The railroad was jointly owned by the Illinois Central Railroad, Michigan Central Railroad, Chicago & North Western Railway and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
The purpose of the route was to provide a centralized route to connect two eastern railroads to two western railroads.
In the late 1890s, a track elevation was constructed south of downtown Chicago.
Today, the railroad still exists, and is jointly owned by the Canadian National Railway, Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway. In downtown Chicago, the route has significant restrictions, due to aging infrastructure.
12/03/21
This small deck girder bridge crossed an unnamed alley underneath the Orange Line CTA viaduct, between State Street and Wabash Avenue.
Built in 1899, the bridge featured a single deck plate girder span, set onto stone abutments. In addition, the bridge had a sheet metal deck.
The girder is closer to a steel stringer, with no significant lateral bracing. As part of an upgrade of the St. Charles Airline, the bridge was replaced between 2020 and 2021.
Overall, the bridge appeared to be in fair to poor condition at the time of replacement, with significant superstructure and deck deterioration. The condition of this section of bridges has limited the speed on the route to 10 mph.
The author has ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.