In General
Getting Here
Map
Sights
Pictures
Signals
Floobydust

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In General

Location / Name:
Joliet IL

What's Here:
Amtrak/METRA Station
BNSF Eola Yard
Bridge over the Des Plaines River
West end of the old Rock Island line
West end of the Heritage Line (the old Sante Fe line)

Data:
GPS Coordinates: 41.544554, -88.078910 (Amtrak Station)
Phone A/C: 815
ZIP: 60432

Scanner Frequencies:
CSX:

Access by train/transit:
METRA trains are about an hour apart except for rush hours, when they are about 15-20 minutes apart for the appropriate direction, inbound in the morning, outbound in the afternoon, between approximately 6am to 8am.  They don't have a convenient old-style schedule type display like Amtrak or MARC, so I won't show the results here.

Amtrak offers 4 trains a day, each way, between Chicago and Joliet.  See below.

The Scoop:

Joliet is 34 miles as the crow flies from downtown Chicago, at about 7:30 on the clock from Chicago.

Joliet lies at the end of two METRA lines: the Heritage Corridor, and the Rock Island District.

The Rock Island District is now the BNSF, and encompasses what is known at the BNSF "Racetrack".  It is a double tracked line to Eola Yard in Joliet, then is a single track westward over the Des Plaines River, with an interchange track to the Heritage Corridor track.

The Heritage Corridor is mostly a two line track also, four when it comes thru the station area to keep freights off the commuter lines.

As of April 27th, METRA has discontinued internet ticket sales due to declining sales.



Websites and other additional information sources of interest for Dolton area:
Indiana Harbor Belt RR www.ihbrr.com/


Getting Here

Getting to Joliet is easy.....


Map




Sights


  the Amtrak/METRA Station





  the BNSF Eola Yard




Bridges


  BNSF over the Des Plaines River

Normally in the "up" position, this vertical lift type bridge comes down to let a passing BNSF or Amtrak come thru.
For a video by "willcountynews" of it in operation going up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvZryVba1-g



  Picture by Nathan Holth, 2006









Signals


  A

Adja


  A

Adja


Pictures

  Picture by Tim Vermande

  Picture from around 1910, somewhere in Joliet....



Floobydust








Disclaimers:

I love trains, and I love signals.  I am not an expert.  My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page.  This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.

Please Note:  Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them.  For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my indexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.

If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct.  Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)

My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning.  Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented.  Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost!  I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches.  ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the railroads on them.  If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads.  Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.

Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! BE NICE!!!  Contact info is here

Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.
 


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NEW 12/22/2013
Last Modified 11-Jun-2018