The Joliet Junction Railroad was a 6-mile long short line freight railroad that operated in the Joliet, Illinois

Joliet, Illinois

Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...

 area from 1994 until 1999.

History

The line, which ran between Crest Hill, Illinois

Crest Hill, Illinois

Crest Hill is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,329 at the 2000 census and the 2010 census population estimate was 20,867.-Geography:Crest Hill is located at...

 and Rockdale, Illinois

Rockdale, Illinois

Rockdale is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,888 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Rockdale is located at...

, was a former branch line of the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway

Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway

The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway is a Class II railroad that operates in the suburbs surrounding Chicago. The railroad is a link between Class I railroads in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana...

, which had been out of service since 1991, after a fire severely damaged a wooden trestle.

In 1994, Minooka, Illinois

Minooka, Illinois

Minooka is a village in Grundy, Kendall, and Will Counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,924 at the 2010 census. Minooka currently has two high schools in its district, a campus for juniors and seniors and a newer campus for freshman and sophomores. Minooka School District 201 ...

 businessman Donald L. "Don" Bachman, who owned a locomotive-rebuilding company called Relco, founded the Joliet Junction Railroad, acquiring its trackage from the EJ&E, which had sought to abandon it after the fire. Bachman learned that it would cost $90,000 to replace the bridge, plus significantly more for other expenses to bring the line up to code. As a result, he applied for and received a $390,000 loan from the Illinois Department of Transportation

Illinois Department of Transportation

The Illinois Department of Transportation is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fuel tax and federal funding to local juridictions in the...

 to fund additional improvements.

Abandonment

The Joliet Junction Railroad ceased operations in the summer of 1999. Bachman and Relco then sold the trackage for $467,424 to the Forest Preserve District of Will County

Forest Preserve District of Will County

The Forest Preserve District of Will County was created by referendum on July 25, 1927, to preserve open spaces in Will County, Illinois, USA. The first land acquisition was in 1930. As of December 2010, the District owns or manages 21,916 acres of land...

, which created a bike path, called the Joliet Junction bike trail, over the former right-of-way.

Connections

The Joliet Junction connected local shippers with the national railroad network at two connection points: with the EJ&E at Crest Hill, Illinois

Crest Hill, Illinois

Crest Hill is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,329 at the 2000 census and the 2010 census population estimate was 20,867.-Geography:Crest Hill is located at...

 and with CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

 at Rockdale, Illinois

Rockdale, Illinois

Rockdale is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,888 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Rockdale is located at...

.