place

Belmont Avenue station

Former Soo Line stationsFranklin Park, IllinoisIllinois railway station stubsMetra stations in IllinoisRailway stations in DuPage County, Illinois
Railway stations in the United States opened in 2006
Belmont Avenue Station September 2016
Belmont Avenue Station September 2016

Belmont Avenue (also known as Franklin Park – Belmont Avenue) is a station on Metra's North Central Service in Franklin Park, Illinois. The station is 15.8 miles (25.4 km) away from Union Station, the southern terminus of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Belmont Avenue is in zone C. As of 2018, Belmont Avenue is the 224th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 24 weekday boardings. Belmont Avenue was opened on January 30, 2006, along with three other new stations on the North Central Service.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Belmont Avenue station (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Belmont Avenue station
Belmont Avenue, Leyden Township

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Belmont Avenue stationContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 41.9386 ° E -87.8602 °
placeShow on map

Address

Belmont Avenue / Franklin Park

Belmont Avenue 9280
60131 Leyden Township
Illinois, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Belmont Avenue Station September 2016
Belmont Avenue Station September 2016
Share experience

Nearby Places

Franklin Park station
Franklin Park station

Franklin Park is one of two stations on Metra's Milwaukee District West Line in Franklin Park, Illinois. The station is 13.2 miles (21.2 km) away from Union Station, the eastern terminus of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Franklin Park is in zone C. As of 2018, Franklin Park is the 123rd busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 392 weekday boardings.As of 2022, Franklin Park is served by 17 inbound trains and 19 outbound trains on weekdays, by all 12 trains in each direction on Saturdays, and by all nine trains in each direction on Sundays. One outbound train terminates here on weekdays, and one inbound train originates here. Franklin Park is a centerpiece of the Milwaukee District West Line. Located adjacent to the Canadian Pacific Bensenville yard, the station sees a large volume of freight traffic, and many trains on the MD-W line run express to and from this station. With the two north tracks used by Metra and two south tracks used for freight (Canadian Pacific) as well as frequent Metra and freight action, Franklin Park and nearby smaller stations (Belmont Avenue and Mannheim) are a favorite of railfans. The annual Railroad Daze festival is held at this station, and is a festival catered to railfans and celebrates the railroad's role in Franklin Park's history. The historic B-12 interlocking tower for the Milwaukee Railroad is situated one block west of the station, accompanied by a preserved Milwaukee Road caboose. This tower, constructed in the 1890s, was located at the intersection of the MD-W line and the Canadian National (ex-Soo Line/Wisconsin Central) (east) and Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad (west) tracks, but closed in July 1996 and was relocated a year later. Although the Milwaukee system as a whole ceased to exist in 1986, the tower still dons the Milwaukee Road logo. Franklin Park Station is the last station outbound along the Milwaukee District West Line to use three tracks. It is also the closest full service Metra station to O'Hare International Airport.

The Thirsty Whale

The Thirsty Whale, which opened in 1971, was a rock music club at 8800 Grand Avenue, River Grove, Illinois. It brought in acts like Blue Öyster Cult, Molly Hatchet, Black Oak Arkansas, Extreme, Foghat, Johnny Winter, Mother Love Bone (who played their only Chicago show at the Whale), and Peter Criss. Survivor performed here monthly early in their career. Future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Cheap Trick played there regularly in the late 1970s, promoting the release of their first two albums, Black & White and In Color, respectively. The club began to be a showcase for local Chicago area hard rock and heavy metal bands such as Enuff Z'nuff, D'Molls, 7th heaven band and others from the mid-80s through its closing in 1996. The height of the club was during the mid-1980s. Young bands would have the opportunity to open for national acts to grow their fan base and sometimes the attention of major record companies. Although the Thirsty Whale was a small club in size it had its own scene and from it grew a local music magazine, The Chicago Rocker, which was founded by Tony LaBarabra, one of the clubs many booking agents over the years. Chicago never had the metal scene that Los Angeles had but The Thirsty Whale was always a stopover for most bands playing the arenas in Chicago. If you were to ask a local rock musician from this era, they would say "Without The Thirsty Whale, there wouldn't have been a rock scene in Chicago".The club closed its doors on June 2, 1996, and was demolished to make way for a BP gas station and McDonald's. LaBarbara has hosted a "Thirsty Whale Reunion" where some of the bands that played The at the Whale, back in its heyday, held a one-night-only reunion.

Mannheim station (Illinois)
Mannheim station (Illinois)

Mannheim is a station on Metra's Milwaukee District West Line in Franklin Park, Illinois that gets services during rush hour as a flag stop. The station is 14.0 miles (22.5 km) away from Union Station, the eastern terminus of the line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, Mannheim is in zone C. As of 2018, Mannheim is the 218th busiest of Metra's 236 non-downtown stations, with an average of 35 weekday boardings. The reason this station is named because of Mannheim Road running right next to it. It is the only non-ADA-accessible station on the Milwaukee District West Line. The Tri-State Tollway also runs adjacent to the Mannheim station. As of 2022, Mannheim is served by eight inbound trains and three outbound trains on weekdays. There is no service on weekends or holidays. All trains scheduled to stop here treat the station as a flag stop. Mannheim Station is little more than a wooden shelter, which is smaller than Hanson Park further east. The station lies on the south side of Front Street between Lincoln and Ernst Streets. Parking is available on the north side of Front Street along the same block. It is just east of the large Canadian Pacific Bensenville Yard, which sits to the south of O'Hare International Airport. This station originally served as a milk stop for the village of Mannheim, Illinois. Mannheim was founded in the 1870s when the railroad was built through the area and was later annexed into Franklin Park.