RAILFAN GUIDES of the U.S.

 

Todd and Denver Todd's Railfan Guide to
ELMHURST IL
 

In General
Getting Here
Map
Sights
Pictures
Floobydust
 


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In General

Elmhurst, Illinois (population 44,000) is an affluent, northwest suburb of Chicago.  Elmhurst is situated on the west end of Proviso Yard on the UP.  Proviso is a major classification yard for westbound manifest freight traffic on the UP.  The Metra train station in the center of Elmhurst sits next to the triple track main that serves both UP and Metra trains.  There are almost 50 UP trains a day, and frequent Metra trains.  The heaviest freight action usually occurs just around and after the evening rush.  The station offers a park like setting with benches and platforms on both sides of the track.  There is downtown street parking, but DO NOT Use the Metra parking unless you purchase a permit.  You will be towed. 

GPS: N 41.8998, W 87.9412
ZIP: 60126
Scanner Frequencies: UP: 161.040, 161.400, & 161.181

Nearby, within walking distance, are many fine restaurants and snack shops.  There is an ice cream shop, Scoops and More, on East Park Ave across the street from the Metra South platform.  Cold Stone Creamery is located 1 block North on York St.

 

Websites of interest for Elmhurst:

Metra www.metrarail.com/

Al’s Hobby Shop http://store.alshobbyshop.com/

Elmhurst Model RR Club http://emrrc.org/ (Take a look at the great layout)

 

Hobby shop in Elmhurst:
     Al’s Hobby Shop (N 41.9008, W 87.9415)
     121 N Addison Rd.
     Elmhurst, IL 60126
     630-832-4908
 
     This is a 1st class quality hobby shop, just around the corner from the Metra Station.

 

Aerial shots were taken from Google Maps or www.bing.com/maps as noted.  The snap-shots from Bing are made with Snagit, a Techsmith product... a great tool if you have never used it!  Information is always subject to change, especially stuff like hotel and restaurant info!
 
Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! Contact info is here

Getting Here

From the downtown Chicago area, take I-290 west, continuing on 290 when it turns north.  This puts you on the east border of Elmhurst.  You can jump off at either exit 14 - East St Charles Road, or go up one more to exit 13, East North Ave.  Going west on either street will take you to York St, which will then take you to the Metra station.


Map

 


Sights
 


    1      Metra Elmhurst Station

GPS Coordinates: 41.899574,-87.941088

The Metra station here is situated on UP's nice three track mainline.


    2      UP's Proviso Yard

This is a former CNW yard.


Signals


    1      A

Adja


    2      A

Adja


Pictures


 


Floobydust


USGS Map from 1899

 


Disclaimers:

I love trains, and I love signals.  I am not an expert.  My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page.  This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.  My webpages are an attempt at putting everything I can find of the subject in one convenient place.  There are plenty of other good websites to help me in this effort, and they are listed in the links section on my indexa page, or as needed on individual pages.  Please do not write to me about something that may be incorrect, and then hound the heck out of me if I do not respond to you in the manner you would like.  I operate on the "Golden Rule Principle", and if you are not familiar with it, please acquaint yourself with how to treat people by reading Mathew 7:12 (among others, the principle exists in almost every religion).  If you contact me (like some do, hi Paul) and try to make it a "non-fun" thing and start with the name calling, your name will go into my spambox list! :-)

Please Note:  Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them.  For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my indexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.

If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct.  Once in a while, an error may creep in, especially if restaurants or gas stations open, close, or change names.  Most of my maps are a result of personal observation after visiting these locations.  I have always felt that a picture is worth a thousand words", and I feel annotated maps such as the ones I work up do the same justice for the railfan over a simple text description of the area.  Since the main focus of my website is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them.  Since most of us railheads don't have just trains as a hobby, I have also tried to point out where other interesting sites of the area are.... things like fire stations, neat bridges, or other significant historical or geographical feature.  While some may feel they shouldn't be included, these other things tend to make MY trips a lot more interesting.... stuff like where the C&O Canal has a bridge going over a river (the Monocacy Aqueduct) between Point of Rocks and Gaithersburg MD, it's way cool to realize this bridge to support a water "road" over a river was built in the 1830's!!!  

My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning.  Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented.  Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost!  I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches.  ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the railroads on them.  If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads.  Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.

Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! BE NICE!!! Contact info is here

Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.

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NEW 12/20/2013
Last Modified 24-May-2014