This yard represents one of Union Pacific's series of yards in the Chicago area to service the growing intermodal traffic that passed through the Chicago area.
A pair of switch engines working the yard.
Union Pacific's Chicago Terminal Alignment
The Joliet Intermodal Terminal facility is designed to provide capacity and improve operations for current Chicago traffic. Joliet Intermodal Terminal will provide additional expansion capability to keep pace with projected growth. The opening of Joliet Intermodal Terminal will enhance the freight landscape in the Chicago metro area. Outlined below is Union Pacific's Chicago terminal alignment for the Yard Center Terminal:
Ramp: Yard Center
Market: Domestic and International
Destination: Dallas, Houston, Laredo, San Antonio, Mexico
The other ramp terminals in the Chicago area are...
Joliet (G4)
International and Limited Domestic
Southern California, Northern California, Pacific Northwest, El Paso, Tucson
Global I
Domestic and Limited International
Southern California, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City
Global II
Domestic and Limited International
Northern California, Pacific Northwest, Denver, Reno
Global III
Domestic and International
Southern California, Northern California, Pacific Northwest
Additional Information:
Villa Grove Subdivision: extending from Chicago's south side to the town of Villa Grove in central Illinois, this sub was once part of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois and later the Missouri Pacific. It is divided into two halves. From Woodland Junction, where it is joined by CSX's ex-C&EI Woodland sub, north to Chicago it is jointly owned double track with UP dispatching and maintaining it. Close to 50 trains can be seen on an average day, passing through Momence, Chicago Heights, Thornton Junction and UP's Yard Center in Dolton. South of Woodland, it is an all-UP single track line that sees roughly 25 trains per day. Beyond Villa Grove at Findlay, Illinois, the route splits. One line heads to St.Louis with the other heading further southwest, crossing the Mississippi River and joining the ex-MP main running south from St.Louis. No Amtrak or commuter trains use the Villa Grove sub, but Metra hopes to begin commuter service in 2013 with trains terminating at Crete, Illinois, a few miles south of Chicago Heights.