ELGIN, JOLIET AND EASTERN RAILWAY

The 'Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway' is a short-line railroad that operates in the suburbs surrounding Chicago. The railroad is a link between Class I railroads serving Chicago and local industries in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana. As of 2007, the EJ&E is owned by Transtar Incorporated, a subsidiary of the United States Steel corporation. Nicknames for the railroad include "The J" and "The Chicago Outer Belt Line".

Contents

History

Motive Power

History

EJ&E Photos

Communities

References

External links

History

What would eventually become the Elgin Joliet and Eastern was founded in 1884 as the Joliet, Aurora & Northern Railway Company. The railroad ran on a line between Aurora, Illinois, and Joliet, Illinois, and did not actually operate trains until a few years later. Meanwhile, the 'Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad of Illinois' and the 'Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad of Indiana' were both incorporated in early 1887. In 1888, the railroad's acquired the Joliet, Aurora and Northern Railway, and successfully connected with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The current Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway came into existence in 1889. Over the next few years, the railroad acquired several other small railroads, earning itself trackage in Waukegan, Illinois, Elgin, Illinois, and several towns in Indiana.
On May 16, 2006, the EJ&E was the recipient of the 2005 Bronze E.H. Harriman Award for employee safety in group C (line-haul railroads with less than 4 million employee hours per year).^[1]

Motive Power

History

In the past, the EJ&E was a frequent customer of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in its steam and diesel days. The Baldwin DT-6-6-2000 diesel-electric locomotive was originally designed for the railway. Along with the center cab fleet, Baldwin VO660s and VO1000s made up most of the railroads fleet. The railroad was also purchased many EMD SW1200s in the 1960s through the 1980s, which currently are the most common engines on the line. However, by the 1980s, the Baldwin fleet had been phased out, and replaced with EMD power. The EMD SD38-2 is the second most common locomotive on the line, and is used for regular freight service, with a usual consist containing two SD38s pulling the train back to back. Other power on the line includes 3 EMD SW1001s, and EMD NW2 which works with a calf unit in Joliet, Illinois, a EMD SW1500, and an EMD GP38-2, EJ&E 703, which is the main form of power on the Waukegan Local, a train service which runs from Waukegan, Illinois to Mundelein, Illinois.

EJ&E Photos

Communities

The EJ&E connects the following cities and large towns:

★ Waukegan, Illinois

★ Lake Zurich, Illinois

★ Barrington, Illinois

★ Elgin, Illinois

★ Joliet, Illinois

★ Park Forest, Illinois

★ Gary, Indiana

References

1. Railroads Set Another Employee Safety Record in 2005 Association of American Railroads (reprinted by Norfolk Southern Railroad)


★ [1]

External links

★ Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway

★ RAILChicago - Chicago RAILExperts

★ Shortlines of Chicago Historical Society: EJ&E history