Welcome to michaelckelly.net, home for railfan, author & podcaster Michael C Kelly. On this blog you’ll find information on published books, videos, podcasts, railfan experiences, plus info on upcoming projects. As of May 2026, my next book, Rails Around Northern Illinois, is in production with an expected release in October 2026. It will cover the…
I will be returning to the Monticello Railway Museum Saturday-only, September 19 at their Railroad Days festival! Come out, ride and photograph the trains, and pick up a copy of Rails Around Central Illinois, Southern Illinois, and see the hard-copy preview of the Northern Illinois book, due out next month! The Central Illinois book includes…
In the 1980s, Conrail was operating “hot bottle” trains for Acme Steel using a section of the former Panhandle in Riverdale to Inland Steel’s Indiana Harbor Works plant in East Chicago, Indiana, via connection at Dolton to the IHB. Conrail GP38 #7720 brings one such empty train off the Panhandle onto the IHB in April…
This evening we take a look back at the Chicago & Eastern Illinois in an excerpt from Chapter Two of Rails Around Northern Illinois. C&EI train #4, The Danville Flyer, rounds the curve in Chicago Heights in April 15, 1967, heading north behind E7 #1101 for a 9:15am arrival at Chicago’s Dearborn Station. The Danville…
This week’s excerpt is from Chapter Six, which covers the Milwaukee Road’s D&I mainline across Illinois from the Mississippi River at Savanna to Davis Junction and Chicago, including a detour on the Ladd line: “With a crew change complete, Milwaukee Road SD40-2 #182 eases away from the platform at the Savanna depot on April 17,…
Some snow to distract from the mind-numbing heat, an excerpt from my upcoming book, Rails Around Northern Illinois: Taken from 18th St in an iconic Chicago skyline shot that cannot be repeated, northbound ICG train #P50 from New Orleans loops southwest for the new IMX intermodal yard on morning of January 31, 1987 behind two…