Okay, so I just moved to Will County, here in Illinois. Can anyone tell me where I can go to get some pictures? I know about Joliet Union Station (Not interested, been there, done that, ain’t goin back) I have looked on Google Earth, but not sure which lines are busy, which are abandoned, and which are quiet. I am about a 1/2 mile from the EJE at Weber and Caton Farm Rds, but what about the rest of Will Co? Where can I go for some BNSF action, besides Joliet Union Station.? Any help would be appreciated. I used to live in the Near Western Suburbs, where the BNSF, UP, CN and such were a 10 minute drive away, and the IHB ran behind my building… But out here on the fringe of farmland, things aren’t so close. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
Either Lemont or Lockport should work for you. The former GM&O and AT&SF main lines are fairly close to each other in both places. Lemont may be in Cook County, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
Why?
Just kidding. We live in the northernmost part of Will County ourselves, a quarter-mile south of the county line.
Well, and I AM biased, but West Eola is one of the better places. Not Will County, but within a reasonable drive for you considering both mainline freight, Amtrak & commuter trains, and the always fun-to-watch (and listen on the scanner) yard moves.
You live near the J, which runs under Weber Road through a cut, with no good vantage points. Just about anywhere else in Joliet for shooting the J can place you in a dangerous neighborhood. Downtown Plainfield is OK, but the traffic on the J can be either really s-l-o-w, or one right after another. My feeling is there aren’t a lot of easily-accessible great locations to shoot the J between East Joliet and Turner Junction. Just my opinion, but the J didn’t have stations set up in a bunch of small town business districts.
Carl’s right about Lemont and Lockport. You can final a lot of interesting old trackside limestone buildings in both towns. Those spots are obvious. For the BSNF main out of Joliet, there’s a good spot just under the Route 7 canal bridge in Lockport I favor.
I also have set up on that same BNSF (old ATSF) line at Lorenzo Road, and Coal City has some super-elevated curves and interesting backdrops.
I’ve never been to Elwood, so I can’t help you there. I’m sure others in this area will chime in.
Ah… because I wanted to put some distance between the ex and I??? LOL… actually moved out here for various reasons, being closer to family is one of them… Well, I am certainly not about to knock Eola, or any place else, and that Lockport location sounds good. I do know of a BNSF branch out near my brother’s in Oswego that runs under Orchard Rd (is that line busy?) Coal City, sounds good too. I can still hang out at my old haunts after work, or whatever, but I am looking for new locations. I was looking at my pictures (I have a couple of thousand) and decided some new locales are needed.
Thanks for the info…I am off Tues-Fri this week, so I guess I am heading out camera in hand to see what I can find. Anyone else care to chime in?
On a side note: I actually like living out this way… it’s away from the cramped mess in Cook County, and besides, I was tired of Crook …err, I mean Cook County, I like all of the open (for now) space that is out this way…
Poppa and I agree fully on this one (and others as well), I am biased towards West Eola and also
Sounds like a plan…
BTW, I looked up Elwood on Google Earth. It’s about 15 miles SSW of Joliet, it looks like there is some sort of large rail served terminal out there. Does any one know what that terminal is, and who serves it? My guess would be BNSF. The terminal is just west of Rte 53, on Hoff Rd. (Gotta love Google Earth)
Eolafan, I know what you mean about the EJ&E, I am close enough to hear the trains, but can’t see them, but I hear most of the activity at night. Also, right near where I live, it would appear there is an old branch line that used to go to the old AT&SF main, but it was torn up, except for a stretch east of Weber Rd that the EJ&E puts cars on from time to time, and about a mile east of my complex, there appears to be either an EJE yard, or perhaps 3rd party car repair facility? Lost of old beat up EJ&E cabooses and such visible from the street, but also plenty of cars that are sitting there on the yard tracks, but I don’t know if they are there for repair, or if it is a yard. Anyone know? I am just curious. It looks like a yard from Google Earth, but can’t tell.
That now belongs to Illinois Railnet. The line originates in Streator, comes up through Ottawa, then Yorkville, Oswego and into Aurora where it ties into the BNSF line from Galesburg. Traffic on it is pretty light. I do know there’s usually a daily manifest freight that comes up into West Eola – it usually arrives between 7:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., depending on the availability to slip it into traffic on the main. They drop cars in the West yard, then sometimes return light, sometimes with a return load. They leave Eola as soon as the BNSF can get them out, which can be anytime in a three-hour window. They usually show up with a trio of smokey B23-7s.
Press release from November, 2002:
Burlington Northern Santa Fe celebrated the grand opening of BNSF Logistics Park-Chicago in October. BNSF calls the facility a new national model for freight logistics services.
The multi-modal facility is designed to integrate direct rail, truck, intermodal and transload with distribution and warehousing in one location.
Located on the former Santa Fe mainline and within minutes of Interstate 55, the 621-acre facility has room to expand, with BNSF already holding options on more than 200 additional acres.
The railroad facility is the focal point of CenterPoint Properties’ 2,200-acre intermodal distribution center and warehouse development in Chicago’s southwest suburbs.
In its current configuration, the intermodal facility includes 124 acres, two 8,000-foot loading tracks, four MiJack overhead cranes and 30 acres of parking. BNSF expects the facility to handle 1,000 lifts per day. The first train operated October 15.
BNSF points out that trains from eastern railroads will be able to come directly into the yard, which will mean saving a day or two moving through the crowded Chicago terminal and fewer trucks on Chicago-area roads due to a decrease in rubber-tired interchange of intermodal traffic.
The automotive transload facility has
Hey Poppa… thanks a bunch… I knew BNSF opened a new terminal, but I could never remember where.
Thanks for all the great info… I am defnitely heading out on Tuesday for some photos. It looks like I might hit Eola yard, and then head to Lockport later… I don’t know… haven’t been out shooting in about a month, so we’ll see what happens…
Last Sunday I took a swing down to see the new BNSF intermodal terminal in Elwood.
Very impressive.
I found a road that circles the yard (HUGE!) that so far isn’t posted. The road on the north end and half of the west side is potholed gravel, so I was glad I took my 4WD SUV because the road could be an axle-breaker for autos. There is a slight ridge on the north end that offers a decent view of most of the yard, but on most days you’ll be shooting directly south – into the sun.
There is a bridge on the southwest corner that takes the outer road over the yard’s exit trackage that offers a decent sun-angle and elevated viewpoint. I forgot to check the parking restrictions around the bridge. Next trip, I guess. I’d also guess that will be a “busy” place for photography opps.
PZ
Well, I managed to get out for a little bit, to find a place to shoot pictures. I wound up down in Wilmington, or rather, near Wilmington, and here is the result…
http://www.fotofight.com/images/members/3369/portfolio/82002459.jpg
I was at a grade crossing at, I believe, River Rd, but the signal box, or whatever at the crossing said MP 51.70 Wilmington Rd. I caught this train, right after I parked. I was there for about an hour, and saw 3 trains. Not bad, but hopefully when I go to Eola Yd within the next week, I’ll see more.
Did you eat at the PolkaDot in Wilmington? Neat!
Sounds like you are near to the BNSF transcon which is always busy
Having grown up near the I-294/I-55 junction - one of my favorite non-BN railfan sites was at Waterfall Glen surrounding Argonne Labs… This is a BEAUTIFUL Forest Preserve with the former AT&SF running right through it. Now that it feeds into the UPS yard at Willow Springs, there is a TON of action. Camp out on a nice spot in the Preserve, where nature abounds, and enjoy the sights of great train action coming into and out of the yard.
Keep in mind that this will require a couple of miles of hiking. However, what better season to do this in?
I work in that area… so I am familiar with it. I was actually in the forest preserve off of German Church and Willow Springs, north side of the canal, back during the summer… It was pretty busy for the 2 hours my son and I were there… How does one get to the place you described?/
It’s been a while, but I’ll try.
Go to the south end of Cass Avenue and park the car where Cass ends (you can only make a 90-degree left at that intersection onto Bluff Road).
Walk 100 yards or so west along Bluff (there is a gate preventing auto traffic).
There is a main path there that runs straight south, sorta alongside Sawmill Creek (it will be on your right, in the trees a couple hundred yards).
For a quick side trip, take the second path to the right and you’ll find a waterfall built by CCC workers in the 1930s, I believe. Then return to the main path.
There are also one or two fords on the creek, IIRC. Walk straight south on the main path for about a half-mile and you’ll see the BNSF mainline below and in front of you.
There’s also the Johnson & Johnson spur running through there. It splits off just west of where you come out of the woods, maybe a half-mile or so.
PopZ
Thanks Poppa…
I have been down that way, on my way home from work. I’ll have to check it out next week on my days off… This could be promising.
Edited to add: I just checked it out on Google Earth, it looks pretty easy to access, just a bit of a walk , that’s all. It’s just east of (what I am guessing is) Argonne National Laboratory. Depending on the weather, I may check that out on Thursday of next week…
Quote: Not bad, but hopefully when I go to Eola Yd within the next week, I’ll see more.
Stop by and see us at Eola yard any old time and I virtually guarantee you will see trains, likely lots of them!
I know that spot in Wilmington. That place can be pretty busy and has some nice photo angles. I would also suggest Lockport or Lemont. I’d have to say Lockport is slightly better. A must see there is the Amtrak on the IC. Be sure to bring a tape recorder or video camera for that, it flies through downtown Lockport constantly laying on the horn. In fact, here is a video I look of the State House flying through. http://www.dailymotion.com/visited/search/CNW8575/video/x82kz_1000842. There are some nice places to see EJ&E.
- West Bridge Junction, nice photo location, and EJ&E trains often hold for signals. There is also a yard, I don’t know who owns it, just south of the EJ&E tracks and there is a old Chessie caboose in it.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=146104
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Turner, this is where the double track mainline goes to single track. The weeds have grown in, but there is still a nice angle possible from the crossing, where I took this photo. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=144984
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Plainfield, there are several nice photo angles in Plainfield on both the mainline and the Illinois River line. Here is a photo of the Illinois River line train. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=137599
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Where is “West Bridge Junction?” I’ve never heard of that one.
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I didn’t know there was a double track main north of Turner. I always thought it was a 2.5-mile passing siding to accommodate if necessary two 1-mile-long trains.
Thanks,
PopZ