although UP dispatches and maintains it. CSX's ex-L&N, ex-C&EI route from Evansville, Indiana, joins UP
70 miles south of here at Woodland Junction.Listed here are some junctions that don't warrant separate
pages but are still worth noting.
Not to be confused with Calumet Junction in East Chicago, Calumet Park is a mile south of Burnham and roughly halfway between Dolton and Hohman Avenue. Coming from the north on I-94, the Ford (or Calumet) Expressway, exit at Dolton Avenue--it soon becomes State Street--and head east about a mile to Torrence Avenue. Continue past Torrence and turn left just after the road narrows to two lanes. The junction is couple of blocks. Coming from the south on I-94, take the east exit at Sibley Boulevard. Go east to Torrence, turn left and proceed to State Street. Turn right on State and follow the above directions.
The South Chicago & Southern, also called the "Bernice Cutoff", enters from the north and terminates here. This ex-CR, ex-Pennsy route is the same one that crosses the South Shore and NS at Burnham. The SC&S, now owned by Norfolk Southern, is abandoned south of here. For more on it, see the Burnham page.
Entering from the east is CSX's ex-B&OCT double track main line. Joining it from the southeast is the main line of the Indiana Harbor Belt, one of the Chicago area's major terminal roads. From here, the two lines head west to Dolton Junction, about three miles. Instead of crossing them, the SC&S now feeds into CSX, and then through crossover trackage, the IHB. The hot-metal (or "bottle") train that passes through Dolton can also be seen here. For more on this unusual movement, see the Dolton page. See also the photo below.
Leading off from CSX here and heading northwest is the Kensington Branch. It is what remains of the ex-NYC, Michigan Central main line that once entered the junction alongside the IHB. It then crossed CSX on its way to Kensington where it joined the Illinois Central main line. The crossing is long gone, as is the connection at Kensington. The line is now just a branch serving local industry.
With the abandonments of the Cutoff and the former MC trackage, there are no longer any diamonds here and traffic has diminished. However, CSX and IHB still operate a total of 80 or more trains on an average day. Traffic is minimal on both the Bernice and Kensington lines.
The road leading to the junction puts you south of the tracks, so photos are easy to come by. But you'll probably prefer just going to nearby Dolton Junction instead; nearly everything seen here can also be seen there, plus Dolton features extensive traffic on the UP main line as well.
The junction is located directly south of Dolton and is just north of the suburb of Thornton. From I-94--the Bishop Ford Expressway--take the westbound exit at 159th Street. Go west about one mile to South Park Avenue. Turn left and head south 3/4 mile to a double track rail crossing. Cross the tracks and turn right on 168th Street. Proceed on 168th to another set of tracks. The junction is a block or two north of the grade crossing.
Union Pacific's ex-MP, ex-C&EI line from St. Louis
and the southwest is crossed by Canadian National's ex-GTW
main line from Michigan. Both lines are double track. CSX is a joint owner of the UP line,
although UP dispatches and maintains it. CSX's ex-L&N, ex-C&EI route from Evansville, Indiana, joins UP
70 miles south of here at Woodland Junction.
An important connector track is located in the northeast quadrant. CSX trains on their ex-L&N, ex-Monon line from Lafayette feed into CN at Munster, Indiana, and travel to Thornton on trackage rights. They then use the connector to access UP/CSX. Amtrak's Cardinal and Hoosier State also travel this route. The UP/CSX line sees about 50 trains a day (but has quiet periods), with 30 to 35 on CN and perhaps eight to ten Lafayette trains.
The easiest access to Thornton is from 168th Street at the south end of the junction. However, UP has posted a trespass sign here. This also makes parking difficult since the optimal place for it would be in the UP area. Other approaaches to the diamonds are difficult as well. The best that can be said here is: proceed at your own risk.
Located in downtown Blue Island, the junction can be reached by exiting I-57 at Burr Oak Street (also called "127th Street") and heading east a block to Ashland Avenue. Turn right on Ashland and then right again on Vermont St. The junction is less than a mile. Two Metra-owned lines from Chicago join here: the ex-Rock Island main line, now used mostly by Iowa Interstate and Chicago Rail Link north of here, and the ex-Rock Island commuter branch that serves Chicago's Beverly and Morgan Park neighborhoods, as well as the north end of Blue Island. The branch terminates here, and commuter trains headed southwest to Joliet transfer to the Rock Island main. In addition, Metra Electric's ex-Illinois Central commuter branch to Blue Island terminates here just east of the Rock Island tracks.
Traffic is almost entirely commuter trains, but an occasional IAIS or CRL freight can be seen. Both railroads use Burr Oak Yard, which begins just north of here. The Metra Electric station platform provides a reasonably good view of the south end of the yard. Getting here by train is easy: take one of the commuter lines from downtown Chicago (and, for a little variety, return on the other). Metra's Rock Island trains depart from La Salle Street Station (located at the rear of an office tower at LaSalle and Van Buren streets). Get off at Vermont Street. The Metra Electric trains use the Millennium station (at Randolph Street) and Van Buren street stations in downtown Chicago. Be sure to board a Blue Island train. The University Park and South Chicago trains use different routes.
Not a crossing at grade, the Canadian National ex-Illinois Central main line and Metra Electric's ex-IC commmuter line cross over the double track Elgin, Joliet & Eastern main that runs east from Joliet to Gary. Situated along Main Street in the far south suburb of Matteson, the crossing features a connector in the southwest quadrant that sees a lot of interchange movements. Small yards can be found to the east and the south of the crossing for pickups and set outs. An abandoned EJ&E brick cabin still sits at the crossing and lends the area a nostalgic air. The overhead tracks are by far the busiest, with some 30 CN freight trains a day. Metra trains are frequent, especially at rush hours, but sightlines for viewing them are not very good. The J sees a dozen or so trains a day, some of them CN and Union Pacific trains on trackage rights. The sidewalk along Main Street provides a reasonably good view of the area, but don't venture far from it--both the J and CN have posted trespass signs in the area. You can get here by Metra if you're willing to do some walking after detraining. From the Millennium or Van Buren stations in downtown Chicago, take one of Metra Electric's University Park trains to the Matteson station. The crossing is nearly a mile to the south on the east side of the CN/Metra elevation.