Railfan Motels

Sandwich, IL - Best Western Plus Timber Creek Inn and Suites  

Address:   3300 Drew Avenue                    Phone: 630-273-6000

Location/ Directions:  From: Interstate 80 East. From the east exit at Route 52. Take Route 52 West. Next take Route 47 North. Next take Route 34 West. Make a left on Drew Avenue into the BEST WESTERN PLUS Timber Creek Inn and Suites parking lot.

Average Price (Checked Oct 2011):   $88.00                                  

AAA Rated:      YES           Stars: ***3***

About Hotel: 3-Floors, 100-Rooms, Interior Corridors, Fitness Center, Airport Shuttle, Restaurant on site, Pool, Complimentary Breakfast, High Speed Internet, No pets allowed, Game room, 100% smoke-free hotel, Exercise facility, Elevator, 24-hour front desk, Laundromat, Cable/satellite television, Business center, Ice/vending machines, Free parking, Truck/RV parking, AM/FM alarm clock, Coffee/tea maker, Microwave, Refrigerator, Hairdryer, Iron/ironing board, Desk/work area available, Speaker phone with Voice mail, Free local calls under 30 minutes, Air-conditioning, Complimentary newspaper available, USA Today available at no charge from front desk M-F, Wake-up calls, Sofa-bed available, Adjoining rooms available.

Railroad View:   Excellent View!  Any room on the front of the hotel will provide a clear railroad view.  Higher floors are preferred to keep above the parking lot.  Train pass fast.  Other then distant horns for grade crossings both east & west of hotel, there is no advance warning of approaching trains.

Railroads past Hotel: BNSF Railway (former Burlington Northern mainline) / Amtrak (8 trains daily).  Most BNSF trains consist of coal / empty coal / merchandise freights.  Expect about 15 freights during a 24-hour period.  The up & down swing from this number can be drastic depending on the amount of coal traffic.

Photo Comment:

Left: The railroad view from room # 302 was outstanding.  The clear view is excellent for photo's and video of passing trains.  Windows do open, protected by a screen (notice the screen in the photo).  The morning I was at this hotel, it rained very hard - non-stop, preventing me from getting good pictures.  This shot through the screen turned out clearer then the photo take through the wet window seen to the right.  Right Photo: Taken through a rain soaked glass window from room # 302, a westbound Amtrak # 381 with 4-cars passes the Best Western hotel.  Besides the 8 daily Amtrak trains, BNSF runs a number of Coal, empty hopper, and merchandise freights on this line between Chicago and Galesburg, IL.  This was the former Burlington Northern mainline.