Morning Railfanning at Brookfield 1/29/13

I couldn't believe it! 60 degrees in January in Chicago! Normally, the temperatures aren't any higher than 30-something. January's a harsh month. It is the coldest, most brutal month of the 12-month calendar year in Chicago. Yes, today was a delicacy, and I took advantage of it by visiting the Brookfield Metra station for the first time in 2013 to film the morning rush. Brookfield is one of my most favorite railfanning spots for a reason, and the action encountered on this day served as an example of that. As soon as I got to the station, I was greeted with the high-energy splendor that makes it such a desirable place to railfan. I also got some cool catches!

Nearly halfway into my visit to Brookfield, an inbound express train led by METX #8601 raced eastbound along Main 2. At the back of the train was METX #214, the Operation Lifesaver unit. METX #8601 was one of two cabcars that were covered with adwrap promoting BMO Harris Bank. The second cabcar would be METX #8600. Speaking of 8600, less than 15 minutes after 8601 and 214 came through, 8600 and METX #117 proceeded past the Prairie Avenue crossing as they headed east with an inbound train.

The BMO Harris bank cars weren't the only catch of the day. About three-quarters into my Brookfield visit came a westbound Carl Sandburg Amtrak train with a heritage unit, AMTK #66, one of several 40th Anniversary locomotives. Here's a shocking piece of information. AMTK #66 was built in 1997, not 2011 or 2010! Brief research is showing that the locomotive received the Phase III paint scheme sometime between January-March 2011.

The next train to race through the Prairie Avenue crossing would be an inbound Metra train pushed by METX 210. When I saw Twotenny (my nickname for the locomotive), I was pretty shocked. I did not expect to see the locomotive today. An interesting thing to note is that 210, and most of the locomotives on inbound trains, were extremely quiet today for some odd reason. Maybe their engines weren't positioned in the 8th notch.

A post about the Brookfield AM rush wouldn't be complete without talking about the stoppers. Train #1230 was pushed by METX #196, which showed signs of a desperately-needed bath on the engineer's side. I can never understand why locomotives tend to get so dirty in that spot. Most of the locomotives were dirty, 210 included, despite earlier rainfall. Train #1244 was pushed by METX #190 today. I am not sure what the deal was, but 190's engine or whatever, made a very odd rattling noise. The sound concerned me somewhat, but I liked it for the most part. Train #1254 happened to be pushed by METX 214. You guessed it! At the front of the train was METX 8601, one of the BMO Harris Bank cabcars. As it approached Congress Park before reversing its train into the Brookfield station, METX 214's horn was blown as a warning to anyone standing near the crossing. 214's horn sounded pretty different when compared to that of the other F40PHMs.

Below is a nice photo of 214 as it sat at Brookfield with T1254.

I cannot finish this post without mentioning the two freights I caught. As expected, they came through at the very end of the Metra rush. The first train, an intermodal, happened to include an Executive Mac in the locomotive consist. Leading was a GE C44-9W, BNSF #4166. Approximately 10 minutes later, the second freight came through. BNSF #4810 and BNSF #5885 led the train eastbound along Main 3. BNSF #9313, an SD70ACe, brought up the rear as a DPU (Distributed Power Unit).

Here are the links to the videos from Brookfield on January 29th, 2013
Brookfield AM Rush 1/29/13 9:09
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=579-07egXmE

BNSF Line Train #1230 @Brookfield 1/29/13 2:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bok0NqKzg5U

BNSF Line Trains 1244/54 @Brookfield 1/29/13 14:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwfHiGvjRf0

Fast BNSF Freights in Brookfield 4:04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZS4Gwrs-1g

Unexpected Encounter

JANUARY 16TH, 2013

So on this day, I experienced a major frustration during the midday hours that made me desperate to see some trains, Metras preferably. I had to choose between either the Melrose Park station or the Brookfield station. I was at Melrose on the 12th, the Saturday past. I hadn't visited Brookfield since November 2nd, 2012! After several minutes of deciding between either or, I decided to settle with Brookfield, and after the visit, I know I made the right decision. Something told me to go to Brookfield whilst I was on a southbound #331 Pace bus.

When my bus got to the Maple Avenue crossing, an outbound Metra train rolled through, traveling at a pretty slow clip, but the greatest thing happened just minutes after I arrived at the station. Pushing an inbound train through the Brookfield Station just two minutes after I stepped off the 331 bus was my most favorite Metra locomotive ever, F40PHM-2 #210! I was so shocked to see 210 again, and it became apparent by the way I accidentally shook the camera as 210 passed me! The words I use to describe this unexpected meeting are as follows:

"Like a little puppy dog, 210 leapt into my arms and eyesight, like it missed me, and was eagerly anticipating my arrival!"

210 came through a second time that night, but before it did, my concerns were placed on one of 210's twins, #209. 209 shot through the Brookfield station with an outbound express train, but at the exact same speed 209 traveled, its bell kept pace! More air than usual may have got into 209's bell, causing it to ring uncontrollably I thought the bell problems experienced by F40PH-3 #132 back in 2012 were as bad as things could possibly get in this case, but no! 209's bell problems made me think twice! A joke I made later on in regards to 209's bell issues was that 209 was reminding everyone it passed that dinner's ready! Yeah, corny I know, probably the corniest joke anyone has ever made!

When 210 came through the Brookfield Station a second time with an outbound train (pictured below; sorry about the blur of the photo, I didn't notice a smudge on the camera lens until after I left Brookfield), it crept towards the station at a slower than usual speed, but as it came closer to me, it sped up a little, before slowing down again, immediately after passing me. I am not sure why that was. I don't recall seeing any yellow-over-red signals for the Racetrack in the vicinity of Congress Park. However, the signal on the westside of the Prairie Avenue crossing was red over green, so I'm assuming that that had something to do with it.

As I was awaiting my northbound 331 bus after calling it a night at Brookfield, two outbounders shot through the station on the Racetrack. About a minute after the second outbound train passed through the Prairie Avenue crossing, here came an inbounder. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT! Pushing that inbound train was...210!!! Wow! After choosing to visit Brookfield over Melrose on this day, never would I have ever thought that I'd see my most favorite locomotive of all, three times on the same day, within a two-hour period!

I would return to Brookfield two days later on the 18th for the first Railfanning Friday of 2013, and approximately 15 minutes into my visit, 210 shot through the station, as I excitedly said, in my usual low voice, "Ohhhhh my baby!" "My baby," that's my little pet name for 210, since I love the hell out of it so darn much! Unfortunately, 210 did not make a return trip to Union Station on Friday January 18th, and also unfortunate was that 209 never came through Brookfield during my two-hour-long stay at the station. My guess is that it was in the shop, being worked on to correct the problems with its bell and airline.

Here are the videos of 209 on the 16th, and 210 on both the 16th & the 18th:
What the Hell's Wrong With 209's Bell? 0:55
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dDovsBOuk8

210 Returns, Three Times!!! 1/16/13 2:07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtZdCHp0spw

We Meet Again! 1/18/13 0:44 (I really love this video!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrTOLPvI8k4

If you would like to also see all of the action on the BNSF Racetrack on both the 16th and the 18th, visit this link:
400TH VIDEO!!! Brookfield Speedballs 19:50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1eZN6OGUeA