Rail roads and their tracks.

[5030]

I kind of wish I had lived during the days of the Interurbans. There is an old abandoned interurban right of way just south of me. It's getting hard to see where it was but I know as does most everyone around here where the tracks were and in some places the wooden and steel bridges remain. Bet they were an interesting way to travel.

I spend quite a bit of my free time on You-Tube watching train video's. never get tired of watching them.

 

[Hay Dude]

I kind of wish I had lived during the days of the Interurbans. There is an old abandoned interurban right of way just south of me. It's getting hard to see where it was but I know as does most everyone around here where the tracks were and in some places the wooden and steel bridges remain. Bet they were an interesting way to travel.

I spend quite a bit of my free time on You-Tube watching train video's. never get tired of watching them.

We had a bunch of them. There’s a few places where remnants of the tracks and full stations remain, but became small businesses.

 

[MossRoad]

I kind of wish I had lived during the days of the Interurbans. There is an old abandoned interurban right of way just south of me. It's getting hard to see where it was but I know as does most everyone around here where the tracks were and in some places the wooden and steel bridges remain. Bet they were an interesting way to travel.

I spend quite a bit of my free time on You-Tube watching train video's. never get tired of watching them.

There were several around here as well. The only one left is the South Shore. One of our kids took it to Chicago a few weeks ago, for that matter. It used to run down the center of the street here. Still does in Michigan City, IN.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

It's nothing to do with my moderation hat. It's an observation that the never ending theme about how bad things are in America that starts to drag down a lot of threads. Speaking for myself and not assuming anyone elses' thoughts on the matter, I'd like to see this thread stay open instead of digressing into yet another discussion about who's fault the state of the country is in. Once that discussion starts, it's just a matter of time before someone posts political content, it gets out of control, and poof.

So how about we leave that discussion out of this thread, and just enjoy the trains today?

I didn’t see anything in this thread going off the rails.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I kind of wish I had lived during the days of the Interurbans. ... Bet they were an interesting way to travel.

I spend quite a bit of my free time on You-Tube watching train video's. never get tired of watching them.

Interesting how the times turn. There was an Interurban line here around 90 years ago, but paved highways and cheap automobiles spelled the end to it. Now cheap cars and the paved roads are almost overwhelmed and near gridlock isn't unusual. The solution is the Interurban revisited in the form of light rail. In the Seattle area they are spending billions to build a solution that their great-grandparents used every day.

 

[5030]

There were several around here as well. The only one left is the South Shore. One of our kids took it to Chicago a few weeks ago, for that matter. It used to run down the center of the street here. Still does in Michigan City, IN.

If memory serves me correctly, don't the South Shore rails pass right in front of the old US Steel now Mittal plant? Does it terminate right in downtown Chicago?

 

[MossRoad]

If memory serves me correctly, don't the South Shore rails pass right in front of the old US Steel now Mittal plant? Does it terminate right in downtown Chicago?

I don't think it's an old US Steel plant. I think it's the old Inland Steel plant in East Chicago that was acquired by Ispat International. Ispat International somehow merged with Mittal.

US Steel has a huge mill in Gary, and another in Burns Harbor, IN. The South Shore goes right up along the Burns Habor mill. It goes straight west before it gets to the mill in Gary as the coast of Lake Michigan turns north-west, so it veers away from that mill in Gary. And it's pretty far south of the Mittal mill in East Chicago.

But, there's Mittal signs and US steel signs all over the place along US 12 from Burns Harbor to East Chicago, so I really can't say who owns what anymore.

 

[5030]

Interesting how the times turn. There was an Interurban line here around 90 years ago, but paved highways and cheap automobiles spelled the end to it. Now cheap cars and the paved roads are almost overwhelmed and near gridlock isn't unusual. The solution is the Interurban revisited in the form of light rail. In the Seattle area they are spending billions to build a solution that their great-grandparents used every day.

It is amazing isn't it. Rail is still and always will be the least expensive mode of transportation. The issue is, there isn't a rail siding at every Walmart...lol

 

[MossRoad]

Oh, and yes, the South Shore Line starts at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, and terminates in South Bend.

On that note, the South Shore is adding a line from Hammond, IN south to Munster, IN.

That's a big deal... a new passenger rail line.

 

[MossRoad]

It is amazing isn't it. Rail is still and always will be the least expensive mode of transportation. The issue is, there isn't a rail siding at every Walmart...lol

At Walmarts just east of us, there are hitching posts.