AAR Radio Channel 44 - 160.770
In 1873, after the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad completed its line south of Milwaukee into Chicago, the company changed its name to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. And in 1928, after the railroad was extended to Seattle, the company was renamed the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, commonly known as the Milwaukee Road. The Milwaukee Road was acquired by the Soo Line Railroad in 1985, and is now part of CP Rail. Amtrak controls the Chicago Union Station trackage as far west as Western Avenue. Metra owns the entire line between Western Avenue and Rondout and over the branch line west to Fox Lake, but is responsible for operating the line only as far as Tower A-5. CP Rail controls the trackage between Tower A-5 and Fox Lake. At Rondout, all Metra trains diverge west from the main line onto the branch. Rondout is a popular train watching spot, but Metra trains no longer stop there. The single track branch is a nice rustic ride, as the line winds its way through the "Chain of Lakes" area. Along the branch east of Grayslake is Prairie Crossing, where the line crosses the CN/Wisconsin Central line. Metra's new North Central Service trains now stop there on that line, and Milwaukee District trains began stopping there in 2004. The $5 pass makes weekends a good time to travel on this line, considering that the one way fare to Fox Lake is $6.60 during weekdays. CP Rail has a moderate level of freight activity, primarily on the main line north of Tower A-20, near Northbrook. Tower A-20 is the junction with a connecting track from a UP freight line, used by CP freight trains from the Bensenville Yard. Those trains, as well as Amtrak trains from Chicago, continue north of Rondout on the main line towards Milwaukee. West of Fox Lake, some commuter service operated to Walworth, Wisconsin, until 1982, with intercity passenger service beyond to Janesville and Madison until 1971. Although limited passenger service existed briefly in 2000 and 2001, by an Amtrak train to and from Janesville carrying primarily express shipments. This trackage west of Fox Lake is now part of the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad, which operates limited freight service, including over the Metra/CP trackage.
Direction is westward from Chicago to Fox Lake
0.0 CHICAGO UNION STATION
0.5 Lake Street (tower)
1.2 Morgan Street (interlocking-remote-Lake St.)
2.9 Tower A-2 (UP crossing)
2.9 WESTERN AVENUE
3.2 Tower A-3 (remote-Tower A-2/east end coach yard)
4.1 Tower A-4 (remote-Tower A-5/west end coach yard)
5.4 Tower A-5 (junction-Metra/CP crossing)
6.4 HEALY
8.2 GRAYLAND (UP crossing/remote-Tower A-5)
9.0 MAYFAIR (UP crossing/remote-CY)
10.2 FOREST GLEN
11.6 EDGEBROOK
14.3 MORTON GROVE
16.2 GOLF
17.4 GLENVIEW
18.8 GLEN/NORTH GLENVIEW
20.5 Tower A-20 (junction-CP)
21.1 NORTHBROOK
22.9 LAKE COOK ROAD
24.2 DEERFIELD
24.5 Deerfield West
27.8 Lake Forest East
28.3 LAKE FOREST
32.3 Rondout (tower/EJ&E crossing/junction-CP)
34.3 Junction Switch
35.5 LIBERTYVILLE
39.9 PRAIRIE CROSSING (CN crossing/remote-CN dispatcher)
41.0 GRAYSLAKE
44.0 ROUND LAKE
46.0 LONG LAKE
47.0 Wilson Road
47.8 INGLESIDE
49.5 FOX LAKE
3 tracks from Chicago to Tower A-5, CTC in use, controlled by Metra from Tower A-2 and Tower A-5.
2 tracks from Tower A-5 to Rondout, CTC in use, controlled by CP Rail dispatcher in Minneapolis.
1 track from Rondout to Fox Lake, timetable operation with automatic block signals.
Speed Limits:
Chicago-Tower A-5: 60 mph
Tower A-5-Rondout: 79 mph
Rondout-Fox Lake: 60 mph
All main tracks are shown, along with most switches within interlockings, and other tracks used by main line Metra, Amtrak and freight trains. Not shown are hand operated industrial switches.
Information is subject to change, and is based on observations, along with information from employee timetables, and Google satellite imagery.
The following colors are used to indicate types of operation:
BLUE - manual interlocking
RED - centralized traffic control (CTC) or bidirectional signals
GREEN - automatic block signals supplementing timetable operation
BLACK - unsignaled
Thin lines across tracks indicate signals. In CTC or bidirectional signal territory, signals usually exist for both directions at all locations, except at interlockings where the signals usually are only in the direction entering the interlocking.