It would be great for Metra and the UP to have 3 tracks from Ogivile to at least Highland Park. Ravenswood is one of the busiest stations for Metra. I'm happy they finally finished this, can't wait to see what they will do for the new Edgewater station they are planning on building.
Maybe they will eventually. The plan is to take out the third track. Unfortunately the Ravenswood Station is being built around only the two tracks. If they choose to expand to 3 tracks, they would have to demolish and rebuild one side of the brand new Ravenswood Station.
@@Luke_Starkenburg That's a real shame. I come from a town on the UP-NW line. Having the three tracks and the attendant express train capacity was always wonderful. It would be nice for the UP-N to get the same... Or just electrify and greatly increase frequency.
@@Mrcharles. what are they thinking of renaming it to? Most of my adult life it was the UP-N. I haven't been living in the Chicago area for nearly a decade now, kind of out of the loop (pun perhaps intended).
Very Good to say the least😊! I'm trying to picture where this r.o.w. is located in Chicago; it looks like it would run close to the Ravenswood Brown Line section of the "L". But I'm not sure. Anyway, it is great to see that so many of the old, original viaducts have finally been replaced. I walked underneath a few of these that carried the Metra UP back in the 70s and 80s. To me, they were very scary to walk under, especially with a train literally "thundering" over your head. In fact, around the early to mid 70s, one of those old viaducts along what is now Metra's Milwaukee District West Line, collapsed under the weight of a short freight train movement that was passing over it. As the span was over a major street with a CTA bus line, and adjacent to a Kennedy Expressway exit and entry, it's a miracle that no vehicles or pedestrians were crushed by that collapse.
The good thing about this project is the replacement of the railroad ties. Wooden ties need to be maintained often, but concrete ties need very little maintenance. They may cost more, but Metra will save money on maintenance costs.
I remember when concrete ties first started to be used on railroads and the problem of some of them cracking. I think they’ve solved that problem and the concrete ties are extremely reliable now with long life.
They are building the new Ravenswood Station around the two tracks. If they want to expand to three tracks in the future, they would have to demolish 1/2 of the station and build Anne’s platform. So currently there are no plans for 3 tracks.
8:20 I saw one of those ballast trains go through Parkville, Missouri on July 4, 2019 and saw one yesterday at BNSF Murray Yard (but I forgot my camera).
Another good thing about this project is that now they can use MP36 and F125 Locos on this line. Up to now anything over an F40 was banned because of bridge issues1
Great details Luke. Those “safety painted” double deck driving trailers always freak me out. I can’t figure out the driving position. It looks to me like no one is driving.
It would be nicer and safer to have the actual cab cars with crash absorbers like they did in California. Look at this video of mine to see the drivers close up. ua-cam.com/video/ZL4FDm8zWek/v-deo.html Start at 9:34.
@@JohnAckerman31 That agreement has been terminated as the result of a lawsuit. Union Pacific is no longer operating trains for metra on its three lines anymore.
It would be great for Metra and the UP to have 3 tracks from Ogivile to at least Highland Park. Ravenswood is one of the busiest stations for Metra. I'm happy they finally finished this, can't wait to see what they will do for the new Edgewater station they are planning on building.
Maybe they will eventually. The plan is to take out the third track. Unfortunately the Ravenswood Station is being built around only the two tracks. If they choose to expand to 3 tracks, they would have to demolish and rebuild one side of the brand new Ravenswood Station.
@@Luke_Starkenburg That's a real shame. I come from a town on the UP-NW line. Having the three tracks and the attendant express train capacity was always wonderful. It would be nice for the UP-N to get the same... Or just electrify and greatly increase frequency.
@@coreyhipps7483 The UP-N line will likely be renamed after a legal dispute by the railroad and metra over operating it’s three lines.
@@Mrcharles. what are they thinking of renaming it to?
Most of my adult life it was the UP-N.
I haven't been living in the Chicago area for nearly a decade now, kind of out of the loop (pun perhaps intended).
Wow awesome video.. the sped up segments are nice bc it gives some personality to the worker cars and you explain how they work. 👍
Thanks, it was interesting watching the workers doing their jobs!
Thank you again for another excellent informative and entertaing video.
I was thinking of making a shorter, 3 minute video showing only the best highlights. This video is a little long for most people to get through.
Very Good to say the least😊! I'm trying to picture where this r.o.w. is located in Chicago; it looks like it would run close to the Ravenswood Brown Line section of the "L". But I'm not sure. Anyway, it is great to see that so many of the old, original viaducts have finally been replaced. I walked underneath a few of these that carried the Metra UP back in the 70s and 80s. To me, they were very scary to walk under, especially with a train literally "thundering" over your head. In fact, around the early to mid 70s, one of those old viaducts along what is now Metra's Milwaukee District West Line, collapsed under the weight of a short freight train movement that was passing over it. As the span was over a major street with a CTA bus line, and adjacent to a Kennedy Expressway exit and entry, it's a miracle that no vehicles or pedestrians were crushed by that collapse.
The good thing about this project is the replacement of the railroad ties. Wooden ties need to be maintained often, but concrete ties need very little maintenance. They may cost more, but Metra will save money on maintenance costs.
I remember when concrete ties first started to be used on railroads and the problem of some of them cracking. I think they’ve solved that problem and the concrete ties are extremely reliable now with long life.
wow, nice, never saw this machine in action!
146's Horn is amazing you can't deny it.
Nice to see new concrete ties!!
I hope they upgrade the third track.
They are building the new Ravenswood Station around the two tracks. If they want to expand to three tracks in the future, they would have to demolish 1/2 of the station and build Anne’s platform. So currently there are no plans for 3 tracks.
Wow! The New Bridges look awesome!
They look really nice. I kind of miss the low profile of the older bridges, but I'm glad the project is moving forward and the line is being upgraded.
Very cool to see!
Beautiful
Cool UP Rock Train.
8:20 I saw one of those ballast trains go through Parkville, Missouri on July 4, 2019 and saw one yesterday at BNSF Murray Yard (but I forgot my camera).
Another good thing about this project is that now they can use MP36 and F125 Locos on this line. Up to now anything over an F40 was banned because of bridge issues1
That is interesting! In this video, I saw the new locomotives on this line for the very first time!
The line used to be triple tracked from Chicago to Willmette, but the third track was removed in the mid-1980s.
Great details Luke.
Those “safety painted” double deck driving trailers always freak me out. I can’t figure out the driving position. It looks to me like no one is driving.
It would be nicer and safer to have the actual cab cars with crash absorbers like they did in California. Look at this video of mine to see the drivers close up. ua-cam.com/video/ZL4FDm8zWek/v-deo.html Start at 9:34.
Will they be doing this all the way to waukegan
Does metra own any of the new track? I feel like metra trains get sidelines so many ch by having to give right of way to private commercial rail.
All the track is owned by Union Pacific. Metra operates this line under an agreement with the UP.
@@JohnAckerman31 That agreement has been terminated as the result of a lawsuit. Union Pacific is no longer operating trains for metra on its three lines anymore.
any news on the ATS. i hope
Nope, no news, sorry! This is getting ridiculous!
@@Luke_Starkenburg rip
@@Luke_Starkenburg still no news?
Did you hear of the lawsuit between Union Pacific and METRA? Sounds like the company doesn’t want to operate commuter trains anymore.
Is metra bnsf owned? I see some with UP logos .
BNSF has a contract with Metra and Union Pacific had one too until it was terminated recently.
Good job, but there was a time when they had FOUR tracks through here because of the amount of passenger traffic
if this is the Union Pacific North Line then where's Union Pacific?
This line does not get much freight traffic. Hence why you don’t see Union Pacific locomotives.
@@Mrcharles. I see them