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For timetable: Please visit the The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Photo Archive and click on the SYSTEM INFO link.

Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Radio Stream

The Elgin Joliet & Eastern Ry., also known as "The J", is a 175 mile belt line that encircles the city of Chicago, IL. It basically runs between the main points of Gary, IN, Griffith, IN, Joliet, IL and Waukegan, IL. The railroad has a long rich history of providing a bridge route that connects virtually all the railroads that enter, or run within the city. While running it's own trains, it can also serve as an alternate route for various trains from foreign railroads, thereby avoiding the congestion of the inner city lines. The railroad has always had a close relationship with the steel industry in the area as well, serving USS Gary Works, various smaller mills in the lakefront area, and also the old USS South Works, before it was closed years ago. The railroad has in fact been owned by USS to certain degree over the years, and is considered one of the "Steel Roads", along with other sister railroads such as: Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range... Bessemer & Lake Erie... Birmingham Southern... Union Railroad, and others. The EJ&E also serves numerous power generators in the area, which provides a lot of coal traffic that interchanges from railroads such as BNSF, UP, CP and NS.

Photo by: Neal

Even though the line is small, it's been quite innovative throughout it's history... It was one of the first lines to use welded rail, one of the first lines to have a modern hump yard (Kirk Yard), and also one of the first lines to use steel built cars, just to name a few. Because of the unique way that it intersects with so many of the other railroads entering Chicago, it can provide a wide variety of trains from not only it's own line, but many others as well. There's an abundance of interchanges along it's main, and even though most of the towers have been torn down or closed, there's still some in operation. One tower that is still very active is West Chicago Tower, which connects the EJ&E with one of the UP lines that runs West out of Chicago. There's also a lift bridge that the EJ&E main passes over to enter into Joliet from the Western Sub.

The railroad is basically broken down into the Western and Eastern subs...
The dividing point between the two is Joliet, IL, which is also where the East Joliet Yard and main administration center for the railroad is located. What you will hear on the stream is the two DS frequencies for the railroad... One for the Western Sub, and one for the Eastern Sub. Depending on the time of day, there may be one dispatcher assigned to each. The Western Sub DS controls everything from Joliet to Waukegan, including the Illinois River Line branch to Morris, IL. The Eastern Sub DS controls everything from Joliet to Gary, IN, including the Lakefront Line, Gary City Track, and Whiting Branch. For now, the stream receives the portion of the line between Joliet and West Chicago on the Western Sub best.

Much more information on train movements, rosters, and a very detailed map can be found at: The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Photo Archive site.

This stream is run by Frank D. from the Western Chicago suburban area, and featured on the EJ&E Photo Archive site.

For map: Please visit the The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Photo Archive and click on the MAPS link.