Homewood (Rail Park)

Homewood's purpose-built Railroad Viewing Platform, opened in March 2007 by the village's Rail Heritage Committee, sits on the east side of Canadian National's ex-Illinois Central main line. The elevated, fully roofed, open-air structure is ADA-accessible and overlooks eight tracks: CN's double-track freight main, Metra Electric's double-track commuter line to the west, an Amtrak island platform sandwiched between the CN mains, and several running tracks to the east that feed CN's Markham Yard and Moyers Intermodal terminal a few hundred yards to the north.

A live audio feed from the switchyard plays over a loudspeaker on the platform, letting you hear train movements and communications before a train comes into view. The south throat of Markham Yard is close enough that yard switching action is common—long cuts of cars being pulled out and shoved back, using both road power and dedicated switchers.

Free municipal parking is available in a lot directly across Harwood Avenue from the platform. Downtown Homewood's shops and restaurants are a two-block walk, including a Starbucks right across the street. The platform and Metra/Amtrak boarding platforms connect via a pedestrian tunnel (dating to 1911) that runs under the tracks—never cross the right-of-way, as CN enforces a strict trespass policy.

Homewood sits on the flat glacial lakebed plains of northeastern Illinois at roughly 620 feet elevation. The low terrain gives unobstructed sightlines in both directions along the corridor, letting you spot approaching trains well before they reach the platform. The eight-track right-of-way cuts through the heart of downtown Homewood, with the 1923 Mission Revival-style IC depot and adjacent Ravisloe Country Club lending architectural character to the west side.

On the west side of the tracks, north of the station, IC GP10 No. 8408 (a rebuilt GP9 in the 1990s black scheme) and IC caboose No. 9426 (in the 1960s orange "I-Ball" livery) sit on static display—accessible via the pedestrian tunnel. Near the Rail Park, a series of 11 murals by artist Richard Haas use forced perspective to create three-dimensional railway history scenes on downtown buildings. The setting feels like a community that genuinely embraces its railroad identity rather than merely tolerating the trains.

Canadian National's Chicago Subdivision—the former Illinois Central main line from Chicago to Champaign and onward to Memphis and New Orleans—funnels over 30 freight movements per day through Homewood, including road freights, switch moves, and transfers to and from Markham Yard. CN power dominates, but Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern run-through units appear on trackage-rights trains. GTW (Grand Trunk Western) and former EJ&E power have also been spotted on yard assignments.

Amtrak contributes six daily passenger moves: the long-distance City of New Orleans (Trains 58/59 between Chicago and New Orleans) and two state-supported Illinois corridor services, the Illini and Saluki (serving the University of Illinois at Champaign and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale). On the Metra Electric side, the University Park line is one of the system's busiest routes, running bilevel electric EMUs hourly during midday, with much more frequent service during weekday rush hours and half-hourly Saturday service. Sunday service is sparse. Altogether, train counts across all eight tracks routinely exceed 100 per day.

Scanner frequencies: CN 161.190, 161.460, 160.920 MHz; Metra 161.025 MHz.

The viewing platform sits on the east side of the tracks, making morning light ideal for photographing northbound and southbound movements on the CN main. The sun illuminates locomotive noses and flanks without backlighting. Afternoon photographers can use the Metra and Amtrak boarding platforms (accessible via the pedestrian tunnel) on the west side for complementary angles.

The platform is located just south of one of the few surviving steam-era Illinois Central multi-track signal bridges, which makes a distinctive backdrop. Looking north, a 200-300mm telephoto compresses the parallel CN and Metra lines and captures the south throat of Markham Yard. Roster shots of locomotives and freight cars work well from the elevated deck, especially since most freight trains move slowly past the platform as they approach or exit the yard.

The brick Homewood Interlocking Tower, still standing near the platform, adds historical interest to wider compositions. The platform is lighted for evening visits, and the lighting is subdued enough for tripod-mounted long exposures after dark.

The Illinois Central Railroad reached this area in 1853, when it laid track through James Hart's subdivision and created a stop called Thornton Station. The first IC passenger train on this route ran from Chicago to Kankakee on August 5, 1853. The community was renamed Homewood in 1869 when the villages of Thornton and Hartford merged.

The current depot was built in 1923 in a Mission Revival style, designed by IC architects E.E. Bihl and C.J. Bystrom to complement the adjacent Ravisloe Country Club's 1917 Spanish Revival clubhouse. It is the only Mission Revival depot the IC ever constructed, featuring a gabled barrel-tile roof, stuccoed walls, undulating parapets, and arcaded walkways. The depot is listed on the Illinois Register of Historical Places and remains owned by Canadian National, which acquired IC in 1998.

CN makes its U.S. corporate headquarters in Homewood, along with a training center and the Woodcrest locomotive shops. The village's Rail Heritage Committee, along with the Blackhawk Railway Historical Society, championed the construction of the viewing platform (approved in 2003, opened March 2007), modeled after the Rochelle Railroad Park in Rochelle, Illinois. Homewood hosts a Rail Heritage Weekend every third weekend of May, featuring slide shows, model train displays, and prototype exhibits.

The station underwent a major $29 million renovation project beginning in 2020, including a new ADA-accessible Amtrak island platform, elevator access, and improvements to the 1911 pedestrian tunnel.

Homewood Rail Park stands out as one of the few purpose-built railfan viewing platforms in the United States, designed expressly for train watching rather than repurposed from another function. The combination of three distinct rail operations—CN mainline freight, Amtrak intercity passenger, and Metra Electric commuter—visible from a single elevated vantage point across eight tracks is uncommon even by Chicago-area standards.

The live switchyard audio feed piped through the platform speaker is a feature rarely found at public viewing locations. With CN's Markham Yard and Moyers Intermodal terminal just north of the platform, the variety extends beyond road trains to include yard switching, transfers, and occasional run-through power from UP and NS on trackage rights. The static display of IC GP10 No. 8408 and caboose No. 9426, combined with the Richard Haas murals in downtown Homewood, reinforces the sense of a community built around its railroad heritage.