(The following story by Vanessa Renderman appeared on the Daily Southtown website on June 25.)
CHICAGO — Homewood is moving forward with plans to develop a rail park.
Trustees this week authorized the village’s rail committee to spend $15,000 in grant money to cover the village’s share a locomotive for the park.
National Railway Equipment Co. and Canadian National Railway will chip in $15,000 each to cover the rest of the cost, said Paul Burgess of Homewood’s Illini Rail Corridor Committee.
Canadian National has donated a caboose for the park, which is one of four on-going committee projects, said Fire Chief Ray Presnak, a committee member.
The others are creating a train-watching platform, for which ground was broken in early May; having Homewood-Flossmoor High School art students paint Homewood-themed panels on the downtown station tunnel walls; and acquiring the old train station on the west side of the tracks.
The rail park, which will be located in the grassy area next to the old station, will feature a caboose and locomotive. It could be a year after the acquisition of the locomotive until both are ready to be moved to the site, Burgess said.
Trustee Carol Gelman had some concerns about the rail park’s accessibility, saying people in wheelchairs or with strollers will have to walk under the viaduct to get to that side of the tracks.
Presnak said the committee doesn’t want to put a new parking lot near the proposed rail park.