February 22, 2020 - BNSF 6347 leads an east bound autorack train through Blue Island Junction on the Indiana Harbor Belt line at Blue Island, Illinois. From the web: One of the most fascinating rail hotspots anywhere, it's hard to know where to begin a description of it. Let's start by noting that Broadway crosses the entire maze approximately in the middle. Entering from the southeast is the double track CSX main line (owned by subsidiary Baltimore $amp; Ohio Chicago Terminal) coming from Barr Yard. Entering from the south and running alongside CSX for a short distance is the double track Indiana Harbor Belt line from Blue Island Yard. The CSX line then heads directly north into Chicago, while the IHB runs northwest for several miles before heading due north through the western suburbs of Chicago. There is an important crossover between the two lines just south of Broadway. Many CSX trains departing Barr Yard transfer to the IHB at this point, and the northwest line is best thought of as a joint IHB/CSX route (hereafter, the "joint line"). CSX's subsidiary B&OCT actually owns and maintains the track from here to a point a few miles south of LaGrange, Illinois, but IHB dispatches it and is otherwise responsible for its operation. From there north to the line's terminus at Franklin Park, Illinois, IHB owns the line outright. Entering from the south and heading in a northerly direction into Chicago is the double track Canadian National (ex-Grand Trunk Western) mainline, which crosses the joint line just north of Broadway. Entering the junction from the southwest, and about 30 yards west of CN, is a single track line used by Iowa Interstate and once in a great while by CSX and Chicago Rail Link. This line extends north from the junction and feeds into the joint line. Trains using it sometimes back down the joint line to access Barr and Blue Island Yards. Between the CN and IAIS lines is a connector track, providing access to a small yard just south of the junction. If the above were all there was, Blue Island would be a great place for trains. But there's more: at the south end of the plant, the Metra (ex-Rock Island) line crosses over the whole mess (Metra is the Chicago commuter train authority and they own the Rock Island tracks between Chicago and Joliet, Illinois). At the southwest corner of the junction, the IAIS track at the west end climbs up to connect with the Metra line. Roughly 80-90 trains plow through the junction on a typical day, not counting the commuter trains and occasional freights on the overhead line. The joint line sees the most action, but the CSX main is busy as well. A small tower on Broadway in the middle of the junction once housed the crossing gates operator but was closed in 2013. The interlocking tower is at the far north end of the junction across the Calumet Sag Channel and is clearly visible from Broadway. However, it was shut down in June, 2013, and traffic is now handled remotely by CSX dispatchers. All of the tracks at the junction cross the channel on rugged, formidable truss bridges that look like they were built a thousand years ago (and are good for another thousand as well). The bridges on the north and the overhead Rock Island tracks on the south make Blue Island unique among busy junctions here or anywhere else. More information: http://www.dhke.com/CRJ/blueisland.html

BNSF 6347 leads an east bound autorack train…

February 22, 2020 – BNSF 6347 leads an east bound autorack train through Blue Island Junction on the Indiana Harbor Belt line at Blue Island, Illinois.

From the web: One of the most fascinating rail hotspots anywhere, it’s hard to know where to begin a description of it. Let’s start by noting that Broadway crosses the entire maze approximately in the middle. Entering from the southeast is the do… See More

February 22, 2020 - Metra engine 418 crosses over the CSX Elsdon Subdivision as it heads along the Metra Joliet Sub District at Blue Island, Illinois. I spent a good part of the morning and afternoon here at Blue Harbor today and ever caught a single train on the Elsdon Subdivision, but some days are like that!

Metra engine 418 crosses over…

February 22, 2020 – Metra engine 418 crosses over the CSX Elsdon Subdivision as it heads along the Metra Joliet Sub District at Blue Island, Illinois. I spent a good part of the morning and afternoon here at Blue Island today and ever caught a single train on the Elsdon Subdivision, but some days are like that!

February 20, 2020 - Two CTA Track Inspectors work their way along the maze of tracks at the intersection of the L at Tower 18 in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The safety of rail traffic everywhere falls on the maintenance of way crews as they inspect the miles of tracks in all kinds of weather!

Two Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Track Inspectors…

February 20, 2020 – Two Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Track Inspectors work their way along the maze of tracks at the intersection of the L at Tower 18 in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The safety of rail traffic everywhere falls on the maintenance of way crews as they inspect the miles of tracks in all kinds of weather!

February 20, 2020 - Metra's Milwaukee Road heritage Unit 405 waits to depart from Union Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois. According to a Metra January 25, 2019 press release: The Milwaukee Road locomotive is the second locomotive to be painted in heritage colors after an earlier one painted in a color scheme of the old Rock Island Line. The locomotives have been recently rebuilt and getting a new coat of paint – either in the regular Metra scheme or in heritage colors.

Metra’s Milwaukee Road heritage Unit 405…

February 20, 2020 – Metra’s Milwaukee Road heritage Unit 405 waits to depart from Union Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois.

According to a Metra January 25, 2019 press release: The Milwaukee Road locomotive is the second locomotive to be painted in heritage colors after an earlier one painted in a color scheme of the old Rock Island Line. The locomotives have been recently rebuilt and getting a new coat of paint – either in the regular Metra scheme or in heritage colors.

February 20, 2020 - The engineer on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Loop Train 403 keeps a watchful eye on the track ahead as he navigates his train around a curve as he makes his seemingly never ending loop through the canyons of downtown Chicago, Illinois.

The engineer on Chicago Transit Authority…

February 20, 2020 – The engineer on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Loop Train 403 keeps a watchful eye on the track ahead as he navigates his train around a curve as he makes his seemingly never ending loop through the canyons of downtown Chicago, Illinois.

February 22, 2020 - Indiana Harbor Belt 2920 backs into the Blue Island Rail Yard at Riverdale, IL as IHB 2160 works it's own job during a cold winters morning as IHB caboose 54 sits waiting to be the shoving platform on its next assignment. According to the IHB Website: The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is the largest switch carrier in the U.S. with 54 miles of mainline track (24 miles of which is double main track) and 266 miles of additional yard and siding track. The IHB provides a wide variety of services, including industrial switching with 160 customers, generating 170,000 carloads of business annually. The IHB interchanges daily with 16 other rail carriers in Chicago. A growing fleet of approximately 1,400 freight cars is geared predominately to the steel industry. The industrial traffic base includes 4 of the 5 largest steel producers in the U.S. and a large aluminum processor, oil refineries, corn millers, grain elevators, chemical plants, warehouses, lumber transloading, and bulk transfer operations. IHB's industrial traffic consists of 38% primary metals, 12% chemicals & petroleum products, 11% food products, 8% scrap iron, 7% coal & coke, 6% whole grain, as well as a variety of other products including lumber, paper, and aggregates. The IHB also operates as an intermediate switch carrier between the 12 trunk-line railroads for traffic interchanged between them in Chicago, generating an additional 475,000 revenue cars. The IHB main line circles Chicago from near O'Hare to Northwest Indiana and roughly parallels Interstate 294 (Tri-state Expressway) and I-80/94. Its primary yard, Blue Island (a 44 class track hump yard) at Riverdale, IL lies in about the center of the railroad. Other major yards includes Gibson (in Hammond, IN) which only classifies cars of new autos and Michigan Avenue Yard (in East Chicago) which serves the extensive steel plants which accounts for IHB's primary business. From East Chicago, the IHB operates east for an additional 16 miles on trackage rights to access Burns Harbor, IN and Portage, IN, which includes Indiana's International Port.

Indiana Harbor Belt 2920 backs…

February 22, 2020 – Indiana Harbor Belt 2920 backs into the Blue Island Rail Yard at Riverdale, IL as IHB 2160 works it’s own job during a cold winters morning as IHB caboose 54 sits waiting to be the shoving platform on its next assignment.

According to the IHB Website: The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is the largest switch carrier in the U.S. with 54 miles of mainline track (24 miles of which i… See More

January 30, 2020 - Indiana Railroad (INRD) 3803 and 3806 power the Palestine Utility train 1 (PAUT-1), as it makes a dropoff and pickup at the Rain Carbon Inc. plant behind the Marathon Refinery in Robinson, Illinois on the INRD Indianapolis Subdivision.

Indiana Railroad (INRD) 3803 and 3806 at Robinson, Illinois

January 30, 2020 – Indiana Railroad (INRD) 3803 and 3806 power the Palestine Utility train 1 (PAUT-1), as it makes a dropoff and pickup at the Rain Carbon Inc. plant behind the Marathon Refinery in Robinson, Illinois on the INRD Indianapolis Subdivision.

January 30, 2020 - Canadian National (CN) A408, led by ex-Illinois Central 1005, makes it's way through the yard, toward the Pike Avenue Overpass, as it prepares to do drop off and pickups at Effingham, Illinois before continuing it's trip south on CN's Champaign Subdivision. Behind IC 1005 was IC 1027, GECX 2037 demo unit headed for repaint to CN colors, CN 5780 and CN 3106.

Canadian National (CN) A408, led by ex-Illinois Central 1005…

January 30, 2020 – Canadian National (CN) A408, led by ex-Illinois Central 1005, makes it’s way through the yard, toward the Pike Avenue Overpass, as it prepares to do drop off and pickups at Effingham, Illinois before continuing it’s trip south on CN’s Champaign Subdivision. Behind IC 1005 was IC 1027, GECX 2037 demo unit headed for repaint to CN colors, CN 5780 and CN 3106.

January 30, 2020 - Indiana Railroad (INRD) 3803 and 3806 power Palestine Utility train 1 (PAUT-1), as it passes through Mont Eagle Mills granary at Palestine, Illinois, on it's way north back to INRD's Palestine Yard, after doing its work at the Marathon Refinery in Robinson, Illinois on the INRD Indianapolis Subdivision. According to Wikipedia: The Indiana Rail Road (reporting mark INRD) is a United States Class II railroad, originally operating over former Illinois Central Railroad trackage from Newton, Illinois, to Indianapolis, Indiana, a distance of 155 miles (249 km). This line, now known as the Indiana Rail Road's Indianapolis Subdivision, comprises most of the former IC line from Indianapolis to Effingham, Illinois; Illinois Central successor Canadian National Railway retains the portion from Newton to Effingham. INRD also owns a former Milwaukee Road line from Terre Haute, Indiana, to Burns City, Indiana (site of the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center), with trackage rights extending to Chicago, Illinois. INRD serves Louisville, Kentucky, and the Port of Indiana on the Ohio River at Jeffersonville, Indiana, through a haulage agreement with the Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC).

Indiana Railroad Palestine Utility train 1…

January 30, 2020 – Indiana Railroad (INRD) 3803 and 3806 power Palestine Utility train 1 (PAUT-1), as it passes through granaries at Palestine, Illinois, on it’s way north back to INRD’s Palestine Yard, after doing its work at the Marathon Refinery in Robinson, Illinois on the INRD Indianapolis Subdivision.

According to Wikipedia: The Indiana Rail Road (reporting mark INRD) is a United States Class II railroad, originally operating over former Illinois Central Railroad trackage from Newton, Illinois, to Indianapolis, Indiana, a distance of 155 miles (249 km).

This line, now known as the Indiana Rail Road’s Indianapolis Subdivision, comprises most of the former IC line from Indianapolis to Effingham, Illinois; Illinois Central successor Canadian National Railway retains the portion from Newton to Effingham. INRD also owns a former Milwaukee Road line from Terre Haute, Indiana, to Burns City, Indiana (site of the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center), with trackage rights extending to Chicago, Illinois.

INRD serves Louisville, Kentucky, and the Port of Indiana on the Ohio River at Jeffersonville, Indiana, through a haulage agreement with the Louisville & Indiana Railroad (LIRC).

September 9, 2019 - Union Pacific 5375 leads stack train as it pulls westbound from UPs Global Three yard, on the Geneva Subdivision at Rochelle, Illinois.

Union Pacific 5375 leads stack train…

September 9, 2019 – Union Pacific 5375 leads stack train as it pulls westbound from UPs Global Three yard, on the Geneva Subdivision at Rochelle, Illinois.

September 9, 2019 - Burlington Junction Railway 1517 works a string of refrigerated reefers at the Americold plant in Rochelle, Illinois on the City of Rochelle Railroad. According to Wikipedia: "The Burlington Junction Railway (reporting mark BJRY) is a Class III short line railroad which was chartered in 1985. Originally operating on the southernmost 3 miles (4.8 km) of the former Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway mainline in Burlington, Iowa after abandonment by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it provides short freight hauling, switching operations, locomotive repair, and transloading services, the latter currently handling over 3,000 carloads a year. Typical commodity types transported include chemicals and fertilizer." The BJRY operation in Rochelle is more sophisticated than most. First of all, the track is owned by the City of Rochelle Railroad. Second of all, it interchanges with UP as well as BNSF. It has enough track capacity to handle unit trains. It does not provide intermodal service because UP has its Global Three intermodal yard on the other side of town.

Burlington Junction Railway 1517…

September 9, 2019 – Burlington Junction Railway 1517 works a string of refrigerated reefers at the Americold plant in Rochelle, Illinois on the City of Rochelle Railroad.

According to Wikipedia: “The Burlington Junction Railway (reporting mark BJRY) is a Class III short line railroad which was chartered in 1985. Originally operating on the southernmost 3 miles (4.8 km) of the former Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway mainline in Burlington, Iowa after abandonment by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it provides short freight hauling, switching operations, locomotive repair, and transloading services, the latter currently handling over 3,000 carloads a year. Typical commodity types transported include chemicals and fertilizer.”

The BJRY operation in Rochelle is more sophisticated than most. First of all, the track is owned by the City of Rochelle Railroad. Second of all, it interchanges with UP as well as BNSF. It has enough track capacity to handle unit trains. It does not provide intermodal service because UP has its Global Three intermodal yard on the other side of town.

September 8, 2019 - CTA UIC-Halsted Blue Line train 108 passes a line of Maintenance of Way equipment as it heads into its next stop at Jefferson Park station in Chicago, Illinois.

CTA UIC-Halsted Blue Line train 108…

September 8, 2019 – CTA UIC-Halsted Blue Line train 108 passes a line of Maintenance of Way equipment as it heads into its next stop at Jefferson Park station in Chicago, Illinois.

September 8, 2019 - CTA Blue Line train 105 to Forest Park passes a crossover as it approaches the Damen Station as it heads toward downtown Chicago, Illinois.

CTA Blue Line train 105 to Forest Park…

September 8, 2019 – CTA Blue Line train 105 to Forest Park passes a crossover as it approaches the Damen Station as it heads toward downtown Chicago, Illinois.

September 8, 2019 - CTA Blue Line train 117 crests a hill coming out of downtown Chicago, Illinois as it approaches the Damen Station, headed toward O'Hare airport.

CTA Blue Line train 117 crests a hill…

September 8, 2019 – CTA Blue Line train 117 crests a hill coming out of downtown Chicago, Illinois as it approaches the Damen Station, headed toward O’Hare airport.

September 10, 2019 - Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad 3896 and 4210 approaches heads toward the crossing at 1st Street at Terre Haute, Indiana as it heads onto the Danville Secondary Subdivision with a mixed freight. According to Wikipedia: The Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (reporting mark DREI) is an American regional railroad that is a subsidiary of Watco Companies operating in eastern Illinois and western Indiana. In January 2018, CSX Transportation announced that it was seeking offers to buy the Decatur Subdivision and the Danville Secondary Subdivision as part of a system-wide sale of low-traffic routes, and in July, Watco, via the DREI, was identified as the winning bidder. Following regulatory approval from the Surface Transportation Board, The DREI began operations on September 9, 2018. The DREI operates two intersecting routes totaling 126.7 miles (203.9 km)—the former Decatur Subdivision between Montezuma, Indiana and Decatur, Illinois, and the former Danville Secondary Subdivision between Terre Haute, Indiana and Olivet, Illinois. It interchanges traffic with CSX, the Eastern Illinois Railroad, the Norfolk Southern Railway, the Canadian National Railway, and the Union Pacific Railroad.The railroad is headquartered in Paris, Illinois.

Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad 3896 and 4210…

September 10, 2019 – Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad 3896 and 4210 approaches heads toward the crossing at 1st Street at Terre Haute, Indiana as it heads onto the Danville Secondary Subdivision with a mixed freight.

According to Wikipedia: The Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad (reporting mark DREI) is an American regional railroad that is a subsidiary of Watco Companies operating in eastern Illinois and western Indiana.

In January 2018, CSX Transportation announced that it was seeking offers to buy the Decatur Subdivision and the Danville Secondary Subdivision as part of a system-wide sale of low-traffic routes, and in July, Watco, via the DREI, was identified as the winning bidder. Following regulatory approval from the Surface Transportation Board, The DREI began operations on September 9, 2018.

The DREI operates two intersecting routes totaling 126.7 miles (203.9 km)—the former Decatur Subdivision between Montezuma, Indiana and Decatur, Illinois, and the former Danville Secondary Subdivision between Terre Haute, Indiana and Olivet, Illinois. It interchanges traffic with CSX, the Eastern Illinois Railroad, the Norfolk Southern Railway, the Canadian National Railway, and the Union Pacific Railroad.The railroad is headquartered in Paris, Illinois.

September 9, 2019 - Union Pacific 6013 leads a mixed freight over the BNSF Aurora Subdivision, at the diamond, as a track inspector watches from the side as it heads westbound on the the UP Geneva Subdivision at Rochelle, Illinois.

Union Pacific 6013 leads a mixed freight…

September 9, 2019 – Union Pacific 6013 leads a mixed freight over the BNSF Aurora Subdivision, at the diamond, as a track inspector watches from the side as it heads westbound on the the UP Geneva Subdivision at Rochelle, Illinois.

September 9, 2019 - Lights reflect off the side of refrigerated reefers as Burlington Northern Railway 1517 works on picking up and dropping off cars at the Americold plant in Rochelle, Illinois on the City of Rochelle Railroad. According to Wikipedia: "The Burlington Junction Railway (reporting mark BJRY) is a Class III short line railroad which was chartered in 1985. Originally operating on the southernmost 3 miles (4.8 km) of the former Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway mainline in Burlington, Iowa after abandonment by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it provides short freight hauling, switching operations, locomotive repair, and transloading services, the latter currently handling over 3,000 carloads a year. Typical commodity types transported include chemicals and fertilizer." The BJRY operation in Rochelle is more sophisticated than most. First of all, the track is owned by the City of Rochelle Railroad. Second of all, it interchanges with UP as well as BNSF. It has enough track capacity to handle unit trains. It does not provide intermodal service because UP has its Global 3 intermodal yard on the other side of town.

Burlington Junction Railway 1517…

September 9, 2019 – Lights reflect off the side of refrigerated reefers as Burlington Junction Railway 1517 works on picking up and dropping off cars at the Americold plant in Rochelle, Illinois on the City of Rochelle Railroad.

According to Wikipedia: “The Burlington Junction Railway (reporting mark BJRY) is a Class III short line railroad which was chartered in 1985. Originally operating on the southernmost 3 miles (4.8 km) of the former Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway mainline in Burlington, Iowa after abandonment by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it provides short freight hauling, switching operations, locomotive repair, and transloading services, the latter currently handling over 3,000 carloads a year. Typical commodity types transported include chemicals and fertilizer.”

The BJRY operation in Rochelle is more sophisticated than most. First of all, the track is owned by the City of Rochelle Railroad. Second of all, it interchanges with UP as well as BNSF. It has enough track capacity to handle unit trains. It does not provide intermodal service because UP has its Global 3 intermodal yard on the other side of town.