Belt Lines of Chicago

Mainline action on three of Chicago’s belt lines: Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJ&E), the Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) and the B&O Chicago Terminal (B&OCT, CSX). “The J” is the outer belt and crosses every major line coming into Chicago. The IHB and B&OCT are closer in and interchange with railroads in Chicago. Besides transfer and locals,the EJ&E and IHB are heavy steel haulers. Shot from 1995 through 1997, there are seven active towers shown.

We see a lot of trains, a lot of road names and a lot of cabooses! Using maps and informative narration this program makes sense of the complicated belt railroad scene in Chicago. See over 70 trains from IHB, ATSF, CN, GTW, SP, NS, CSL, Amtrak. The Belt Railway of CHicago is not covered in this program. It is covered in it’s own Midwest Video Productions program.

Locations include Rondout, Leithton, West Chicago, Eola, Argo, Walker, Plainfield, Joliet, Blue Island, McCook, La Grange, Gary, Van Loon, Whiting, Hammond and Franklin Park.

This is vintage mid-nineties footage, shot using nineties equipment. It is not as sharp as programs shot today. Still, these are interesting scenes, many not covered elsewhere, and the narration is informative and top notch.