METRA TIPS/PHOTOS
UNION PACIFIC - NORTH LINE
This former Chicago & North Western line emerged as a major passenger line between Chicago and Milwaukee. Waukegan historically was, and still is the primary terminal of the commuter rail service. But with the gradual decline of intercity passenger service, Kenosha emerged to greater significance, as a terminal for commuter service. Intercity passenger service north of Kenosha was discontinued with the formation of Amtrak in 1971, but there have been proposals develop a new commuter rail service between Kenosha and Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the double track high speed line with automatic train stops north of Kenosha has been downgraded, to a single track unsignaled line. Between Chicago and Clybourn, the line is shared with the Union Pacific Northwest Line. And in the Ravenswood area, CTA's Brown Line parallels this line to the west over a 1 1/2 mile stretch. The first suburb on this line is Evanston, home of Northwestern University. Many local stops existed in Chicago and Evanston until 1958, when they were discontinued as part of a streamlining of the commuter service. And CTA's Purple Line parallels this line through Evanston. Trains of the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad (North Shore Line) once operated over this CTA line. North of Evanston is Wilmette, the first of a series of some of the wealthiest suburbs in the country. The North Shore Line had its own line north of Wilmette, paralleling this line the entire distance between Wilmette and North Chicago. That electric interurban line was abandoned in 1955, and segments of the right-of-way were made into the North Shore Trail. Ravinia Park was originally developed by the North Shore Line as a destination amusement park, but now is an outdoor concert venue. The best North Shore Trail segment here is the 6 1/2 miles between Fort Sheridan and Great Lakes, with intermediate stations at Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. Great Lakes is the location of a major naval traning center. The closest this line actually gets to Lake Michigan is in Waukegan, in an industrial area. Waukegan is the county seat of Lake County. Most Metra trains at present operate only as far north as Waukegan, with a few trains continuing all the way to Kenosha. The weekend pass would be attractive for going all the way to Kenosha, but the weekend schedules usually are not convenient for that. At Kenosha, bus connections are available to Milwaukee via Wisconsin Coach Lines. The weekend pass is nice for those interested in walking parts of the North Shore Trail. Freight action is light, with all activity north of Lake Bluff, location of a junction with a connecting line from the UP's "Skokie Valley" freight main line. Much of the freight activity consists of coal unit trains serving various power plants in the area.
Speed Limit: 70 mph
Chicago-Clybourn: 35 mph
Scenes along the line.