Situated in a gray, austere industrial area of Gary, Indiana, it's hard to realize that Pine Junction is just a half mile south of Lake Michigan and a mile east of the Gary and East Chicago gambling casinos. Pine is one of the busiest and most unusual locations in the area, but as of November, 2004, access has become more difficult. For more on this, see the Accessibility section below.
To get to Pine, take I-80/I-94, the Borman--or Tri-State--Expressway, to Indiana Rte. 912. Exit and head north about two miles to US Route 20. Take the eastbound exit (5th Avenue) and proceed east two miles to Clark Road (there's a stoplight at the intersection). Turn left and go north across the South Shore Electric tracks to US Route 12, the first stoplight. The Indiana Toll Road crosses over Route 12 just to the west (but there is no exit here). Turn left on Route 12, go under the tollway and across the Grand Calumet River--the word 'grand' is a misnomer--and continue about a block or so until you come to a street leading off to the right (go slow here, it's easy to miss--there's an "adult" book shop on the corner). Turn right and head north; the street here is the continuation of Clark Road. You will cross a single track railroad that is now CSX property (sadly, it was once the double track main line of the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad), then another single track line owned by NS (the remains of the Wabash Chicago-Toledo route). About a half mile further, you will cross a single railroad track and then arrive at two double track mainlines. Congratulate yourself, you're at Pine Junction, although CSX refers to the general area here as "Curtis".
OR: From Chicago, take the Dan Ryan Expressway, the Chicago Skyway and then the Indiana Toll Road (all I-90) and exit at Indiana Rte. 912. Head east for about five miles to U.S. Rte. 12 and exit going east (actually southeast at this point). After about two and a half miles you will see the Toll Road passing overhead. Do not go under the bridge, but turn left onto North Clark Road about two or three blocks before the bridge (again, there's a porn shop on the corner). Then follow the directions above.
The single track you crossed when entering the area is a branch line of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern ("The J" for short), one of the Chicago area's terminal roads. The J serves the huge US Steel mill in Gary just to the east. The branch serves as a connector between CSX and the J's main line, and also heads east to serve some local industries in Gary. The first double track line crossing Clark Road is the CSX main from the east. In the old days, it was at this point where the B&O became the B&OCT (Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal), a major terminal road. It is now all CSX, although B&OCT still exists on paper and is the official owner of trackage west of here.
The parallel double track line just beyond CSX is Norfolk Southern's ex-Conrail, ex-NYC Chicago Line which heads northwest into Chicago. Beyond it are several more tracks crossing Clark Road that form a small yard ("Pine Yard") used by NS and the J to interchange cars. About 50 yards beyond those tracks, the J main line crosses over Clark Road. It heads west for about a half mile and then turns south, crossing over both NS and CSX on its way to Griffith Junction. Just beyond the J main is a single track line at ground level. It is the J's lakefront branch that passes through the junction at Indiana Harbor (CP 502), where it parallels the NS main. This line serves a generating station near the Illinois border and runs further into the South Chicago area. At one time it served the now shuttered US Steel South Works mill on Chicago's south side. Kirk Yard, the J's hump yard serving the very active US Steel Gary mill, begins just east of Clark Road.
The NS and CSX lines each feature over 60 trains a day. Amtrak is a major player here (but mostly in early morning, late afternoon and at night). The Detroit, Grand Rapids and Port Huron trains can be seen here on NS, as well as the Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited. An occasional Indiana Harbor Belt freight can be seen on the NS line; IHB has trackage rights to the Burns Harbor industrial area about twelve miles east of here. The J overhead main sees about a dozen or so trains, with infrequent traffic on its two single track lines.
Switching movements at Pine Yard are a further attraction here. Two or three times a day, EJ&E locomotives (usually SW1200's or rebuilt SD9's) use the yard to set out and pick up cars from NS. Less frequently, NS trains on the Chicago Line will do the same, using either the yard lead just east of Clark Road or another lead about a half mile to the west. Around this latter spot, the CSX main curves away from NS and heads due west to Dolton and Barr Yard. However, a branch leads off the main near this point and joins NS at CP 501 (thus enabling the Three Rivers and some CSX freights to use NS tracks into Chicago). In the old days, the branch continued beyond CP 501, paralleling the NS tracks on the south. It then crossed NS at Indiana Harbor and continued northwest, sandwiched between NS and the J's lakefront branch. B&O passenger trains used this route into Chicago.
About a mile east of Clark Road, there is a crossover permitting westbound traffic on NS to access CSX rails. CSX and Canadian Pacific trains that feed into NS at Porter Junction (from CSX's ex-Pere Marquette line) use trackage rights to this point. Most then transfer to the CSX main, athough a few continue further on NS. Also east of here is Curtis Yard, a small interchange facility between the CSX main and the J's branch into Gary.
In November, 2004, CSX posted trespass signs on their property in the area. CSX police sometimes patrol this area and will order visitors on any rail propery--not just their own--to leave. While the legality of this is questionable, and EJ&E and NS apparently don't mind responsible visitors, CSX's increased security measures are reportedly a response to foolish actions by a handful of irresponsible people. Access is hence more difficult at least for now. The only legal parking is along the side of Clark Road south of all tracks (including the EJ&E branch). You can walk to the viewing area from there, but stay on or near Clark Road, which is public property. Be careful; there is a fair amount of truck traffic on Clark. Be careful of the trains as well; Amtrak trains often roar through at 80 mph and some NS freights do around 60. While Gary has some dangerous areas, personal safety is not a problem here. The surrounding territory is an odd one of factories, mills, rail yards, transmission towers, wetlands and rare native flora all somehow coexisting. There are no commercial or residential areas nearby.
For more on CSX (B&O, B&OCT) junctions, see Brighton Park Crossing, 75th Street Crossing, Blue Island Crossing, Dolton Junction, State Line Crossing and Willow Creek Junction. See also Other South Suburban Junctions for Calumet Park, and Other Northwest Indiana Junctions for Calumet.
For more on EJ&E main line junctions, see Chicago Heights, Turner (West Chicago), Rondout and Griffith Junction. See also Van Loon at Other Northwest Indiana Junctions, Eola at Other West / Southwest Suburban Junctions and Rondout, Leithton, et al. at Other North / Northwest Suburban Junctions.
For more on NS (ex-CR), see 21st Street Crossing, Indiana Harbor, Porter Junction and Willow Creek / Burns Harbor. See also Other South Side Junctions.