Farewell, EJ&E

Anything pertaining to railfanning in Indiana.
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SD80MAC
Ingersoll's Mr. Michigan
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Re: Farewell, EJ&E

Unread post by SD80MAC »

Skyway, IN Toll Road, Dan Ryan, I-94 they're all the same; They're all BUSY! :P Changed.
"Remember, 4 mph is a couple, 5's a collision!"
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GreatLakesRailfan
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Location: Marysville, Michigan

Re: Farewell, EJ&E

Unread post by GreatLakesRailfan »

Soo...where would be a good place to see the EJ&E, during daylight, in the winter, if one lives in the northwest suburbs? I ask, as I don't have the time to fight traffic between here (just north of Elgin) and Gary, but would like to see more of the EJ&E than empty tracks before the orange power disappears entirely. Ironically (or sadly) the 29th is also my next day off of work, and it would be really nice to be able to use the day to see something on the line before it resembles just one more segment of the vast CN system.
~ Charles W.

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EJ&ESDM809
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Location: Joliet, IL
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Re: Farewell, EJ&E

Unread post by EJ&ESDM809 »

Unfortunatly up there there isn't much daylight traffic, sometimes none at all. The only EJ&E train that uses the line north of West Chicago other than the Waukegan local is the Long West. Basically north of Spaulding the chances of seeing a J train are slim to none, and even north of Eola it is a lot harder to catch a J train then points south of there. The busiest portion of the Western Sub is between Walker (Plainfield) and Joliet Yard as all trains from Waukegan, Spaulding, West Chicago and Eola use that line as well as JSW1 and JSW2 which come off the Illinois River Line in the early morning and during the evening. BNSF and UP also use this portion of the EJ&E to keep things going between J trains.
Robby Gragg - Proud fan of the EJ&E Railway

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Racer
Stops in Oncoming Traffic
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Re: Farewell, EJ&E

Unread post by Racer »

I got a question about this whole CN-EJE deal. When CN gets their traffic off the St. Charles Air-Line, will the Air-Line have any trains on it or will it be torn out?
"...and I was in the front and Matt grabbed and pulled my ears from behind me and made horsey sounds."

GreatLakesRailfan
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Location: Marysville, Michigan

Re: Farewell, EJ&E

Unread post by GreatLakesRailfan »

They're going to tear it all down and completely rebuild it from the foundation up. It'll be good for two centuries this time and will have zero at grade crossings with other railroads or roads, which will allow quicker transit times through Chicago. I believe the goal is to totally piss off just about everyone in the greater Chicagoland area...


Oh, hey, by the way...if anyone's looking to buy a bridge, I've got one out in Brooklyn I'm trying to get rid of... :roll:
~ Charles W.

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EJ&ESDM809
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Re: Farewell, EJ&E

Unread post by EJ&ESDM809 »

Yes, the St. Charles air line will still be used by Amtrak's Saluki and the City of New Orleans. CN has agreed to continue to pay for maintenence on the line as Amtrak service on the St. Charles air line was one of the main concerns about the merger. If CN wouldn't have offered to continue to pay for maintenence Amtrak service to Carbondale and New Orleans would've been threatened as Amtrak needs the air line to access Union Station from the IC. Eventually if the CREATE plan ever gets funding a new line will be built for Amtrak and then the Air Line would be abandoned, but until then the Air Line will remain in place as is.

CN will officially assume control of the EJ&E on Sunday, by the way. Right now USS is cleaning house at Joliet and they are moving all of EJ&E's freight cars except for flatcars onto what will be the Gary Railway. Out of the freight cars, CN only gets the flatcars, everything else goes to Gary Railway and other USS roads such as the Union and Birmingham Southern.
Robby Gragg - Proud fan of the EJ&E Railway

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