I took this photo one morning, in early January of 2007. An eastbound Metra / Union Pacific -West Line ( Formerly C&NW) morning commuter train, races into the morning sunrise enroute to the Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago Illinois. The rusty steel bridge over the train, is the Belt Railway of Chicago -North / South trunk line that operates between Cragin Junction at Grand and Cicero Avenues in Chicago's northside, and Clearing Yard in the southwest suburban village of Bedford Park Illinois. The large factory building in the background, is the long abandoned Brach's Candy Factory. This scene is looking west from North Kilbourn Avenue near West Lake Street on the westside of the city of Chicago.Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Eastbound Metra / Union Pacific -West Line commuter train. Chicago Illinois USA. Early January 2007.
I took this photo one morning, in early January of 2007. An eastbound Metra / Union Pacific -West Line ( Formerly C&NW) morning commuter train, races into the morning sunrise enroute to the Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago Illinois. The rusty steel bridge over the train, is the Belt Railway of Chicago -North / South trunk line that operates between Cragin Junction at Grand and Cicero Avenues in Chicago's northside, and Clearing Yard in the southwest suburban village of Bedford Park Illinois. The large factory building in the background, is the long abandoned Brach's Candy Factory. This scene is looking west from North Kilbourn Avenue near West Lake Street on the westside of the city of Chicago.
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4 comments:
Eddie, I heard the noticeable dip seen in the line that goes under the BRC was engineered not too many years ago to allow stack trains to pass under. Do you know?
The Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad on the east side of La Grange does the same thing under the BNSF Railway. I believe that Chessie System and the IHB performed this operation in the late 1970's or early 80's.
Eddie K.
It would seem a lot less expensive and easier engineering-wise to lower the track than raise the overpass.
They did a similar thing to the viaduct on Archer and 47st street. Truck after truck slammed into the low bridge, so rather than raise the bridge, they lowered the street!
Last year, I witnessed an eastbound Union Pacific double stack train with a few tall containers actually Hit the bottom of the Belt Railway of Chicago bridge at speed! Chunks of metal were comming off in small pieces while You would hear an occasional Bang! Bang! Bang!
I was getting out of work at the time and immediately went to the Belt Railway of Chicago Clearing Yard office to report the bridge getting repeatidly hit at speed.
(They weren't answering the phone.)
A supervisor of some sort Thanked Me for the information, but somehow didn't seem to care much.
I gues it happens often enough.
Eddie K.
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