Welcome to the Indiana Harbor Belt archive. Rosters, historical information, maps and photographs are available here for those interested in the nation's largest terminal railroad (nearly 500 track miles). The IHB operates as an independent road even though it is jointly owned by Norfolk Southern (25.5%), CSX (25.5%) and Canadian Pacific (49%). The NS and CSX shares came from Conrail, who had owned a 51% controlling interest. Conrail's ownership traces back to Penn Central and New York Central, while Canadian Pacific's stake came from Soo Line, who had inherited it from Milwaukee Road. IHB is offically classified as a Class II railroad.
The IHB main line extends 39.4 miles from Ivanhoe on the west side of Gary, Indiana, to Franklin Park, Illinois, near O'Hare Airport. It runs west from Ivanhoe through Gibson (Hammond, Indiana) to Blue Island, Illinois. There, it heads northwest and then north through Chicago's western suburbs. It is mostly double track, and even the single track segment has one or more running tracks alongside. From Blue Island to a point near McCook, Illinois, the track and infrastructure are owned and maintained by CSX subsidiary, Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal. However, IHB dispatches the entire route. In addition, the 7.1 miles of main line from Ivanhoe to Calumet Park, Illinois, is operated on a long-term lease agreement. From Calumet Park to Blue Island, and from McCook to Franklin Park, the track is owned outright by the Harbor.
IHB has a major branch route known as the Kankakee Line, also a long-term lease operation. It extends south from the lakefront at Indiana Harbor (East Chicago, Indiana) to Osborn Junction in Hammond and the Little Calumet River, a distance of about seven miles. The main and Kankakee lines cross at Gibson Junction, where the IHB shops are located. The IHB's headquarters building is also at Gibson.
The Indiana Harbor Belt has several yards. Blue Island Yard is the heart and soul of the IHB. It is one of the largest and busiest yards in the Chicago area, with a hump for eastbound traffic. It is a major destination and origination point for most of the Class I railroads. Gibson Yard in Hammond handles auto rack cars exclusively. Michigan Avenue Yard in East Chicago marshals traffic for the steel industries along Lake Michigan, as does Lakefront Yard in the Indiana Harbor area. Argo Yard mainly serves the huge Corn Products plant near Bedford Park, Illinois. Smaller yards like Burnham and Norpaul serve local industries and build transfer movements. Approximately 40% of IHB's revenue consists of transfers to other railroads, as well as trackage rights fees. The remaining 60% comes from online industries, and about half of that is related to the steel industry. A large chunk of the rest is derived from grain processors.
This is not the official IHB website; to reach it go to the Links page.
This website was originally developed by our friend "Lightnin", and we have retained many of his photographs. We're grateful for his help in expanding this website. In the near future, we will add more photographs, and encourage everyone who has IHB-related photos to submit them to us.
--Bill Gustason, Spence Ziegler
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