Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit

"Lyman Woods is 150 acres of oak woods, prairie, and marsh habitats that supports over 300 species of native plants", according to the Downers Grove Park District . The fact that this parcel of land exists in a largely preserved state despite being surrounded on all sides by development is a small miracle, and is an incredible refuge for humans as well as local flora and fauna. It's an excellent place to go bird watching as well. ( Map ) The DuPage County Forest Preserve, Village of Downers Grove and the Downers Grove Park District jointly purchased Lyman Woods in 1987 through a tri-governmental agreement ( NIU ), which only happened as a result of village residents voicing their opinion that this property ought to be saved. Walking over a marsh on the south end of the property. An interesting aspect of this preserve is the presence of kames, glacially deposited hills of gravel, which were deposited during the glaciation period about 10,000 years ago. As glaciers largely...

What appears to be some kind of stone building from early in the 20th century, today is nothing more than a creepy and haunting part of an otherwise leisurely walk along the Waterfall Glen Trail near Lemont, IL. I first encountered this structure walking with friends in 2012, at the same time that I discovered the abandoned tracks that led into Argonne National Laboratory , which began a few hundred feet east of here along the trail. My initial thought that those two finds may be connected yielded no fruit at all, which led me to the obvious question:  What exactly is this structure, and what does "LPS 1921" mean?  It almost resembles a mausoleum with an open-air roof, although my guess is that it once had a roof that has been lost to time.  This is case where the truth is rather benign, as it is the site of a former nursery, or more accurately, it is a former administration building; the nursery was along the land adjacent to the structure. This is where trees and plant...

It’s been awhile since we’ve had any notable weather events in the Chicago area, as the summer thus far has been quite hot and dry, and even when storms have threatened the area, a persistent flow of dry air has largely diminished them, leaving a significant drought.  The same weather dynamics were in play on the afternoon of June 20th, 2021 when a band of thunderstorms and rain quickly dried out, bringing little to no rain, particularly south of Chicago. However, a second band of storms developed behind those, prompting torrential downpours, significant lightning, strong wind gusts, and, of course, tornadoes. View of the tornado or funnel cloud on 6/20/21. Matt Smith photo. As this occurred at night, very few pictures of the funnel were observed. This is also one of the most  significant tornadoes to impact the Chicago area  since  January of 2008 , and as the storm damage is still being analyzed, and it is the first EF-3 since 2015, when a tornado struck between Co...

Stenger's Brewery was located at Franklin and Webster Street in downtown Naperville, IL, being the third brewery in the village, and by far the most profitable during its life. At its peak, it shipped 17,000 barrels of lager and ale in northern Illinois. ( Chicago Tribune )  The dates of opening differ depending on the source, but it was first opened by Peter Stenger around 1850, either being purchased from, or opened with, one Jacob Engelfritz and survived until 1893, when Peter's son, John Stenger retired. After Peter, John and his brother Nicholas ran the brewery until  Nicholas' passing in 1864 .  Evidently, the brewery either had a siding for the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad, or otherwise transported their beer another way from the few blocks between the brewery and the tracks. What appears to be a siding on the CB&Q line at Naperville for the brewery. I don't think this is the line which ran along Ewing Street that served the quarry which became...

It's been a few years since anyone has thought about extending Illinois Route 53 north of Lake Cook Road in earnest, and the project is all but dead . Facing an incredible cost, negative environmental impact, questionable need, and public opposition, I think it's ultimately for the best that road has not, and does not, get built. That is not to say that I do not support significant improvements in Lake County's roads, but I think this was the wrong solution to the issue. The Illinois Route 53/120 Project in Lake County, Illinois wass a proposed highway expansion project aimed at improving the existing Route 53 and Route 120 highways in the county, both of which are two lane roads today. Especially in Route 120's case, it is not designed to handle the traffic volume that occurs on it each day. The project has been in the planning stages for several years and its purpose is to address growing traffic congestion, safety issues, and improve access to economic opportunities ...

Long story short: probably not.  But its been a local legend for well over a century, that there exists in the mud between Western Springs and Hinsdale an abandoned Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad locomotive, that was buried under the tracks during the construction of the line over 150 years ago. The Western Springs Historical Society dubs it " The Little Lost Train ". 1880’s era train at Stone Avenue Station.  (Western Springs Historical Society) And the legend has renewed interest, giving the ongoing roadwork on the Tri-State Tollway  (I-294) which has required BNSF to construct a temporary bridge over the Interstate. A simple diagram of the construction is posted below from the Illinois Tollway . Riders of Metra's BNSF Line will be quite familiar with the project already. The new bridge will be just south of where the current bridge exists, and moved back once construction on the Tri-State is completed, and an additional storage track will be part of the fi...

The Metra STAR ( Suburban Transit Access Route ) was a proposed, but unbuilt railroad project, which would have been the first Metra line to exclusively serve the suburbs of Chicago, and connect to multiple Metra lines.  Here's a rendering of Diesel Multiple Units that were proposed to run on the STAR. Metra has since taken this site offline, but the Wayback Machine still has the page. This would have been key to connecting the Metra system outside of Downtown, as each individual line that makes up Metra runs from the suburbs in one direction into the city, i.e. a hub and spoke system . Thus, there are very few connections between individual Metra lines outside of Downtown Chicago. Here's an unofficial Metra Map showing how disconnected the system is. A true sign of this disconnect? Even within downtown Chicago, one can't use the "L" Train to connect to each Metra station. ( Wikipedia Commons ) That wouldn't necessarily be a problem if there was adequate bus...