Passenger Trains > End of an era at Joliet IL

Starting Monday Metra will start using their new platform east of the UP and BNSF diamonds. Metra Heritage Corridor trains and Amtrak's Chicago to St. Louis trains will start using their new platform on the east side of the UP tracks also on Monday. After 102 years of service Joliet Union Station will no longer be serving trains. Amtrak and Metra have temporary ticket offices set up in mobile trailers until the Joliet Multimodal Transportation center is built. I went down last night and caught the last Metra Rock Island to Chicago for the evening. After Monday they'll no longer be pulling into the depot who's roof can be seen over the last cars of the train. Metra will give up control of UD Tower to UP. Both UP and BNSF signal gangs are currently working on installing new signals and track reconfiguration to allow the middle platform to be moved between the two UP Mains. The signal bridges on the BNSF side are being replaced. All in all a lot of changes are coming to Joliet UD. Dan Tracy

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great pic........

66

This should make photography more difficult in terms of available angles and sun light, right?

Marty Bernard

Actually the City owns the depot and plans are to install a decorative 4 foot wrought iron fence around the platform for viewing purposes. UD Tower is owned by the city also and plans are afoot to make that a museum similar to Marion OH. With the new platform across from the depot this opens up some good angles for morning shots of the BNSF, UP and Amtrak. The Metra Rock Island side opens up some new angles but with the platform being on the north side of the tracks you will have the shade on the Rock Island trains during most of the year. Dan

Sad, indeed. I've spent plenty of time down at those diamonds. My dad went down there the other day to pay his last respects, as he's been going down there to railfan since the 60's.

- Jeff Carlson

Why are they leaving the station for a new platform?

And if only modern passenger engines looked like this METRA engine, vs. the other designs out there...looks good.

it does look good , might become a classic some day like the f'sand E's . maybe.

coach Wrote:
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> Why are they leaving the station for a new
> platform?
>
> And if only modern passenger engines looked like
> this METRA engine, vs. the other designs out
> there...looks good.

I believe it is so Metra on the RI doesn't have to cross the Diamonds to make station stop. The line they are crossing is both BNSF and UP and is really busy. If you are moving one you may as well move both to keep facilities together. Someone more local may have more detail.

I found this on a google search. Great photos of what the new Joilet Station complex will look like (26 pages of info).

Joe

http://www.visitjoliet.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=277

Wow - seems a bit much, with the acres of glass. Looks like UD tower will be preserved and worked into the plan, which is nice. Definitely a good idea to relocate BNSF track #2 and create two new platforms around the METRA/UP tracks - however, the new transportation center placement seems a trifle inconvenient for METRA/Amtrak riders. It will be a decent hike from the headhouse to the platform, especially for riders on the RI. I'm wondering why they couldn't/can't build the new headhouse in the NE quadrant of the diamond, so it would be adjacent to both platforms (mimicking the headhouse/platform relationship that the current JUS has). Seems like they could have worked in an entire bus area/parking in the SE quadrant, even with the connecting track between the RI and BNSF.

And this has me wondering, who is going to maintain
the track between the diamonds and bridge 407? I am
guessing that it belongs to Metra, but there won't be
any incentive for them to put any $$ in track that they
no longer use.
zr190

zr190 Wrote:
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> And this has me wondering, who is going to
> maintain
> the track between the diamonds and bridge 407? I
> am
> guessing that it belongs to Metra, but there won't
> be
> any incentive for them to put any $$ in track that
> they
> no longer use.
> zr190
You are correct on the track ownership, I've been wondering that myself. Scuttlebutt was that Metra may keep the ROW for future storage. Dan

One more example of a train station being converted into something that becomes less user-friendly to train passengers and everything is touted as an "improvement."

This reminds me of that they did in Sacramento. The "improvements" keep the land developers happy, while the train passengers have to go on major hiking expeditions between the waiting room (if one has even been considered in the "improvement" project) and the trains.

I like how they talk about inadequate waiting area because they leased out the waiting room. Duh!

Thanks for the link, your overview, and your many, many photos of my favorite railroad place on the planet, Dan. Though I am anxious to visit the new facility next year, I will fondly remember JUS as she was when I was growing up in the '60s and '70s. Glad they will have a viewing area on the original platform.

Cheers,

-John

In regard to the ex GM&O trackage, where does CN ownership end and where does UP take over? I was always under the impression the CN owned the tracks to the old South Joliet yard.........

CSX_ENG Wrote:
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> In regard to the ex GM&O trackage, where does CN
> ownership end and where does UP take over? I was
> always under the impression the CN owned the
> tracks to the old South Joliet yard.........

Ownership changes 100 feet north of Jackson Street, first grade crossing north of UD Tower.
CN has rights to South Joliet but hasn't used them in years. CN does have rights over the
BNSF from Joliet to Millsdale where the serve Stepan Co. The Millsdale turn normally runs
at night Sunday through Friday and enters BNSF at UD tower. Dan

Was just by there for the first time in a long time. So dumb. Use a station for other purposes to the extent that rail use is crowded out and have to build a new station. Yeah, that makes sense.