![]() This early predecessor of the Milwaukee Road recognized the JA&N could offer it an efficient connection with eastern carriers while avoiding downtown Chicago. This scheme was also in danger of stalling until two events occurred Shumway's interest and that of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. The JA&N would also head east to the Indiana state line. Known as the Joliet, Aurora & Northern Railroad (JA&N), incorporated on March 22, 1884, it was the ambitious plan of Daniel Roberts to extend rails northwestward from Joliet to the east bank of the Mississippi River near Dubuque, Iowa. The idea was revived a few years later when Shumway became involved with another group attempting to establish a similar, but more ambitious project. Normantown - West Chicago - Spaulding, Rondout - Waukegan, Illinois Griffith - Gary - South Chicago, Indiana/Hammond, Indiana Porter, Indiana - Griffith, Indiana - Joliet, Illinois - Aurora, Illinois Joliet, Aurora & Northern Railroad (March 22, 1884) At A GlanceĬhicago, Illinois (203 South La Salle Street) Unfortunately, the group failed to secure financing and the charter lay dormant. Its purpose was to open the initial eastern leg, running from Joliet to the Indiana/Illinois state line. According to Michael Blaszak's excellent article entitled " The J: A Centennial History, Big Steel's Belt Line," from the August, 1989 issue of Trains Magazine, in 1881, Shumway, Alex Leith of Joliet Iron & Steel, and a few other individuals formed the Joliet & Indiana Railroad. The railroad would not only tie together the city's preeminent trunk lines but also serve Joliet's growing industrial base. Its history began with Philip Shumway, a local businessman who envisioned a belt line serving Chicago and its suburbs. The " J" was also closely tied to the steel industry, moving coal, coke, and iron ore to mills dotting its right-of-way. It contained characteristics of a line-haul system with a 175-mile corridor connecting the eastern trunk lines in northeastern Indiana with their Midwestern counterparts in Illinois. The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway was sort of a hybrid it was not exactly a belt line although its main line did, indeed, encircle Chicago. In time, " The J" connected with all surrounding railroads serving as an important relief valve which bypassed an increasingly congested city.Īfter more than a century of service it was acquired by Canadian National in 2009 and its corporate name dissolved a few years later. With limitless capital available the railroad was soon completed as it reached northern Indiana and points above Chicago. Morgan and the banking mogul saw great promise in the idea. When Shumway ran into financial trouble he found a backer in J.P. ![]() While a branch did reach South Chicago, EJ&E's main line was situated far away from the Loop (downtown) and handled as much through traffic as it did terminal/interchange business.įrom an early era it abandoned passenger trains, shifting focus exclusively to freight. In many ways the EJ&E was not even a belt road and far different from the city's two other notables, the Belt Railway of Chicago and Indiana Harbor Belt. What became the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway is thanks largely to the work of Philip Shumway who wanted to establish an efficient belt line around the entirety of Chicago.
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