Chicago

[Cody J]

My brother and his girlfriend are thinking of going to Chicago for a couple of days over Spring Break and my brother told me to get info on it. He wants to stay outside of the city and ride the train in every day. Any suggestions on a hotel (something like a Red Roof Inn or somethin like that) and the train route. Preferably a hotel close to a station.

Thanks,
Cody

[jbsmith]

here are some links for Chicago area commuter trains, first up is the South Shore Line

http://www.nictd.com/

Chicago Transit Authority

http://www.transitchicago.com/

Amtrak
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage

[Cody J]

Thanks, but I sent some info on Metra. And I think he might stay in Downers Grove.

[jbsmith]

Downers Grove,,that's a meat packing area!  Packers like Oscar Meyer, Eckrich, and Con Agra can be found there.
don't know much about the place beyond that.

[Cody J]

Well I watch a show called Wrecked which follows O'Hare towing and they are based in Downers Grove and it looked like a nice area.

[Jhanecker2]

How is your brother getting to Chicago  and  when is Spring Break ?  Your brother is a brave traveller considering the Spring weather in the Chicago area .  I love it but I have lived in the area for over  50 years.  Weather is a liitle dicey sometimes but there are still a lot of things to do all over town.  I hope he has a good time.  John II

[ebtnut]

Get on Mapquest and focus in on Downer's Grove.  They will usually have a spot on the page to click for local hotel info in the area, which can be spotted on the map.

[Loco Bill]

haven't seen it in awhile but there is a railfans guide tom chicago, I used to have one but must have sold it.  I was a huge help for me, but I did rent a car.  If he has GPS he should have no problem getting around for pics.

Great Train town!!!!

[Cody J]

Thanks for the info! I'm not sure when his Spring Break is and he's not going up for railfanning, of course he'll always have a camera with him for shots if he sees somethin good but I don't think he has planned railfanning into his trip.

[Joe323]

Not Sure about Downers Grove but We stay in a Red Roof in Deerfield Ill thats pretty reasonably priced.  I the suburbs he'lll probably want a car to get around but you can leave it at the train station and take Metra downtown to see the sights within walking distance of Northwest/Union Station.  I have taken Amtrak there several times but the local trains only a couple of times to Palestine/Hoffman Estates in the Northwest suburbs.

[Colorado_Mac]

I was going to mention the Red Roof in Deerfield, as well. (Waukegan Rd & Deerfield Rd).  Very close to the Metra station.  If he does have a car, go north a few miles to Lake Forest and check out the lakeside mansions and the beach.

[ryeguyisme]

I went to pittsburg PA once for a wedding and I found a hobby shop and a great find a rare G&D MDC 0-6-0 replica. And so I also went to the wedding and at the reception it was at a place overlooking the water, and there was a huge railway bridge to left of this place probably like 100 or so feet away and I went outside to get fresh air and there was a long freight of hopper cars going through, it was a pretty fun trip. It's always great to travel I'd suggest looking up local hobby shops in the area as well