Railfanning Amtrak & Metra At Chicago's Roosevelt Road

After storing my luggage at the Metropolitan Lounge, I made the walk down to Roosevelt Road. Now I know in years past, I've referred to this road as "Roosevelt Avenue" but was corrected that the proper name of the road is in fact "road" and not "avenue" so with this travelogue going forward (as I somehow find myself walking down here every year it seems!), I have the road properly labeled! I had to dodge raindrops most of the way from Union Station so I'm glad I brought an umbrella along. The rain for the most part didn't stop the whole time I was at Roosevelt Road but I wasn't gonna let it stop me from railfanning since it was a light rain and I'm here all the way from Buffalo, NY so I'll just dodge the raindrops! Included here are photos I took during this rather soaking railfanning session at my favorite place to railfan in the windy city!!!

P42DC #184 painted up in Phase IV for Amtrak's 40th Anniversary. This unit was the lead unit that day on Train #3 -
The Southwest Chief and was seen here backing up its train for an afternoon departure later that day.

Amtrak's Wolverine Service Train #352 heading into Union Station.

A Metra Commuter train having just departed Union Station.

One of the biggest reasons why I love railfanning here! Where else can you get
Amtrak trains and the Willis Tower in the same photo???

A wide view of Amtrak's Chicago coach yards. A lot of Economic Stimulus money was spent here in 2010 upgrading facilities.

A couple private cars owned by Creative Charters along with Amtrak's 40th Anniversary Exhibit Train which was sitting in the
yard that day. Unfortunately, the locomotives were not within view from Roosevelt Road but that Phase III paint scheme on
those cars looks really sharp!

An FRA Test Car on the left along with more private cars and the Exhibit Train at the coach yard.

Another wide-angle view of Amtrak's Chicago coach yards.

As time went on, the rain started falling harder so I decided it was time to head back to Union Station. With the rain now falling rather heavily, I decided to take a Chicago Transit Authority bus back to Union Station instead of walking all the way back in now heavy rain and risk damaging my camera. Once I got back to Union Station, I ran across the street to a nearby CVS/Pharmacy to pick up some Diet Pepsi and bottled water for the trip. After getting back to the station, I went back to the Metropolitan Lounge, picked up my luggage and started chatting with other passengers who were also riding the Texas Eagle that day. I gave my card with this site's URL to a passenger who then looked at it on her netbook computer! Gotta love modern technology! And so now, its time to head for the Lone Star State of Texas on the next leg of the trip! Please read on...