NON-NARRATED VERSION HERE: https://youtu.be/aGSTrjCeWhU
On February 1st, 2009, the Canadian National took over operations of Chicago’s Outer Belt - the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern. Sixteen years later and the CN has totally transformed the line into one of their busiest and most important segments of operation across their 20,000 route miles of track. In this video, we will take an in-depth exploration of modern operations on the the east end of the J between Gary and Joliet, and see how the railroad has so successfully repurposed the route to a heavy Class I mainline.
Filmed during the fall and winter of 2024, we will also see a colorful and ever-changing phase of the Canadian National’s motive roster, and take a look at a few connecting railroads as well.
Some GREAT resources to check out:
EJ&E Archive (Only J resource you'd ever need): https://www.ejearchive.com/
CN's Grey Ghost SD40s: https://www.traingeek.ca/wp/cn-ex-alstom-gtw-sd40-locomotives/
Current CN Diesel Roster: https://www.thedieselshop.us/CN.HTML
Matteson Subdivision Operating Information (A great site for all operation-related info for just about every modern Chicago mainline. Provides a much better timetable than my elementary cartography skills): https://www.chicagorailfan.com/rftteje.html
Tornado Chases Train Video: https://youtu.be/Zc4WPbmtK-o
Just about the only CHTT Info Available: https://casr.dhke.com/casr252.htm
*Note, in this video I do NOT cover the EJ&E’s Calumet Spur. (Limited) coverage of the branch is featured in my Amtrak Shop Run video: https://youtu.be/iDWnzeHZo_Y
Thanks for watching!