That’s certainly the opinion of Metra Chairman Norm Carlson, who appreciates the junction’s history. With its public amenities and its own spacious platform, it’s an effective complement to the original station. But that’s OK, because across the tracks, in the northeast corner of the junction, is the new Joliet Gateway Center, a $51 million facility serving Metra and Amtrak passengers. It must be reported that Union Station is no longer a working railroad depot in recent years it was converted to an events venue. Finished in smooth Bedford limestone, it looks as good as the day it opened for business. Built in 1912, the Beaux Arts Classical monument was designed by Jarvis Hunt, a Chicago-based architect with a blue-chip resume that included Kansas City Union Station, the Newark (N.J.) Museum, and Union Pacific’s headquarters in Omaha.

AbbeyLooming over the whole shebang is the imposing, distinguished Union Station. Throw in occasional CN coal trains on UP as well as daily CSX and Iowa Interstate freights on the old Rock (mostly at night) and, well, you get the picture - the place never slows down.Ī Rock Island suburban train leaves Joliet Union Station for Chicago behind an EMD F7 diesel.

But after that, thanks to 70-plus trains on BNSF, it’s anybody’s guess. Yes, you can count the number of Metra trains on the Rock Island Corridor (40-plus on weekdays) and the ex-GM&O Heritage Corridor (7), along with Amtrak’s five Lincoln Service trains on the route to Springfield and St. It would be crazy to try to estimate the exact number of trains rolling past Union Station on any given day. The UP’s line changes to Canadian National ownership just a few blocks to the north. Today they are, in order, Union Pacific, BNSF, and Metra. The city’s Union Station looms over one of the most strategic locations on the Chicago railroad scene, the once-upon-a-time intersection of the Alton Route (later Gulf, Mobile & Ohio), Santa Fe, and Rock Island. If you’re familiar with John Belushi’s release from the Joliet Correctional Center in “The Blues Brothers,” then you know the architecture. If the criterion is train frequency, great railroad architecture, a variety of railroads, no-hassle access to platforms, nearby amenities, and an intriguing history, then I think the answer is “yes.” That’s certainly the feeling I came away after visiting this classic Chicago-area location.įor those unfamiliar with Joliet, it’s an old industrial city on the southwest edge of Chicago’s metro area, known for its elegant stone buildings, a direct outgrowth of the city’s historic ties to limestone and dolomite quarrying. my first visit back in perhaps 20 years - left me with this question: from the viewpoint of the fan, is Joliet Union Station the finest suburban hot spot in the U.S.? Tracks in the foreground at the Rock Island main.A recent afternoon of enjoying nonstop train action at Joliet, Ill. Santa Fe's second 23, the 'Grand Canyon' pulls out of Joliet Union Station behind three-unit F7 diesel 305.

Joliet train station