2008 Homewood Railroad Heritage Day

SATURDAY, MAY 17 -- 7 PM
Homewood Railroad Heritage Day Slide Show at St. Paul Community Church
Dixie Highway between 183rd Street and Ridge Road, Homewood, Illinois. Admission is FREE!

SUNDAY, MAY 18 -- 9 AM to 3 PM
Village of Homewood Municipal Center Park District Auditorium
2020 Chestnut Road (Corner Of Chestnut & Dixie Highway) in Homewood, Illinois.
Admission is FREE!

As the CN/IC's main yard in the Chicago area, Homewood sees freight trains from CN, often with power still painted for predecessor roads Illinois Central, Grand Trunk Western and Wisconsin Central. One might also find locomotives from other recent CN takeovers: BC Rail, Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range and Bessemer and Lake Erie. There are also Union Pacific run-through freights and Norfolk Southern trains to Decatur exercising trackage rights through Gibson City.

Not the Champ Train, but a broken down “Pooch” gets a hand.

The Homewood Rail Heritage Committee was originally formed in the spring of 2002 as the Illini Rail Committee, to assist in the start up and operation of the “Champ Train,” a privately chartered Amtrak train which ran between Union Station in downtown Chicago and the University of Illinois football stadium in Champaign for Chicago Bear's home games during the 2002-2003 season while Soldier Field was being rebuilt.

The committee was formed as, and remains, a volunteer arm of the Homewood municipal government. Committee members include Homewood business leaders, a village staff member, and rail enthusiasts who live within Homewood's corporate limits. In 2006, the committee had about fifteen active members.

Immediately following the successful conclusion of the “Champ Train” project, the committee was tasked by Mayor Richard Hofeld to think of ways in which the major geographic features of Homewood (the town is split in half by the railroad) could be turned to the advantage of the village in terms of attracting business, especially tourism, to the downtown area.

Committee member Bruce Hutton brought up the idea of a “rail watching platform” similar in purpose to the popular facility that exists in Rochelle, Illinois. This idea was accepted, and members Randy Olson, Tom Grant, and Paul Burgess, all avid rail photographers, were tasked with the preliminary site planning and design of the structure. This was completed in the spring of 2003 and a grant proposal for federal funds was written by Paul Burgess and committee chairperson Jim Wright.

Rendering of street side of the Homewood viewing platform	Site plan for equipment display near Homewood Metra/Amtrak station.
Site Plans and drawings by Arete 3 Architectural Services Company, Inc. (Double-click on drawing to see enlarged version.)

The proposal, with design, was submitted to Homewood's Congressional Representative, Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Chicago). Congressman Jackson's office was able to include a federal grant in the FY 2003 budget for construction of the platform and an adjacent equipment park, which was added to the project in the fall of 2003 at the instigation of Randy Olson and Paul Burgess, who wanted to include Illinois Central heritage equipment as a prominent feature of the new facility. Tom Grant built a scale model of the park including a scratch built model of Homewood's depot, and Dan Gunderson contributed custom painted models of the locomotive and caboose. The Homewood Village Board officially incorporated the equipment park into the site plan as a direct result of viewing these fine models. A formal proposal was written by Paul Burgess to Canadian National Railways, asking for the donation of an IC caboose and locomotive.

After a certain amount of negotiation over specifics, CN graciously donated IC caboose 199426 and partnered with Homewood and National Railway Equipment Company of Dixmoor, IL to share costs in acquiring retired Illinois Central GP10 8408. CN shop forces in Homewood's Woodcrest Locomotive Shops carefully restored 8408 to her in-service appearance as of 1996, while in Centralia, IL, the car shops did the same for 199426, turning back her clock to the late 1960's with a brilliant coat of IC “burnt orange” and renumbering to the original 9426.

This combination of the “Death Star” image of the 1990's and the famous “I-Ball” of the 1960's will offer IC fans an opportunity to see both schemes in all their glory in one place and at one time. Additionally, the Union Pacific Railroad donated a complete “B&O style” signal light and mast from the ex-GM&O mainline, which is being restored to full function by committee member Craig Lint. This will represent the Illinois Central Gulf era of the railroad.

Due to the arcane nature of the rules involved in using federal funding, progress on the construction of the facility was slow with many environmental and work rules mandates having to be met in order to actually disburse the funds, but by late summer of 2006, construction was underway. The rail platform main structure on the east side of the CN/Metra right of way was finished by the end of 2006 and was open for business by the middle of January 2007.

On March 25, 2007, the locomotive and caboose were installed on the display track on the west side of the main line near the Metra platform and the Homewood Amtrak depot. Hulcher Heavy Equipment Services Company donated a portion of this move. Final construction, including the signal mast, landscaping, lighting, security cameras and permanent fencing, will be completed in 2007. The official “Grand Opening” for both sites occurred when Homewood Railroad Heritage Day was celebrated on May 20, 2007.

Homewood's new facilities will offer railfans and other area visitors a safe, secure place to congregate and watch a busy modern mainline, as well as an opportunity to enjoy the heritage equipment of one of the nations' most venerable railroads, the Illinois Central -- “Main Line of Mid-America.”

The viewing platform is on Harwood Avenue in downtown Homewood, on the east side of the tracks, south of the PACE Bus facility. The platform is wheelchair accesible and also features a scanner picking up radio from nearby Markham Yard. The equipment park is located on Park Avenue between the Homewood station and Dixie Highway on the west side of the tracks. The pedestrian tunnel for access to the Metra and Amtrak platforms, can be used to cross safely underneath the tracks and access both the platform and the display.

Over time, the tunnel will be filled with murals depicting various scenes from the Illinois Central's long and illustrious history. The first of these, featuring the famous “Green Diamond” streamliner of the 1930's, is already on display at the east end of the tunnel.

The Village of Homewood and the Homewood Rail Heritage Committee hope to see you trackside and invite you to sample Homewood's many other amenities while you visit. All the railfan facilities are located in Homewood's downtown area and are within easy walking distance of the train station, free parking, and many quaint shops and fine restaurants.

For more on the Homewood Rail Heritage Committee, the Railroad Park and the history of the Illinois Central in Homewood, please read the Fall 2004 Homewood Village Key community newsletter.

The Village of Homewood and the Homewood Rail Heritage Committee wish to thank the following for their assistance and/or donations to this project:

Visiting Homewood Homewood is a busy passenger stop served by the Metra and Amtrak. By train: The Metra Electric line between far south suburban University Park and Millennium Station (in the heart of downtown Chicago on the lakefront) is Metra's busiest line with numerous rush hour trains, hourly service at off-peak times and Saturdays, and every-other-hour service on Sundays and Holidays. For more information and a complete schedule, call (312) 836-7000 or go to www.metrarail.com

Homewood is on Amtrak's Chicago-Champaign-Carbondale, IL corridor and is served by six trains daily:

Note: Schedule as of April 2, 2007. Passengers not carried locally on Amtrak between Homewood and Chicago except when connecting at Chicago to/from other Amtrak trains.

For more information about Amtrak and complete schedules, call 1-800-USA-RAIL or go to www.amtrak.com

By auto: The Tri-State Tollway (I-80/I-294) goes directly over Markham Yard and the Woodcrest shops.

From the west: Take exit #4 at Dixie Highway and drive south, straight into Homewood. To get to the viewing platform, follow Dixie Highway as it turns left underneath the tracks and then take an immediate right on to Harwood Avenue. Keep going south on Harwood Avenue until you see the platform at the end of the Pace bus terminal. To go to the equipment display, do not turn left on to Dixie Highway, but keep going straight on Park Avenue to the station. The equipment display will be on your left.

From the east: Take exit #3 at Halsted Street, head south to Ridge Road and turn west (right) to head into downtown Homewood. Ridge Road will terminate at the eastern entrance to the passenger station access tunnel. The viewing platform is one block south of Ridge Road on Harwood Avenue at the end of the Pace bus terminal. To reach the equipment display, take Harwood Avenue south to 183rd Street. Turn west (right) on 183rd and go under the tracks, followed by an immediate right on to Park Avenue. Head north to the passenger station.

Parking: Paid ($2.00 - quarters only!) commuter parking is available next to the Homewood station on the west side of the tracks, but quickly fills up on weekdays. Free public parking is available as marked on the street and in various lots throughout downtown Homewood on the east side of the tracks. The commuter parking on the east side is permit only and is strictly enforced both weekdays and weekends.

For more on the Village of Homewood, please visit their website: www.homesweethomewood.com

Portions of the above text and artwork supplied
by Paul Burgess of the Homewood Rail Heritage Committee