Dolton is another one of the hotspots that is slowly fading away in my opinion. Like Blue Island, traffic began slowing down long before the economy took a turn for the worst. Unlike many Chicago junctions though, this one is pretty accessible and gives many unique shooting angles. Like Blue Island, the CSX Barr Subdivision, and the IHB Mainline pass through here. This junction is West of Blue Island and the CSX and IHB yards. Instead of a CN line like that in Blue Island, the UP Villa Grove Subdivision passes through here running North and South. Amtrak's Hoosier State and Cardinal run on this line. CSX has trackage rights on this line and their trains are seen quite often interchanging onto the IHB and CSX. The old Pennsy Panhandle line that used to cross over now ends at the CSX here. The only trains running on this line are what this junction is famous for; the hot metal bottle trains. Even though the weather sucked, I was still determined to use my new Canon SLR. 9:31AM- Amtrak Hoosier State 851 calls out to Dolton Tower before advancing through the junction. 851 usually has bad ordered equipment being shuttled from the Beech Grove shops to Chicago. Today, two private cars are part of the consist as well. P42DC #169 10:11AM- The "Bottle Train" is what this junction is known for. The NS B3T transfers red hot steel from the Mittal plant in East Chicago, IN to the smaller plant in Riverdale. Theres no brakes on the bottle cars so gondolas are placed in between to do the <b>...</b>
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