Joliet, IL: Joliet Arsenal (Elwood and Kankakee Ordnance) Munitions Plant

The oldest image I could find in Google Earth was 12-30-1984. The black lines are today's railroads superimposed on the old image. I kept them because they provide a "landmark" for comparing images of the area.

Google Earth, 12-30-1984

I zoomed in on the upper-left (below) because that obviously is where the buildings that made the ammunition were. The rows of roads south of the buildings would have been storage bunkers. It would be a bunch of little buildings covered with dirt with a minimum space between each building. That was so that if one of them blew up, there would not be a chain reaction to blow up the rest of the stored ammunition. I included quite a bit of land to the east because it looks like they built additional rows of storage bunkers over the years.  I confirmed with a 1939 aerial photo that this whole area was just farmland and trees before WWII.

Google Earth, 12-30-1984

BNSF tore all of the buildings down and built a big intermodal yard to compete with UP's Global 4 yard in the area. I don't know how much BNSF had to clean up the area before it used it because railyards themselves are considered "brownland."

Unfortunately, neither railroad helped widen I-80 to help handle all of the additional truck traffic they dump in the area. When I visit Brandon Road Lock and Dam, I avoid I-80 and IL-53 because I have seen them both at a standstill even when it is not rush hour. At least the stop-and-go traffic of the side streets has some "go." Even as far away as River Road, I saw more container trucks than cars on the road.

Satellite

Some of the land was used to make the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery (gov) because the Chicagoland area did not have a National Cemetery option before that was made.

The southern part was repurposed as the Midewin National Tallgrass Prarie (gov). The fact that it includes the land east to the former Wabash railroad indicates they did use that area for additional storage. In fact, the bunkers are still standing in some places. It looks like they quit covering them with dirt by the end of the war. Note that the buildings are staggered so that the brunt of a blast to the sides will miss the adjacent buildings.

Satellite

The Joliet Army Training Area must be new because there currently is just farmland on the Satellite image.

Forgotten Railways posted
The sheer complexity and size of the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant is mesmerizing. Used in World War II and closed in the 80's, it became a superfund site and eventually the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. The ruins are still viewable on maps and most likely in person as well, although I'm not sure it's the best area to trespass, given it's owned by the government. A small part of the rail line is walkable as the Henslow Trail, which uses the bridge over IL-53, which was the original route of US-66. Lots and lots of history in quite a small area!
Source: USGS 1954 Wilmington 1:62500 map.
http://historicalmaps.arcgis.com/usgs/
Patrick Finn Parts of the old bunker areas are open as part of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. I've done some exploring out there... lots of old storage bunkers and a WW2 "Bailey Bridge" but I did not come across any traces of the old rail network.
Ted Fisk I too have walked around Midewin and seen many bunkers, but almost no evidence of the railroad. But you might see the herd of bison.

AJ Grigg shared
Michael Buckley Bnsf bought most of it and made the LPC rail yard and they made a National Cemetary on other . I don't know how much the Goverment still ownes yet . To the west end of LPC there were still cement ammo bunkers left yet . I had heard there were 400 miles track at on tile there . Santa Fe switched the north side and IC switched the east dont know if GMO did anything there . We would pick up at Blogett by old rt 66 and empty s on so tk across from Mobile oil .

Patrick Finn commented on the above posting
One of the bunkers

The following two photos and captions are from AbandonedRaillines shared by AJ Grigg

From the Chicago Tribune, "Jan. 20, 1958: A fully-automated shell-filling line designed and built by Mechanics Research Department of American Machine & Foundry Company for the Joliet Arsenal. Key stations along the assembly line were observed on five television monitors by a single-operator seated at a remote console. — Tribune Archive photo / Chicago Tribune, July 29, 2014"

From the Chicago Tribune:"Jan. 24, 1994: An aerial view shows part of the 19,000 acres of the former Joliet Arsenal that eventually became the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie." — Tribune Archive photo / Chicago Tribune, July 29, 2014

Forgotten Railways - Prairie

Richard Mead posted
Internet download...running down the Joliet Arsenal spur, 1969
John George Where is the exact location of this photo Richard Mead?
Richard Mead Alongside the Wabash, south of the junction.
Mark Stoeckel Didn’t realize the “Gary Line” served the arsenal as well as the Alton/GM&O and the Wabash.
Brian Skrabutenas Mark Stoeckel the Gary line also interchange the GM&O Plaines yard in Joliet.
John Petit At one time someone fill the switch points full of concrete for the arsenal lead, was 71 or 72.

Midewin Heritage Association posted two photos with the comment: "Stumbled across these photos, thought I'd share."
Bill Molony shared.

1

2

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bill's share
 The land has been reused as the BNSF intermodal yard, Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, and the Midewin National Tall Grass Prairie.
https://livingatlas.arcgis.com/topoexplorer/index.html

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bill's share
On topo maps, the railroad is labeled U S GOVERNMENT. It connected to the Santa Fe on the west side and the Wabash on the east side.
1953 Symerton, 1954 Wilmington, 1954 Channahan and 1953 Elwood Quadrangles @ 1:24,000

Martin O'Connor posted

This topic is obliquely related to the Gary Line, as the route skirted the east side of the arsenal between Peotone and Manhattan. The Milwaukee Road did serve the ordnance plant with a spur from Manhattan. I grew up just SW of this area, and many of my relatives and neighbors worked there for a time, including my dad. I often saw some of the switchers moving across the overpass on my way to and from school in Joliet. I remember them all painted in Army Olive Drab, with Caution Yellow lettering.

Someone on this forum provided a fairly nullcomprehensive roster of Engines operated by the JAAP. http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39591...

A share of an album of 32 photos
Erick Schroeder This place is huge!! I’ve been in there several times for work before they tore down most of it. What an incredible place. It covered 35 square miles!

A Flickr album