Orange You Curious? Rolling in Glenview: Orange is the new Black?

GLENVIEW, Ill. – A flash of orange and brown cut through the suburban calm of downtown Glenview on Tuesday, and for a few electrifying minutes, everyone had a theory.

An orange Metro locomotive—unmistakably vivid against the winter grays—rumbled along the tracks, and commuters and bystanders alike found themselves playing a guessing game. Was it a nod to the orange of the state university? A tribute to the Chicago Bears? Or perhaps something else entirely, something more local and mysterious?

The answer, for those who knew where to look, was rolling right in front of them.

The so-called "Orange Locomotive" is actually a specialized diesel engine—Metra No. 405—that operates on the Metra Milwaukee District lines throughout the Chicago area. Typically used to pull regional commuter trains connecting the city to its northern and northwestern suburbs, this particular engine stood out for another reason entirely: its paint.

The bright orange and brown color scheme isn't a marketing gimmick or a team spirit gesture. It’s a historical "heritage livery," carefully designed by Metra to honor the Milwaukee Road—the original railway company that once ran passenger and freight trains on these very tracks before handing its commuter operations over to Metra.

As No. 405 eased through Glenview, several locomotive buffs were already lined along the downtown metro station, cameras and phones raised. For them, there was no mystery—only a moving piece of history worth photographing.

For travelers looking to catch the Orange Locomotive or any other Metra train, including live schedules, ticket purchases, and route updates, the Metra Official Website remains the go-to source.

But on Tuesday, in Glenview, it was enough just to watch the past roll by—one bright orange car at a time.