Located about two miles east of Hayford Junction, this busy junction can be reached by exiting the Dan Ryan Expressway at 71st Street and heading west about two and a half miles. A few blocks past Damen Avenue is Oakley Street. Turn left on Oakley and take it to 75th. From there, a gravel road crossing a connector track leads to the junction.
Coming from the north on Western Avenue, turn left at 71st, then right on Oakley. From the south, turn right at 73rd Street, then right again on Oakley.
Two parallel east-west double track routes are crossed by a double track north-south route. The latter is CSX's ex-B&OCT main line that runs north from Blue Island and also passes through Brighton Park Crossing. The east-west tracks nearest you are the Belt Railway of Chicago's busy east-west main line, terminating at the Belt's Clearing Yard about two miles to the west. The other east-west tracks belong to Norfolk Southern. Originally, this was the Wabash Railroad's main line to St.Louis, but it now terminates at a chemical plant in Manhattan, Illinois, about 35 miles to the southwest. Much of the traffic runs to or from NS's Landers Yard, just west of here. The Wabash operated commuter trains to the suburb of Orland Park on this line, and they are still running thanks to Metra, the Chicago area's commuter rail agency (service will be extended to Manhattan in 2005). In the good old days, the Pennsylvania Railroad's double track Panhandle main line also ran through here, paralleling CSX on the east, but it was downgraded in the 1970's and torn up in the 1980's. Little evidence remains of its existence at the crossing, but to the north a small CSX yard occupies the ROW. There are connectors in both the northwest and northeast quadrants, with the latter seeing the most traffic.
The BRC line sees the most traffic, with
CSX and NS following in that order. All told, close to 100 trains rumble through the
junction on a typical day. CSX, NS and Union Pacific use the BRC to access Clearing, and
their trains can be seen more often than those of the Belt. Metra service is limited
mostly to rush hour service, with no trains on the weekends. A tower once stood in the
northwest quadrant, but it was closed in 1997 and demolished the same year. It has been
replaced by a large equipment shack. The junction is now controlled by CSX dispatchers.
Frequencies
CSX: 160.230, 160.320
BR 160.500, 160.635
NS: 160.440
You will find yourself in the northwest quadrant. A large, spacious area separates the connector from the diamonds, enabling you to stand well back from the tracks. You should also stay clear of the equipment shack. The area is not posted, but it is clearly railroad property, and you should stay away if track or signal crews are at work. Photos are a little difficult since you're on the north side of the BRC and NS. But late afternoon can yield some nice results, especially on CSX. Hayford is preferable for the BRC since you are south of the tracks there. The surrounding neighborhood is not dangerous, but caution is advisable. It's perhaps best to go in a group.
For more on CSX (ex-B&O, ex-B&OCT) junctions, see Brighton Park Crosssing, Dolton Junction, Pine Junction, State Line Crossing and Willow Creek Junction.
For more on the Belt Railway's east-west main line, see Hayford Junction, and also Pullman Junction at Other South Side Junctions.
For more on the NS (ex-Wabash) line, see Chicago Ridge on Other West/Southwest Suburban Junctions.