Advice on railfanning El

I am going to be in dowtown Chicago tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday and might have a couple hours for a daylight El trip. I literally mean an El trip -- I grew up in Boston and have been in Elevated withdrawal since 1987 . I have been to both airports and gone partway up the red or brown line where they are alongside the purple. I was on part of the Green once, but it was dark. Where should I go for a good El show? I'll be at a conference around Michigan Avenue and the River, so I'd walk either to the Red Line or to the nearest part of the Loop.

What would you like to see? Fast running, Class I action, yards?

I'd suggest riding the purple express to Howard. It's a bit slow on the way up due to slow orders and bad track, but the ride back isn't too bad. Also at Howard is the Skokie Swift yellow line, the remnant of the North Shore Interurban.

Alternatively, take a ride on Metra Electric or South Shore. MED is the only heavy electric outside of the NEC, and South Shore is the last interurban. Usually once/week I watch rush hour from the Art Institute parking lot as service is pretty frequent. If you have some time Saturday, take South Shore to Hegewisch and grab some Punchy's Pizza.

Thanks, Tadman. In the end I didn't have time for a long ride -- my convention was better than I expected -- and just ended up riding to Clinton walking back after looking into Ogilvie/Northwestern Station. I'd never crossed the river on the pink/green line there. I'll remember your advice for the next time, though; I'm really glad to have it. MED is great, isn't it? When I lived in Urbana I'd change at Homewood to see friends in Hyde Park or get to the Museums.

And I guess I'm showing that I'm from Boston by writing "El" instead of "L".

Glad you had a good time. I love going for a ride out to Ogilvie. If you're into planes, too, you're not far from the Boeing store. I'm not into planes like I am trains, but I always like me some Boeing swag.