A 21-mile recreation and nature trail in northeastern Illinois
	OPRT Home		Maps | History | Nature | Events | Get Involved | Management | Links
	History		Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 | Timeline
			5. Railroad Operation The Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad was built and in operation by 1855, according to railroad historian, Bill Molony. It was just over 44 miles in length and it extended from Joliet, Illinois to Lake Junction (East Gary), Indiana.
					The new line cut off over 30 miles compared to lines going through Chicago and soon earned the nickname of the "Joliet Cutoff." There is evidence that some of the commodities being shipped to the east, and the finished goods being shipped west on the Illinois and Michigan Canal traveled over the Joliet cutoff. The towns of Spencer and Frankfort came into existence as a result of the railroad. The Joliet cutoff railroad never had it's own engines or rolling stock because it was leased to the Michigan Central.
			In 1890, the Michigan Central Railroad came under the financial control of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad but it continued to operate as a separate railroad. The Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad and the Michigan Central existed, at least on paper, into the mid-1950s because they were mortgaged and were paying off bonds.
					Two trains were run each way every day on the Joliet Division. A passenger could connect in East Gary with trains from Cincinnati and Detroit. On the western end, at Joliet, the line connected with trains for Bloomington, Springfield, and St. Louis. The Michigan Central R.R. connected to Boston and New York City through Canada via Detroit, Buffalo and Albany. It was billed as the Niagara Falls Route.
	1. Illinois Central Railroad and Michigan Central Railroad Crossing in Matteson, Illinois [photo looking toward the northwest, probably taken from the top of the coaling tower shown in the second photograph] The Michigan Central Rail Road (MCRR) tracks (now the OPRT) ran east-west, while the Illinois Central Rail Road (ICRR) tracks ran north-south. Many of the buildings and tracks in this old photograph have been demolished. The ICRR tracks still run north-south but they were raised up 20-feet to eliminate grade crossings. The current METRA station in Matteson is about where the L-shaped station is in this photograph. The large white building just above the right end of the station was a railroad hotel that still can be seen in downtown (old) Matteson, Illinois just to the north of the METRA station parking lot on Main Street. The track in the foreground was removed and the land is currently the Park Forest METRA parking lot on the east side of the current METRA station.
	Black and white photographs on this page are from the collection of the Matteson Historical Society		2. View from a boxcar on the MCRR at Matteson, Illinois [looking west along the Michigan Central Railroad tracks in Matteson, Illinois]
			3. MCRR engine number 3654 in the snow
			4. Matteson, Illinois ICRR-MCRR station staff standing on the tracks
			Competition from Interurbans and Trolleys In 1911, the Joliet & Southern Traction Company (J&ST) inaugurates trolley service parallel to the Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad. The trolleys ran between Joliet and Chicago Heights. Click here for more on the J&ST interurban line.
	Mile Markers Some of the Michigan Central Railroad mile markers are still in place along the OPRT. The initials EG probably stands for East Gary, the division point on this section of the railroad.
			Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 | Page 7 | Timeline
			Maps | History | Nature | Events | Get Involved | Management | Links