Exploring the World with Trains: Metra North Central Service
The Des Plaines River was flooded and I had the day off. What was I to do with all my free time? Start a new type of Blog featuring trains? You bet. This time I rode the North Central Service from end to end. And all so I could write about the places that this train travels through. I wish this one had better service. And when you see some of the places this train took me through, you will understand why.
The northern end of The North Central Service is located in Antioch, Illinois. Around the United States, this little town is most well known for Kyle Rittenhouse. But I don’t want to talk about him. Instead, this blog will focus on a tidbit from each town and city my train rides feature stations in. Instead I want to mention that from what I read, Antioch sent a lot of soldiers to fight for the Union during the Civil War.
Also, the land was nice enough around the growing town that several prominent Chicago Leaders including the infamous Al Capone had homes near here. Today, Antioch has been changed significantly due to the station pictured above. With easier access to Chicago, more of the towns economy is shifting what was once a sleepy village filled with commuters.
The First Several Stops
The next stop on the North Central Service was Lake Villa. Its a town that has a lot of parks and natural beauty due to glaciers. In fact much of the Des Plaines River and thus many pictures from that blog are the result of those same glaciers. Another thing that is notable about this town is that as of writing this blog, this is near where I live.
After that stop, is the one that is physically closest to where I live as of the writing of this blog post. But its a town over, specifically Round Lake Beach. Its notable for being considered a village officially but having enough urban infrastructure to be considered a city.
Speaking of notable, the next town that the train stops at, Grayslake has two train stations on two separate Metra Lines. College of Lake County is located here. And the Lake County Fairgrounds which I went to several times when I was kid are here too. Even now, when I play Pokémon Go, Grayslake is where I am going for raid hour and like the two towns before it, has lots of parks. Those glaciers really made Lake County a neat place to hike.
Track Crossings
Before I talk about the next four stations on the North Central Service Train, I want to talk about something else. That something else is railroad track infrastructure. Lots of kids love trains, but I was an oddball where I cared more about the tracks and where they went as opposed to the other things you might associate with train enthusiasm. I want to talk about track splits and crossings. I found these features fascinating because of how they operate like a web of routes.
The first of these crossings on North Central Service featured the track(s) that the Milwaukee District North Metra travels on. I’ll have an entire blog post for that entire line. And it will be a much more involved post than this one. Notably, the tracks are still close to the ones that this train travels on when both stop at nearby stations at Prairie Crossing. Close enough that they share a parking lot in fact.
Prairie Crossing is partially in Libertyville, and partially in already mentioned Grayslake. As the Milwaukee North Line is the one that travels to that city, I’ll leave it for that blog post. Let’s talk about Mundelein, the next stop on the train’s route. This village feels a lot like a small city with a vibrant downtown that I went to a lot when I was younger. Its even larger now than it was then, and for my other Travel Blog, this town has tons of places to explore.
Vernon Hills
Before reaching the next station, the North Central Service crosses another set of tracks. These are the Leighton Branch which start farther northeast. I’ll be talking about that starting junction when I travel on the Union Pacific North Line, but for now, just know that these tracks cross the ones I was riding on here.
Next, the North Central Service stops at Vernon Hills. I spent a lot of time here when I was younger, not only because much of my immediate family lived here, but because of the Hawthorn Mall. I’m curious to check out that place in Pokémon Go, but let’s get back to the town itself. Vernon Hills was founded by buying land from golf courses and the US Military. To this day, there is plenty of green space and recreation spots all over the town. That mall I mentioned is to this day one of the largest employers in the town.
After Vernon Hills, the North Central Service stops at Prairie View. This unincorporated area between Vernon Hills, Lincolnshire, and Buffalo Grove. Two of those three have Metra stations on this line. I’ll talk about Buffalo Grove in a moment. Anyway, the other notable feature of Prairie View is the nearby Stevenson High school. Growing up this was a rival high school to my own. But outside of me being the author of this blog, that information isn’t nearly as relevant to this article.
Into Cook County
Moving on, the North Central Service next stops in Buffalo Grove. Native Americans called this area home for a long time before Europeans arrived. In fact the name is derived from names those living in the region already used. The Buffalo River flows through the town. An obvious landmark with countless parks and golf courses built around that land. Buffalo Grove has a harsh more recent history that involves wars, land displacement, and tragedy. But one wouldn’t think that looking at the town today with its countless festivals and events that are surprisingly inclusive given that history.
The North Central Service leaves Lake County and crosses into Cook County before reaching Wheeling next. Like Buffalo Grove, Wheeling has a complex and darker history that is not apparent to visitors now. Defined by historic hotels that have also been torn down, Wheeling is a place where history lies hidden to discover everywhere.
Prospect Heights is the next station on the North Central Service. And its the first actual city the train stops at in Cook County. Its a major crossroads for transportation as I’ll get to in a moment. And two Metra Lines stop here. The other is the Union Pacific Northwest Line. That one has two stations in the area. And when I explore that train ride I’m sure it will be a more comprehensive blog post than this one.
Beyond Prospect Heights, the train crosses two different sets of tracks. The first is a freight line: Milwaukee Union Pacific Subdivision. That one basically serves as a way for freight trains to get to different sets of tracks around the north suburbs of Chicago. But the tracks go all the way to Milwaukee connecting with the Union Pacific North Line tracks closer to Lake Michigan. The other set of tracks that cross this line not even ten feet from the first is the Union Pacific Northwest Line. Freight travels on those tracks, as well as the one that North Central Service runs on. But that line has far more commuter trains and as a result has three tracks rather than the two that are more common.
Near O’Hare
After those two track crossings, the North Central Service travels a fair distance before stopping right next to O’Hare International Airport. The station is far enough away from the airport that you can’t even see evidence of it. Which is impressive considering its one of the busiest and connected airports in the world. Its quite large too though I’m not sure how it measures up compared to other large airports around the world.
Just beyond the O’Hare Station, the tracks cross over Interstate 190 and the CTA Blue Line that runs down the median of the expressway. I’ll be exploring the Metra Trains first before I go to any of the CTA Lines. I’m not quite sure if I can use this still experimental format for those writeups as the trains stop more frequently at many more stations. One can see O’Hare a little clearer at that crossing but it doesn’t showcase the massive size of the place.
After the airport, the North Central Service stops at Rosemont. While not many people live here, its commercial output makes its a vital area of the Chicagoland area. With countless hotels, a casino, and of course The Allstate Arena, this is a major entertainment center. Made better by the fact that the airport is right next door. A large convention center is located here and I even visited it for a local Anime Convention not long ago. All in all, there is a lot to do in this town.
Merging Tracks
As the North Central Service makes its way towards Downtown Chicago, it stops next at Schiller Park. Its a small region adjacent to Interstate 294 and not far from O’Hare. Unfortunately the lower population and infrastructure that takes up much of its land has not allowed the town to become more notable.
Just south of that station, the train next stops at Franklin Park. While less of the town is dominated by highway, close proximity to downtown Chicago has made it difficult for the town to grow. A couple major businesses are located here at least such as Sloan Valve Company.
Next the North Central Service leaves the Waukesha Subdivision Tracks which it follows all the way from Antioch, Illinois before it merges with the Milwaukee District West Metra Line. Like the Union Pacific Northwest Line, the tracks number three here. Mostly due to a high amount of train traffic in the area.
Now on the same tracks as the Milwaukee District West Line, the North Central Service both lines stop at River Grove. This small suburb of Chicago has a famous Hot Dog Stand: Gean & Jude’s. Follet used to have its headquarters here too. Outside of businesses, the town is located near the Des Plaines River and trees that grow near the riverbank are where River Grove gained its namesake.
The North Central Service passes several stations that only the Milwaukee District West Line stops at and passes two more railroad crossings. The first is the BRC Mainline which connects to several more tracks throughout Chicago. The second one is notable because I’ll be mentioning it in at least two more posts. Because the North Central Service and Milwaukee District West line merge onto it. They merge with the Milwaukee District North Line which I have already mentioned in this blog post a couple times. As this set of tracks features now three different commuter lines it also runs three tracks.
Into Downtown
As the North Central Service makes its way into downtown Chicago, it stops at Western Avenue right next to a large Metra Yard. Two of them right next to each other in fact. Lots of trains and cars are needed. Still, its an impressive display to see such a large yard for commuter rail. And there are plenty more of these yards both in and outside Chicago.
Just after Western Avenue, that other set of tracks merges with the one that the North Central Service, Milwaukee Distract North, and Milwaukee District West Lines run on. Those tracks carry the Union Pacific West Line. With that many trains running, three tracks is not sufficient. Soon after the train lines all merge, this complex area shifts all the way to seven tracks so that the high traffic doesn’t get too complicated for dispatch.
Soon after merging with three other lines, the Union Pacific West Line Tracks separate from the other three. Those tracks then head towards the other Union Pacific Lines where they all end at a different station than the North Central Service and its Milwaukee District North and West neighbors do. At this point, the three lines move down towards the ground. And for one of the few times in downtown Chicago, there are a couple street at grade crossings.
Before the North Central Service makes it to the end of its run, it passes under the Union Pacific North, Union Pacific West, and Union Pacific Northwest Tracks. While the Milwaukee District Trains that travel on the same tracks head towards Union Station, the Union Pacific Metra Trains go upwards and head towards the Oglivie Transportation Center. And above the bridge I mentioned not far away, sits another bridge that carries the Green and Pink Line CTA Lines. Believe it or not, underground all this, the Blue Line CTA runs as a subway line.
After a couple of crossings and another couple tunnels under downtown Chicago, the North Central Service makes its way to its final stop at Union Station. This sprawling national landmark has countless trains coming and going. But there is much more, and the next section of this post is dedicated to showing what one might find here.
Into Downtown Chicago
Union Station isn’t just a terminal for Metra. Amtrak stops here too. And as a national landmark with tons of travelers visiting from all over the United States and world, this place is impressively built and designed. The Grand Hall of Union Station is incredible every time I come to visit. I’ll likely take pictures of this place every time I come back to Union Station because the place is worthy of such. Normally I try to avoid taking pictures that other people are in, but at Union Station, especially in the Grand Hall, that just isn’t possible.
Metra has its own section of Union Station for passengers to sit and wait for their trains as well as rest. Its one of the few places on the Metra Line where you can buy tickets from a person. Metra has a north and south terminal each with several lines running. I’m focusing on the north side for this post. But many of my adventures for this blog will end at Union Station.
I made sure to take one picture of the tracks in Union Station. There are tons of trains that come to and from here and so there needs to be plenty of tracks too. One can’t see all of them as that would require the station to be empty. I don’t think that will ever happen. So take my words for it on that point.
Before I close out this blog post, I want to also draw attention to the fact that Union Station has a full food court. Its almost like a shopping mall minus the shopping. I prefer it this way honestly. Food and trains are a perfect combination. I can’t think of a more perfect way for me to have spent time at Union Station while waiting for the North Central Service Train that would take me home.
I figured the best way to end this post would be to take a selfie and stand near the trains themselves. Don’t mind the random advertisement behind me. That just happened to be the best spot to take this picture without anyone else being a part of it. The trains that come into Union Station are fairly long. And what you can’t see in this picture is that not only can I walk into the main station, but if I walk all the way down the platform in the other direction, I can exit out into downtown Chicago itself.
This was an interesting test run of a post. When I go on my next adventure, I’ll try some different things so that I can write my next blog post for this series. Given how much work this one took to put together, I imagine the next will take even longer. The North Central Service does not have as many stations as many of the other Metra Lines. My next couple options for train rides have significantly more. But whenever I am ready, you can look forward to many more adventures in this exploring trains series.