Most famous for being the owner and operator of Chicago's Dearborn Station, the Chicago & Western Indiana served as an important belt and terminal line on the south side of Chicago, as well as the company responsible for bringing the crack passenger limiteds of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, Erie (later Erie Lackawanna), Grand Trunk Western, Monon, Wabash (later Norfolk & Western) and Santa Fe into the Windy City. Running south from Dearborn Station, the C&WI split at 87th Street with one line going east around Lake Calumet to State Line Junction on the Illinois-Indiana border near Hammond, Indiana and another line heading due south to connect with the C&EI at Dolton, Illinois, providing convenient connections for the freight trains of its owner railroads.

With the formation of Amtrak and the closing of Dearborn Station in 1971, the C&WI became a “paper” railroad and today still exists as a subsidiary of the Union Pacifc.

Celebrate this unique Chicago railroad with digital reproductions of images from the Blackhawk Chapter archives. Images of the C&WI features over 200 images of this railroad, including photos of not only Dearborn Station, but all along the property.

These Windows™-compatible CD-ROMs are priced at $12 and can be purchased at: any Blackhawk Chapter monthly meeting 7:30 PM on the 1st Friday of the month (except July and August) Gladys Fox Museum 9th Street and Washington Street Lockport, Illinois any swap meet or train show attended by the Blackhawk Chapter. See the Schedule for our next appearance. Order By Mail Order by mail by printing out the Order Form and sending a check or money order made payable to “Blackhawk Chapter NRHS” for $12 (shipping included) to: Blackhawk Chapter NRHS 2009 Boehme Street Lockport, IL 60441 Please specify which volume(s) and quantity when you order. Thanks you for your support of the Blackhawk Chapter!