In 1862, the line would be extended again to Savanna, on the Mississippi River.
The line would beconme part of the Western Union Railroad in 1865.
In 1875, the Chicago and Pacific Railroad would begin building west from Halsted Street in Chicago, and reach Byron, Illinois; seated on the Rock River.
By 1880, with the lines becoming heavily profitable the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway took over the lines, although allowing the railroads to operate as subsidiaries.
Also in 1880, the lines would be connected. A new piece of track connected Byron and Kittredge.
In addition, the railroad built a new bridge across the Mississippi River at Sabula, Iowa to connect to the empire in Iowa.
The railroads became fully owned by the Milwaukee Road in 1900, and double track work commenced from Chicago that year, and made it as far as Sabula by late 1905.
The railroad became known as the Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific in 1913, as the pacific expansion began to near completion.
The line became one of the most important for the Milwaukee Road, connecting Chicago to Elgin, Byron and Savannah. In addition, the line connected to Council Bluffs in Iowa, making a regional connection.
While much of the line is still intact, a part from Goose Island to Halsted Avenue in Chicago was removed in the 1970s.
Also in Chicago, the line from Ashland Avenue (near the Kennedy Expressway) to a junction with the main line to Saint Paul near Monticello Avenue became a trail in 2015, after abandonedment years later.
The Milwaukee Road disolved in 1985, merging with Soo Line, and eventually Canadian Pacific Railroad.
Canadian Pacific in turn sold the line to I&M Rail Link in 1997, which became the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern in 2002, and Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railway later that year.
The DM&E was purchased by Canadian Pacific in late 2008. The line is known as the Chicago Subdivision, and sees a fair traffic base.
08/25/21
While Chicago has many historic bridges, this structure is one of the top.
Bobtail swing bridges are extremely rare, and Chicago has a pair. Both structures were built by the Milwaukee Road, which also built bobtail swing bridges in Milwaukee, Sauk City and Saint Paul.
This bridge is another unique structure along the Milwaukee Road. A bobtail swing bridge is asymmetrical, and uses a large concrete counterweight on the smaller leaf.
The bridge uses 210 tons of structural steel, but also uses 140 tons of concrete for the counterweight.
The bridge is a 7-Panel, pin connected Pratt Through Truss with large counterweight on the south end. The south leaf has 6 panels, while the north only has one. The bridge uses concrete substructures, and a standard X frame bracing.
This bridge replaced an originally wooden swing bridge, which had outlived its useful service.
In 2009, the bridge was rehabilitated. Given the low traffic rates on the bridge, the structure was converted to a rail and trail bridge.
New fences were added, and the rollers rehabilitated. In addition, interpretive sign was added, the counterweight was reconstructed, and the steel was repainted.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in great condition. It is unknown if the bridge will continue to serve railroad traffic for years to come, or if it will become a full-time trail.
The author has ranked this bridge as being highly significant, due to the unique design.
HAER Documentation can be found here
Drawings can be found here
Thank you to Historicbridges.org for the links!
The photo above is an overview looking north, as a storm came into Chicago.
| Upstream | Bloomingdale Line Swing Bridge |
| Downstream | MILW Kinzie Street Swing Bridge |