A long overdue update! Sorry! We’ve been getting back to the hotels late every evening, so haven’t updated the blog for a couple of days. This update won’t include any photos, but most of you will see the photos when we get back.

On Sunday evening we went to Elmwood Station in Chicago to do a bit of train watching. Turns out we found a brilliant spot as quite a few people turned up, including families with kids out to enjoy the evening. Everyone was so friendly. Turns out there are 3 railroad clubs right next to the station, as well as a model shop. There were some great restaurants nearby, and the police station next door even had public toilets - talk about convenience!

3 people we met on the platform belonged to one of the nearby railroad clubs, and organised for us to go down to tour the layout - very impressive!

Now the best part…one of the guys there gave us the name of someone who had a large layout and he organised for us to go visit it yesterday. Well, what a surprise!! Turns out the guy is the ex-CFO of the Chicago North Western railroad! He lives in a MASSIVE house in the suburbs near Chicago…now, his layout…it is in the basement of his house - to give you an idea of the size of his basement - my house could fit in there easily (square footage), probably twice!! And this one just a basement! The house was huge!!

The layout was absolutely massive! We all had a chance to run trains round - it is fully signalled, so we had to obey the signals, just like a real railway…really impressive! Words cannot describe it!! Unfortunately I haven’t uploaded the photos, but you will all see them soon!!

On Thursday we stayed in Lansing at the Holiday Inn - another bargain! $59 for the night! Very cheap! We then drove up to Durand on Friday where we spent the day at the historic station there, watching Canadian National and Burlington Northern trains. Another interesting bunch of guys there as well.

Last night we drove up to Flint, about 2 hours from Durand. We are staying at the Super 8 Motel there…yes I know - we said we would stay at another one, but each one varies - the one at Rochelle looked very nice and people we met at Rochelle said they were enjoying their stay there. So we thought we could give this one a try. Well, it is tons better than the Chicago one, but not quite to the same standard as the Holiday Inn!! I am on the ground floor, with my room opening out onto the parking lot - the other guys are the floor above, with rooms opening onto an open passage - a typical motel!! Checking in was an experience, as the check-in desk was barricaded in by thick plexiglass, just like a bank!! We wanted to ask why it was like that, but we decided we didn’t really want to know!! Sort of ominous, the hotel staff behind thick protective barriers!!

Oh well, at least the rooms are clean and there is no paint peeling off the walls like the last one!!!

Today we head back to Detroit to catch our flights. Jim back to San Francisco, and Mark, John, Graham and myself back to London. So, tons of photos and video for everyone to see - not all of them of trains!

We had a brilliant time over here and really had fun! A great bunch of guys who get along really well together! We’re already planning our next trip!!

See you all soon!! And apologies for the lack of photos with this update, but it is 1.30am now and I need sleep!

Byee!!

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Yesterday (Tues 31st) was our first day up at Rochelle, Illinois, at the famous Rochelle Railroad Park, run by the local council.

The Railroad Park is unique as it stands between two sets of main tracks, both run by different railroads - the Union Pacific (the UP) and the Burlington Northern Sante Fe (or BNSF). These tracks cross each other across a double-track diamond crossing, making for exciting train viewing. The Railroad Park has a gift shop and a covered viewing platform with tables and chairs, and a radio scanner so visitors can listen to the train crews - good for knowing when a train is due to come past. There is also a webcam that enables people all over the world to view the action across the diamond.

Here are some photos from yesterday (Tuesday 31st):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/palizbay/tags/rochellerailroadpark/

Apologies for just the links, but adding photos to the blog at the moemnt is proving to be a pain in the a$$!! I’m trying to resolve the problem…

The temperature went up to 104F! A little warm! Luckily we had plenty of water and ice to keep us cool…

Hopefully it will be a little cooler today as we are out and about again to various viewing spots around the Rochelle area. At least our van has industrial strength air conditioning!!

Last night we were invited to view a local model railroad by a local resident, Daryl Kruse. Daryl has recreated Rochelle in N scale, including the Railroad Park and surrounding industries!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/darylkruse/

What a brilliant layout!! He hand laid the diamond, with measurements taken from the actual real diamond itself - he took measurements of the real thing! Unfortunately this great layout is due to be demolished in the near future due to a possible house move, which will be a huge shame! At least there will be plenty of photos to remember it by! Daryl has a website at http://home.comcast.net/~DPKRUSE/

Right, time for bed. Another post on the way later on tonight…oh, and our hotel is great!  :-)  Back to luxury again!

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On Sunday we arrived in Chicago and checked into our hotel, the ‘Super 8 Motel’, chosen by Jim due to its very reasonable rates.

We then found out why…! Most Super 8 Motels are quite nice, for a budget hotel chain. However, the Super 8 in Mannheim, Chicago, definitely didn’t fall into that category!!

Just have a look at these:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/super8motelchicago/

Peeling paint, incompetant staff and a doorman who looked like a cross between Michael Jackson (when he was still black!) and Al Capone!…was just like staying at Fawlty Towers!! When we got back to the hotel on Monday evening none of us could get into our rooms! After much deliberating between staff members and accusations about the previous night clerk, we finally received new room keys and could get into our rooms for a good night’s sleep. Surprisingly our rooms were clean, including the bathrooms and the sheets! However, you can see from John’s photos above that the rest of the hotel was something out of a horror movie!

Later that night we found out that the area we were staying in, Mannheim, was run by the mob and the gangsters, which would account for all the cheap hotels and bars in the area!! So, at least we know where NOT to stay next time!!!

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