The station at 99th Street on Metra’s Rock Island Division is worth a trip to Beverly alone.
(Chicago, Illinois) When my sister dropped me off at the old station at 99th Street in Beverly on Saturday, I was immediately reminded of many happy memories riding the old Rock Island Line to downtown Chicago as a child. The Rock is long gone, of course, but Metra does honor the line that runs from Joliet to LaSalle Street in Chicago as the Rock Island District. The Rock Island Line was indeed a mighty fine line to ride, especially from Beverly to storied old LaSalle Street Station where Hitchcock filmed a key scene in North by Northwest. We would take the Rock Island from the architecturally significant station at 107th Street every Christmas Eve to have breakfast under the tree at Marshall Field’s. The Polar Express had nothing on that amazing, annual journey on the Rock. And then there was the time in 1974 when I traveled on the Rock Island Line from Blue Island to Rock Island to visit a fraternity brother and apply for a job at John Deere. I didn’t get the job, and I lost the fraternity brother, but I gained a wonderful railroad experience that you might call the disappearing railroad blues. The Rock ran an observation car on the tail end of that train to Rock Island, and I sat there in the dark watching one little Illinois town after another pass by my window in the inky darkness. And, on the return passage, I had a wonderful breakfast in the diner, complete with real silverware and linens. It was first class all the way. Yes, the Rock Island Line was a might fine line, and Metra’s Rock Island District is a worthy successor. Give it a ride some time down to beautiful Beverly. For the most up to date information, visit: metrarail.com.
The 8:17 to LaSalle comes to collect me at 99th Street.
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