During rush hour, trains are lined up for as far as the eye can see at the wide intersection of tracks at Chicago’s Western and Grand avenues. It’s the site of one of Metra’s biggest bottlenecks, and ...

HAMMOND -- The city's Historical Preservation Committee is hoping an abandoned railroad switching tower on the north end of the downtown district can find a new home this year.

Rail towers were narrow buildings, two stories tall and always next to the railroad tracks. Workers switched tracks, handed out train orders and performed other duties for the railroad. Slowly, as the ...