Chicago Junction Railway

Chicago Junction Railway

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Railroad
Predecessor	Chicago and Indiana State Line Railway, Chicago, Hammond and Western Railroad
Founded	1898
Defunct	1958
Fate	Properties purchased by Chicago River and Indiana Railroad
Headquarters	Chicago , United States
Area served	Chicago, Illinois
Parent	New York Central Railroad (from 1922)

The Chicago Junction Railway served as a switching and terminal railroad within Chicago, facilitating connections between the Union Stock Yards and the majority of the city's railroads. It briefly managed an outer belt route, which in 1907 was reorganized into the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. Control of the railway shifted to the New York Central Railroad in 1922, which then leased operations to its subsidiary, the Chicago River and Indiana Railroad. Presently, ownership and operation of the line belong to the Norfolk Southern Railway.

History

Established in 1865 through the consolidation under the Union Stock Yard and Transit Company of Chicago, this railway linked the stock yards with nine principal railroads entering Chicago south of Roosevelt Road. Among these were the Chicago and Alton Railroad, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and Chicago and North Western Railway, all of which collectively funded the facility to replace their individual yards. The Union Stock Yards and its railroad commenced operations in December 1865, extending from the Illinois Central near 43rd Street westward along 40th Street to connect with the Chicago and Great Eastern, then proceeding north to meet the Chicago and North Western at Ogden Avenue. Until 1897, USY&T managed its own infrastructure independently, except for a period between 1887 and 1893 when connecting carriers formed a transfer association to operate it jointly.

The subsidiary Chicago and Indiana State Line Railway, created in 1880, constructed links from the edges of the stock yards to both the Grand Trunk Junction Railway and Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad. In December 1897, USY&T leased its railroad assets to this subsidiary. Earlier that year, in August 1897, USY&T’s parent companies gained control over the Chicago, Hammond and Western Railroad, which was building an outer belt route encircling Chicago with trackage rights over the Terminal Railroad from Argo to the stock yards. The merger of Chicago and Indiana State Line with Chicago, Hammond and Western in April 1898 resulted in the formation of the Chicago Junction Railway, operating two belt lines concurrently. Nevertheless, on October 31, 1907, ownership of the outer belt was transferred to the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, leaving Chicago Junction focused again on its primary core lines.

On May 19, 1922, control of the Chicago River and Indiana Railroad (CR&I) was acquired by the New York Central Railroad, which then leased Chicago Junction’s operations to CR&I. The CR&I possessed lines stretching southward and westward from Chicago Junction beyond the stock yards toward Elsdon. Subsequently, on August 26, 1958, CR&I purchased Chicago Junction’s properties along with those of USY&T. In 1976, most of CR&I’s lines were absorbed by the Consolidated Rail Corporation, excluding the eastern portion of Chicago Junction east of Prairie Avenue in Kenwood, which had been abandoned during the 1960s. Today, this line is owned and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway as the CR&I Industrial Track, except for areas east of the Chicago Line, where service is provided by Chicago Rail Link, connecting with Metra's Rock Island District. Remaining segments have been discontinued.

See also

• List of defunct Illinois railroads