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The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway was a Class II railroad, operating between Waukegan, Illinois and Gary Indiana. The railroad served as a link between Class I railroads traveling to and from Chicago, although it operated almost entirely within the city's suburbs, and only entered Chicago where it served the U.S. Steel South Works on the shores of Lake Michigan. Nicknames for the railroad included "The J" and "The Chicago Outer Belt Line". At the end of 1970, the EJ&E operated 205 miles of road on 985 miles of track, carrying 848 million ton-miles of revenue freight in that year alone. On September 26, 2007, the Canadian National Railway announced it plans to purchase a majority of the EJ&E, leaving a portion of the line in Indiana to be reorganized as the Gary Railway. The purchase was approved on December 24, 2008 by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, and the deal was consummated effective February 1, 2009.〔(CN closes deal on Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway | CTV News )〕 In the years immediately following the merger, the railroad existed as a subsidiary of Canadian National, and EJ&E locomotives that were repainted into CN colors were sub-lettered for the EJ&E. On December 31, 2012, Canadian National announced that the merger of the EJ&E into Wisconsin Central Ltd. (Another railroad subsidiary of CN) had been completed, and would take effect the following day. On January 1, 2013, the EJ&E effectively ceased to exist, 124 years to the day it was founded.〔(CN | CN completes intra-corporate merger of Elgin, Joliet and Eastern into Wisconsin Central subsidiary )〕 ==History== The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern was created when several local railroads in Illinois and Indiana merged throughout the end of the 19th century. The systems that would make up the EJ&E included the Joliet, Aurora & Northern Railway (which dates back to 1884) and Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway ''Company of Illinois''. The Elgin, Joliet and Eastern ''Railway'' began operations on December 4, 1888 through the merger of these two systems. After the creation of the modern day EJ&E the railroad expanded by purchasing several other smaller lines including the Waukegan & Southwestern Railway; Gardner, Coal City & Northern Railway; Western Indiana Railroad; and the Chicago, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway. The EJ&E moved to serve industries in the Hammond-East Chicago-Whiting industrial district by acquiring trackage rights in 1894. However, construction of the present line to Gary, Whiting and South Chicago was initiated in 1899 by the ''Griffith and Northern Railway''. Connections with the ''Chicago, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway'' and the ''Western Indiana Railway'' further penetrated the district, although the EJ&E subsequently acquired both lines. In 1901, United States Steel Corporation purchased the railroad. The railroad's passenger services began with the start of operations in January 1889.〔 The railroad stopped operating passenger ''trains'' in 1907,〔p.14 Jaenicke, Paul W & Eisenbrandt , Ralph ''Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway'' 2007 Arcadia Publishing〕 but continued passenger service until 1909. During those two years, passengers would be transported by caboose.〔(Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Archive - FAQ )〕 The EJ&E underwent dieselization relatively early. In 1937, the railroad acquired its first diesel-electric locomotive, an EMC SW switcher, which was designated EJ&E #200.〔(Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Archive - Diesel Locomotive Roster: 200 )〕 Over the next 12 years, the entire steam fleet was replaced with first generation diesels. The first road diesel, Baldwin DT-6-6-2000 #100, was delivered to the railroad in May 1946.〔()〕 The final steam movement occurred in late May 1949, led by a Mikado 2-8-2, EJ&E #740. The locomotive was sold to the scrapper that September.〔Joliet Herald-News Sunday June 5, 1949〕 In 1988, United States Steel and the Blackstone Group formed Transtar Inc. to serve as a shareholder of the EJ&E and several other affiliated railroads and companies. In March 2001, the Blackstone Group ended their ownership interest in Transtar, resulting in its becoming a fully owned subsidiary of United States Steel. On May 16, 2006, the EJ&E was the recipient of the 2005 Bronze E. H. Harriman Award for employee safety in group C (line-haul railroads with less than 4 million employee hours per year). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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