Odell, Illinois @ 10:00 am (90 minute travel time from Champaign)
Chicago to St. Louis High Speed Rail Corridor 4 Quadrant Gate installation with pedestrian safety treatments. East Vermillion Street (290738B). Odell, Illinois (41.003356,-88.524864).
Odell is a small farming community of 1,038 with several level crossings on the Chicago to St. Louis higher speed rail corridor. To provide sufficient safety to motorists and pedestrians at the level crossings in Odell, 4-quadrant gates with vehicle detection along with pedestrian gates and fencing have been installed as pictured below.
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BNSF Railway Logistics Park Chicago (LPC) Intermodal Facility @ 11:30 am (45 minutes travel time from Odell). 26664 Baseline Road; Elwood, IL 60421 (41.398695,-88.145694) More…
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BNSF Logistics Park-Chicago (BNSF LPC) is a 770-acre intermodal facility. Opened in August 2002, BNSF LPC has successfully grown to become one of the nation™s largest and most active inland rail terminals. BNSF LPC provides international intermodal service to and from every major West Coast port, as well as an on-site auto mixing facility.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Intermodal Usage 309 Acres Classification Tracks 190 Acres
Automotive 106 Acres Yard Length 1.5 Miles
Yard Width 1.5 Miles Loading Tracks:
Intermodal 4 (8 Segments) Automotive 3 (18 Segments)
Car Spots (89 ft.):
Intermodal 360 Automotive 108
Classification Tracks 17 (1,292 Car Spots)
CREATE Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program 130th Street & Torrence Avenue Grade Separation project (41.658613,-87.559106) @ 3:15 pm. (50 minute drive time from Logistics Park to 130th St & Torrence Ave)
CREATE is a first-of-its-kind partnership between U.S. DOT, the State of Illinois, City of Chicago, Metra, Amtrak, and the nation’s freight railroads. A project of national and regional significance, CREATE will invest billions in critically needed capital improvements to increase the efficiency of the region’s passenger and freight rail infrastructure and enhance the quality of life for Chicago-area residents. CREATE will reduce train and auto delays throughout the Chicago area by focusing rail traffic on four rail corridors that will be improved to handle passenger and freight traffic more efficiently. The work includes 70 projects:
• 6 new rail overpasses or underpasses to separate passenger and freight train tracks
• 36 freight rail projects including extensive upgrades of tracks, switches and signal systems
• Viaduct improvement projects improvements to existing viaducts in Chicago
• Grade crossing safety enhancements improvements to existing railroad grade crossings throughout the region
• Common Operational Picture (COP) integration of information from dispatch systems of all major railroads in the region into a single display
We will visit one of the recently completed projects on Chicago™s south side at 130th St and Torrence Avenue.
130th Street & Torrence Avenue Railroad over Railroad over Highway Grade separation project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0Ktpz390R4&feature=player_embedded
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Intercontinental Hotel @ 5:00 pm (30 minutes Travel time from 130th & Torrence Ave)
505 N Michigan Ave (41.891272,-87.623693).
http://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/chicago/ordha/hoteldetail?fhqs=view/mapView
The InterContinental enjoys a premier Chicago address, located on the famed Magnificent Mile in the heart of the city™s finest shopping, entertainment, and cultural attractions.
DuPage Railroad Safety Council 20th Anniversary Reception at the Chicago History Museum @ 5:30. 1601 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614 (41.91197,-87.631547). http://www.chicagohs.org/
Please join us to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the DuPage Railroad Safety Council. The reception will feature a buffet style dinner and drinks highlighting various Chicago neighborhoods.
The DuPage Railroad Safety Council is made of railroad officials, government officials, engineers, educators and private citizens who have a deep concern for safety at railroad crossings. The Council was founded on April 30, 1994 as an outgrowth of a Railroad Safety Conference called by the Chairman of the DuPage County Board. Since that time, the Council has met regularly to examine ways to heighten awareness and improve safety conditions at railroad crossings and to work with civic and railroad leaders to stop preventable accidents along railroad right of ways. The Mission of the DuPage Railroad Safety Council is to prevent deaths and injuries at railroad crossings and along railways.
The Chicago History Museum will be open just for our reception Thursday evening from 5:30 to 9:00pm. We will have full access to the standing exhibit Chicago: Crossroads of America and special access to the Jack Delano Homefront Photography exhibit.
http://chicagohistory.org/planavisit/exhibitions/railroaders
Railroads and rail workers were essential to America™s victory in World War II. In 1942, the Office of War Information issued photographer Jack Delano a new assignment: document railroads and their place in American life.During the next several months, Delano captured three thousand images, two-thirds of them in the nation™s rail hub”Chicago. Railroaders features more than sixty of Delano™s images, both black and white and early color photographs. Come explore the stories of Chicago railroaders. Meet the men and women who hustled on the rails, in the stations, and at the yards. Step inside a caboose.Chicago: Crossroads of America
http://chicagohistory.org/exhibition/crossroads-of-america
Our permanent exhibition Chicago: Crossroads of America has something for everybody. Explore the city’s history through a series of galleries that highlight artifacts, interactive features, and multimedia presentations. Climb aboard ‘L’ car no. 1, visit a jazz club, or picture yourself in the retro fashions of the Marshall Field’s store window. Families love the hands-on activity carts and teens enjoy the audio tour produced by their peers.