Joliet, Illinois

For a rail enthusiast’s first visit to Joliet, there’s no better place to start than Joliet Union Station, at 50 E. Jefferson St. near Scott Street (Route 53). Built in 1912, the Beaux Arts building made the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was renovated and restored beginning in 1989. Its main waiting room, now a banquet hall, features 45-foot ceilings with 24-foot palladium windows.

Outside, if you’re traveling east across the diamonds, the former Rock Island main line, on the south side of the station, crosses the two tracks of BNSF and then a pair of Union Pacific Railroad Joliet Subdivision tracks. UP’s line becomes Canadian National’s Joliet Sub to Chicago (former Chicago & Alton Railroad) just north of Union Station. CSX takes over from Metra operation of the former Rock Island west of Union Station, and Iowa Interstate has trackage rights.

This famous train-watching spot will see a new passenger facility built in the northeast quadrant of the diamonds perhaps by 2015. Plans include reconfiguring the passenger platforms and possibly train observation posts. The tracks will be reconfigured to separate the freight and passenger traffic through the site.

Metra, the dominant player at Joliet, controls UD (Union Depot) Tower, which stands across the tracks from the depot, and Metra’s commuter trains receive preference through the plant. Unfortunately, because of the passenger station project, the tower will fall.

Metra’s Rock Island District service to and from Chicago’s LaSalle Street Station sees 23 trains each way on weekdays, 10 each way on Saturdays, and eight each way on Sundays and holidays. Metra’s Heritage Corridor, over the CN/UP Joliet Sub from Chicago Union Station, runs only on weekdays and sees three trains each way.

Eight Amtrak Lincoln Service trains run daily between Chicago and St. Louis, and the Texas Eagle runs each way daily, all on UP’s line.

For BNSF, the former Santa Fe Chillicothe Subdivision hosts 50-plus trains daily, with intermodal being the most dominant by far. Corwith Yard in Chicago is both origin and destination for the bulk of the intermodal trains.

The CN/Union Pacific Joliet Subdivision sees little CN traffic, usually just locals, but Union Pacific train counts are increasing with the opening of the Global IV intermodal facility about 5 miles south of the diamonds on UP’s Joliet Sub. Coal trains also use the Joliet Sub, heading to and from the ComEd power plant just south of Joliet.

Iowa Interstate runs on the ex-Rock Island CSX New Rock Sub, which begins just west of the depot where Metra ownership ends. This line usually just sees a CSX local each way daily, and all Iowa Interstate trains to and from Chicago. This includes the pair of Iowa Interstate road freights and extras.

You can find CN’s (ex Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway) Joliet Yard on the east side of town. This main line now sees upwards of two dozen trains daily that are bypassing the congested Chicago terminal area.

CN/EJ&E 160.350, 161.475; CN/Amtrak 160.920; UP/Amtrak 161.280; BNSF 160.650, 160.995; CSX (Iowa Interstate) 160.230, 160.290; Metra (Heritage Corridor) 160.920; Metra (Rock Island District) 161.340

Feeling lucky? Visit Harrah’s casino downtown. Race fans can head south of downtown to Chicagoland Speedway and Route 66 Raceway. Other options include Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park, Joliet Area Historical Museum, and the Route 66 Welcome Center. On the other side of the tracks, take in a minor league baseball game at Silver Cross Field, home of the Joliet Slammers. Or watch a show at the Rialto Square Theatre.