Sometimes referred to as "Jay Tower," this junction is on the south side of Chicago Heights, a large suburb about 30 miles south of downtown Chicago. From Illinois Rte. 394--the southern extension of the Bishop Ford (or Calumet) Expressway--exit at US Rte. 30. Go west about three miles to East End Avenue (there's a stoplight there and a railroad bridge crosses Rte. 30 just beyond East End). Turn left and head south about a mile to a double track rail crossing.
A Union Pacific main line from the south (formerly Chicago & Eastern Illinois) crosses Canadian National's east-west Elgin, Joliet & Eastern main. UP inherited the line from Missouri Pacific, who had bought C&EI back in the 1970s. CSX has trackage rights from Chicago south to Woodland Junction, and runs almost as many trains as UP. At Woodland Junction, about 45 miles to the south, the line splits. The UP line heads southwest to St.Louis as well as to Arkansas and Texas points, while a CSX-owned line runs south to Evansville, Indiana and ultimately to Atlanta and beyond. The Evansville line was also a C&EI route that was purchased by Louisville & Nashville, which in turn was later folded into the Seaboard System and eventually CSX. A few Indiana Rail Road trains can also be seen here on haulage rights. They operate via CSX to Terre Haute, Indiana, where they reach their own (ex-Milwaukee Road) rails that were purchased from Canadian Pacific in 2005.
The UP route is a busy, double track line--over 40 trains a day on average--but has quiet periods with little traffic. The EJ&E (or just "The J") is also double track and before the CN acquisition saw about a dozen trains a day, some of them UP and Canadian National run-throughs. By 2011, however, traffic has increased to about 20 trains and will further increase once CN finishes upgrading the J main. East of here, CN trains on the former Grand Trunk Western access the J at Griffith. At Matteson to the west, CN trains can transfer to the ex-Illinois Central main, and at Leithton to the north, the J connects with CN's ex-Wisconsin Central main. UP trains continue to exercise trackage rights on the J, accessing it both here and at West Chicago. A connection in the southeast quadrant provides access for the UP trackage rights movements and is also used by CN/EJE trains to reach a small UP yard to the south. CN in turn has trackage rights on UP, and their trains from the south can head east from here on the J. The northwest quadrant once contained a connector, but it is now just a stub used by the J to store MOW equipment. The tower, labelled "Jay," still stands but was shut down in 1993. It is in the southwest quadrant and was operated by the J.
Frequencies
UP: 160.410, 160.470
EJ&E: 160.350
There is a large open area in the southwest quadrant but it is railroad property and hence off limits. Your only alternatives are to stand along East End Avenue, just east of the crossing, or along 23rd Street to the south. The neighborhood around the junction is a bit seedy but seems reasonably safe.
For more on UP (ex-C&EI) junctions, see Dolton Junction and Thornton Junction on the Other South Suburban page. See also the Outlying Junctions page for Woodland Junction and Momence.
For more on the CN/EJE main line, see the Griffith, Matteson, Turner (West Chicago) and Rondout pages. See also Van Loon and Pine at the Other Northwest Indiana page, Eola at the Other West/Southwest Suburban page, and Leithton, Barrington, et al. at the Other North/Northwest Suburban page.