Railfans Guide
to Joliet Union Station

For over 100 years, Joliet has been one of the busiest locations in the Midwest -- see the History Page.  In the 21st century, UD Tower in Joliet is still one of the most active places to catch modern railroad action.

​Running north-to-south, tracks 1 and 2 (former Santa Fe) belong to BNSF's Chillicothe Subdivison, while tracks 3 and 4 (former Alton/GM&O/ICG) are used by Union Pacific's Joliet Subdivision and CN's Joliet Subdivison.  (The line switches ownership from CN to UP just north of UD at Jackson Street.)  Metra's Heritage Corridor trains and all Amtrak trains use tracks 3 and 4.

Freight trains from BNSF, CN, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific can be seen throughout the day, with BNSF providing the most traffic.  Typical of today's operations, power from other Class I railroads may also be seen.​

Freight traffic on the BNSF and UP is mostly intermodal containers and trailers, along with auto racks, refrigerated cars, chemicals and general freight for local industries.  Large petrochemical facilities to the south and west bring in a steady supply of tanks and covered hopper cars.  The massive CenterPoint intermodal facilities to the south of Joliet generate considerable traffic.  Union Pacific also runs unit coal trains to local power plants north and south of downtown Joliet, although some of these facilities have been or are in the process of being converted to natural gas.

The single remaining track (of originally four) running east-west (former Rock Island) is used by Metra's Rock Island District trains up to just short of the crossing.  The few remaining freight trains on this line continue over the crossing (including CSX's New Rock Subdivision freight trains to Utica, Illinois and Iowa Interstate freight trains to Peoria, the Quad Cities and Council Bluffs, Iowa) and then continue over a massive lift bridge across the Des Plaines River (controlled remotely by CSX) as they head westward.  This freight traffic tends to run at night but can also appear during daylight hours.  

CSX trains service many chemical facilities west of Joliet and in the Illinois River Valley, as well as the massive sand operations in and around Ottawa, Illinois.  The IAIS runs ethanol trains (sometimes with Norfolk Southern power) from Cedar Rapids into Chicago on this line.

Radio Frequencies (as of 2019, provided by Peter Zimmerman):

• 160.650 MHz [AAR# 036] - BNSF Ry.
• 161.280 MHz[ AAR# 078] - UPRR [Joliet to Carlinville IL]
• 160.920 MHz [AAR# 054] - CN Railway [Joliet to Chicago] Road
• 161.190 MHz [AAR# 072] - CN Railway [Joliet to Chicago] RTC
• 161.340 MHz [AAR# 082] - Metra/Iowa Interstate/CSX

Passenger operations are detailed in our Passenger Guide to Joliet Union Station.  Metra maintains a coach yard to the east of the Rock Island District platform, and although inaccessible to the public, it can be seen from public streets.  Metra uses the former interchange track between the Rock Island and GM&O as a connection to bring Heritage Corridor trains in and out of the coach yard.

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Railfanning at Joliet Gateway Center

Looking south over the BNSF and UP mainlines, showing the realignment of tracks 2 and 3, the new Gateway Center and platform, and its relationship to the 1912 building on the right, while a Chicago-bound Amtrak "Texas Eagle" gets a helping hand from the UP in this drone photo taken 1/13/2020 by Jacob Diorio.

With the closing of the original station, the City of Joliet now owns the property and is responsible for security and upkeep.

The original 1912 station platform has been fenced off and is accessible using the staircase on the west side (the former Rock Island side) of the building.  The former elevators to the platform from the inside of the station building are inaccessible and out of service.

The new Rock Island platform east of the crossing is accessible but offers limited views.  The Amtrak platform is marked with signage that says only ticket holders are allowed on the platform.

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Joliet...away from Union Station​

There is plenty of railroad action surrounding downtown Joliet, and although some of it is accessible by public transportation, a car will probably work better.  Like many American cities, Joliet does have some areas that will require caution.  For some of the harder to get to areas, many railfans have had good luck using drones.

To the North...

The former Santa Fe (now BNSF) and Chicago & Alton (now CN/UP/Amtrak/Metra) lines from Chicago enter the Joliet by running under the former EJ&E (now CN) line from East Joliet which crosses both lines and then runs over a massive drawbridge over the Des Plaines River.  BNSF also maintains a small yard here.  Unfortunately, this area is pretty inaccessible, except for part of the I&M Canal Trail which can be accessed through the Joliet Iron Works historical site, followed by a lengthy walk.

​The area's newest railroad, the Elwood, Joliet & Southern lies to north of downtown near the intersection Illinois Routes 53 and 7 where Joliet borders against the neighboring town of Crest Hill.  A Watco subsidiary, it consists of a former EJ&E industrial branch known as the "Phoenix Line" and a former railcar rebuilder whose property is being redeveloped as a transloading and car storage facility. 

​At about the same location, a branch known as the Romeoville Industrial Spur or the "Bug Line" (after an endangered dragon fly whose habitat the line runs through) runs north from the EJ&E main line alongside Illinois 53 to the massive NRG Will County Generating Station in Romeoville.  With this power plant scheduled to stop receiving coal in 2022, and only one other customer on the line, the future of this branch is uncertain.

To the South...

​Several miles south of downtown Joliet, BNSF and UP maintain two separate and massive intermodal yards.  Union Pacific's Global IV is located just to the west of Illinois Route 53 and the Chicagoland Speedway racetrack, while BNSF Logistics Park Chicago is next to the small town of Elwood.  Both are part of the redevelopment of the former Joliet Arsenal land, which also includes the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Just a little further south in the town of Wilmington, the former GM&O/Alton crosses the Kankakee River on a bridge that is viewable from Wilmington Island Park.

To the East...

​The former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (now Canadian National) East Joliet Yard and Intermodal Terminal,  along with the crossing of the "J" and the former-Rock Island and the remains of the Rock Island's single-stall diesel house are about 1.5 miles east of Joliet Union Station.  The yard can be seen from the U.S. Route 6 overpass over the south end, or from Draper Ave. and Belle Ave. along the east side.

The abandoned Milwaukee Road line to Manhattan (Wauponsee Glacial Trail) and the Michigan Central line to Indiana (Old Plank Road Trail) are now bicycle/hiking paths. 

To the West...

The CSX maintains a yard office and keeps a set of locomotives in the town of Rockdale to service the numerous chemical and industrial customers along the former Rock Island line running west, including massive plants and industrial parks in Channahon and Aux Sable.  Iowa Interstate trains also exercise trackage rights on this line.

A bit further to the west, CN's former EJ&E Minooka branch runs south from Plainfield, serving industrial areas in Minooka and Aux Sable.  This line used to go further south to tap the coal fields around Gardner and Coal City and one time maintained an active spur to the Dresden nuclear power plant.

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