UP 1995, 1982 on Employee Special, CNW 6847, at Union, Ill 6.8.13
My grandpa and I thought this train was going to Belvidere. All the same we wanted to see if we could catch it between here and Union and head back following it. We were wrong. We turned down Epworth road, a few miles west of Garden Prairie. The trees blocked the tracks so when I looked that way I about pooped my pants! Jumped out and filmed it as my buddy Dave drove it back to Union. What a beautiful train.
Anyways, grandpa went on and on about how it probably went back to Chicago. I, knowing better and having railfan experience, said it would stop at Union. And sure enough, it was at the Museum. So we paid 26 bucks to get through the gate and filmed it there. Erik, the kid who took me up in the cab of UP 1996 last weekend, was there with some of his other railfan friends (We're all in this network of friends, I barely know any of them lol). At 11:30, the train departed. I wasn't sure why I didn't see it head back east, only to find it went west, and came back like it did before. It returned around 12:15. Then at 12:30, it left again, after shutting down 1982 and starting it up again. It was very cool.
And while all this was going on, Illinois Railway Museum was running the "Skokie "L" Cars." I just found in my newsfeed that those cars haven't ran for over 20 years. So way to go IRM!! They also ran a beautiful CNW SD40-2. Love the sound of that. They were catching mail bags for Railway Express Days which was this weekend. That's what that train was doing today. It was great. We left and stopped for lunch at Cafe 20 in Marengo. THEY HAD CLAM CHOWDER!!!!! I LOVE CLAM CHOWDER!!!! Only places you seem to get it is the east coast and Red Lobster. SO I WAS THRILLED!!! Great day all around!!!