Western Avenue (on the BNSF line, not to be confused with the Western Avenue on the Milwaukee Road Lines) is stop outside of downtown Chicago on the BNSF Railway, service to the station is relatively frequent, and most weekend trains stop at the station.
The station is on the outskirts of a BNSF Railway yard with a side platform for the northern most track and an island platform for the next two tracks. The side platform is longer than the island platform (there is space for a longer platform but the island platform received less of the modern slightly raised platform with a tactile warning strip treatment. At a minimum, in the station area there are 2 additional tracks that do not platform. Each platform has a grey canopy structure that covers about 2 car lengths. The one on the side platform is a wider than on the island platform and has a brick wall along it. Access to the island platform is from a single open staircase from the eastern sidewalk of the tunnel of Western Avenue through the tracks embankment (there is an abandoned staircase to the western side of the tunnel). The side platform requires passengers to take a short sidewalk over what was once former track area before an exposed staircase leads down to street level off the embankment and to the north sidewalk of Western Avenue a bit south of 17th Street.
All Photos taken on 2 November, 2011
Cicero 