Edited with: Cyberlink PowerDirector 16

Created by Alex Christmas. Copyright 2021, as the Thornapple River Rail Series, All Rights Reserved