Hey everyone you should give up money because I'm nobody and I dont know the gentleman that does these videos but I sure am a rail fan so I know good railroad videos and this young man is doing a fine job.
Have you been back to Chicago since then ? Chicago has many railroad bascule and vertical lift bridges. Canal Street and St. Charles Air Line to name two.
This Chicago & North Western Railroad freight line used to go under the Merchandise Mart out to Navy Pier when Navy Pier was a location that loaded and unloaded ships that plied the Great Lakes. The line also served a Kraft Foods plant near Lake Shore Drive. The Merchandise Mart is built on the site of the Chicago & North Western Railroad's former Wells Street Station whichi was located at Wells Street and Kinzie Street. The Wells Street Station was abandoned when the Chicago & North Western Station on Madison Street between Clinton and Canal Streets at 500 West Madison Street, west of the Chicago River, was opened in 1911.
@@railrol82 To the average Chicagoan all railroads are a nuisance because they block traffic. They have no idea of the economic impact of a railroad. Look up the history of the Chicago & North Western Railroad on the Internet. The first page the the Chicago & North Western Historical Society's website (www.cnwhs.org) gives a history of the Chicago & North Western Railroad. You will find that first railroad west from Chicago was the earliest predecessor of what became the Chicago & North Western Railroad. That railroad was started in 1836 with the charter by the State of Illinois of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad. The Galena & Chicago Union Railroad began operation in 1848 westward from Chicago to Oak Park, Illinois and beyond. This line is part of Union Pacific Railroad's west line from Chicago to Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska. In 1855 the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad began service from Chicago northwest toward Rockford, Illinois through Beloit, Wisconsin on the way to Madison, Wisconsin. This line is the Union Pacific Railroad's current Northwest line out of Chicago. In 1859 a railroad named the Chicago & North Western was charterd by the states of Illinois and Wisconsin. In 1864 the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad merged with the Chicago & North Western Railroad. In 1868 the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad was leased to the Chicago & North Western giving it access to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This line is the Union Pacific Railroad's line from Chicago to Milwaukee and beyond to the Twin Cities. The first steam locomotive on the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad was a second hand locomotive named the "Pioneer". That locomotive has been preserved an is on display at the Chicago History Museum located at North Avenue and LaSalle Street in Chicago. The Galena & Chicago Union Railroad's first depot was located at Kinzie and Canal Streets which is where that building west of the railroad bridge is located. In 1858 the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad operated the first sleeper car west of Chicago. In 1864 the first Railway Post Office car was placed into service on the Chicago & North Westerm. In 1995 the Union Pacific Railroad acquired the Chicago & North Western Rainroad in order to get direct access to Chicago. For years before the Chicago & North Western was aquired by the Union Pacific, the two railroads were major partners in transporting freight to and from Chicago to the west coast via a connection at Fremont, Nebraska.
@@thomasmackowiak I used to date a girl from South Bend, IN and she would take the South Shore line into that station on Madison. This was in 1980, and that station was down-at-the-heel at that time.
@@dalethelander3781 The South Shore Electric train came into the Illinois Central Electric Line's Randolph Street Station just east of Michigan Avenue in the early 1980s. That Station was remodelled and is now called the Millenium Station because it is adjacent to Millenium Park. The Masdison Street Station of the Chicago & North Western Railroad is located at 500 West Madison Street a block west of the south branch of the Chicago River. The only commuter and passenger trains that entered the Chicago & North Western's Madison Street Station were Chicago & North Western trains. However, after Grand Central Station closed on 8 November 1969 Chesapeake & Ohio and Baltimore & Ohio passenger trains also used Madison Street Station until the beginning of Amtrak on 1 April 1971. In the early 1980s, the Chicago & North Western Railroad sold the front portion of the station. The trainshed was kept for use by the C&NW's commuter trains. The front portion was demolished and CitCorp built an office/shopping complex which is now called the Ogilivie Transportation Center.
Here's the funny thing. My Dad worked for The Milwaukee Road at Union Station. He always called this bridge the Belt Line Bridge and said it hadn't been used since the early 60s.
In the city of Trondheim Norway we have a railwaybridge from 1918 at the same type. The Skansen Railwaybridge (In Norwegian "Skansen Jernbanebru") All trains between Oslo and Trondheim pass this bridge. With overhead lines and open for boats several times a day.
Great video! I followed the track all the way west to Clark St!!! I'm sure it goes farther, but you can't get past Clark. I think it's all underground from there.
Thank you! Chicago is a treasure chest for old railroad memorabilia. One can spend a month there documenting old historic relics and you'd still wouldn't have covered everything. Happy New Years!
This rail is much more interesting if you follow it to lake Michigan. It runs under so many business and at one time served both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago' Sun-Times. That is a wonderful trip under Chicago's most expensive neighbor
that bridge was the entrance to the yard and station that was right across the river .... you should see the maps that have been made for Chicago its a C1920-40's Rail map showing the rails that used to be
Thanks for doing this, I saw this bridge in action about 1963 or 64. I was 7 or 8 and we were on one of those tour boats and the bridge went down and a loco and a couple of boxcars went over into the paper. I wish I had a video camera like on my phone now, all I have of that trip is a picture of a family friend's dog.
This was purely awesome, sadly I didn't get to see it when I was in Chicago last fall since we had to hurry back to the Union Station to catch our Metra train back to Aurora. But one thing that brightens my weekends is seeing a new vid from Mr. RailRol! :)
The Merchandise Mart was built in 1930, then the most massive building in the world. Rail service continued under the Mart all the way to Navy Pier. There were RR yards where the Sun Times Building was built in 1958. Most of the buildings built along the river after the 1920s have air rights. That is, the railroad right of way below was maintained but gradually fell into disuse. Most of the tracks have been paved over. In the late 1800s the entire area where the Merchandise Mart stands, Wolf Point, was railroad property with extensive RR yards and a large Northwestern train depot. Before the current bridge was built, there was a large swing bridge serving those rail lines. As a matter of fact, at one time all the Chicago river bridges were swing bridges which have been replaced multiple times over the years finally with bascule draw bridges. The ground floor of the Merchandise Mart was used as a freight terminal with extensive trackage for many years.
RailROL82 The Merchandise Building is not gone. It’s alive and doing very well. What’s gone is the extensive railroad trackage that once were located there.
Wasn't this another video that was originally lost to the hacker last year? I'm glad to see it back. And didn't these rails supply paper to the Chicago Tribune until 2001? I lost the tracks on Google Maps at 55 West Carroll Ave.
That drawbridge was part of the spur to the old Chicago Sun Times printing plant at the SE corner of Kinzie Avenue and the Chicago River, in the Chicago loop.
The last time that drawbridge was lowered was in 2001 when C&NW RR local delivered cars of newsprints to and pulled the empty cars for the final time forever. That bridge was first opened in September, 1908.
@@rodney4917 Wrong. It is inspected every year by the railroad and lowered if the navigation lights mandated by the US Coat Guard need replacement. Last time down was November of 2018.
Tidbits: When you walked out onto the southeast side of the Kinzie Bridge near the bridge tender's house 2:10 , you were standing directly above where the "Chicago Flood" of April 1992 started!!!!! Story: ruclips.net/video/-0udLJOStgk/видео.html If you had fallen off the bridge in that spot, you would likely have been sucked into the Chicago Tunnel System and ended up near State Street!!? There is another disused rail bridge not far from the CNW bridge on the river. It is located just south of Courtland St near Elston Ave, a swing span bridge. I know nothing about it.
She's a beauty isn't she? Just for FYI about that line. It became pretty much dedicated just to the Chicago Sun-Times only in the late 20th Century. But the main CNW passenger station, Wells Street Station, used to be where the Merchandise Mart is currently located. CNW passenger trains all came across that line to get back and forth to the station and there was a small yard there and freight houses. It extended east to the slips on the Lake and transferred cargo when the Port of Chicago was still at the mouth of the Chicago River. Obviously the location could not scale up as passenger volume grew.and it was replaced by a much larger station on the other side of the river and further south in 1911. That station was replaced by a modern high-rise in the 1980s, but the concourses remain today serving Metra Union Pacific commuter lines. So that route was once very important and served the original CNW passenger station.
Thanks a lot now I’ve got the good times song stuck in my head lol 😂 to bad you couldn’t start this video with the intro from good times! Thanks again for the video’s
Audra id suggest checking it out very soon. It was still intact about 3 weeks ago when i saw it. Since the UP has implemented Precision railroading, theres no telling if this bridge will last another year.
@@railrol82 actually there wasn't much to see as the tunnels are 40' below the street. these were the Chicago tunnel company tunnels. for the most part when the "the great Chicago Leak" happened the most you would see is hoses and pumps pumping out sub basements to several buildings within the loop. If you come back out to Chicago plan a trip to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union Il as we have some equipment from the tunnels preserved in one barn. Which if I remember correctly was rescued during the rebuild of Lake shore drive and was located in the tunnel out to the I think the field museum which was built closer to the surface then the rest of the system and used an elevator to raise/lower equipment.
Really nice video! I love how close you were able to get to such a unique peice of very large railroad history! Amazing! Good job at documenting that Roly I loved it!
Great and interesting video! I grew up near Pittsburgh, PA with a "ton" of bridges, some of similar or older "vintage" from this railroad bridge. Since the railroad tracks are buried in the pavement I guess this can be classified as a "bridge to nowhere". Very interesting to see this bridge up close and personal, so to speak. Consider this fact, this bridge was designed and built before computers to calculate loads, weights, etc. The only way to calculate was paper and pencil with the additional help of a slide rule to figure wind loads, counter balance weight requirements and such. The only reasons bridges of this time are still "standing" is that they where built to last AND the "fudge factor included" for a safety factor was so much greater than is used today to engineer anything! Again thank you for your quest in searching out famous and not so famous archeological items to record for future generations to know about.
@@railrol82 My dad worked for Chicago & North Western from 1973 to 1981 at California Ave coach yard , 40th street diesel house and Proviso diesel house . he was a diesel locomotive mechanic .
The 'employee owned' period was a short one. It was a scheme { using 'scheme' in a creative way here } to drive up the stock price. Every employee was given a certain amount of stock. The portfolio of the C&NW eventually improved & many employees sold their stocks at a nice profit. The scheme worked. UP did the same thing for employees in the early 2000's....if memory serves it was worth around 30 bucks a share at the time. I set up my E-Trade to sell at $60 a share figuring it would never hit there. Boy, was I wrong! It has since split twice & is now around $166 a share! Ouch! I should've hung on.....the market is a wild ride!
@@railrol82 First some background information. In the early part of the 20th Century a system of tunnels were built in the downtown area of Chicago. These tunnels belonged to the Chicago Tunnel Company which was a two foot narrow guage railroad. It was owned by the Chicago Telephone Company. Its purpose was to be used to bring out debris from the tunnels that Chicago Telephone Company was digging under the downtown area to lay telephone cables. It also brought in the spoons of telephone cable. When the telephone cables were completed, the tunnels were used to bring coal and other supplies to the stores and office buildings in the downtown area and to take out the ashes from the coal burning furnaces in the buildings. One of the tunnels was under the Chicago River near the Kinzie Street bridge (The bridge that you were on when you started your video.). The Chicago Tunnel Company had ceased operations years ago. In 1992 the City of Chicago contracted with Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company to replace the pilings next to the bridge tenders office on the south side of the Kinzie Street bridge. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company reported to the City of Chicago that the pilings were too close to the bridge tenders office and they could not replace the pilings without damaging the tenders office. The City of Chicago gave GLD&D the okay to put in new pilings to the south of the old pilings. No one thought to check to see if there was a Chicago Tunnel Company tunnel near where the new pilings were to be placed. GLD&D put in the new pilings and cracked the roof of one of the Chicago Tunnel Company's tunnels. This let water into the tunnel system which caused flooding in many buildings in the Chicago Downtown/Loop area. On 13 April 1992 water was discovered in the lower basements of Downtown/Loop buildings. You can read more information in Wikipedia at this URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_flood . If the URL does not work, then go to Wikipedia and type Chicago Flood in the search box and you will find the article. There is also a hyperlink in the Chicago Flood article that will take you to the Chicago Tunnel Company article in Wikipedia for more inforamation on the Chicago Tunnel Company and its system of tunnels. There are also a number of books that have been published about the Chicago Tunnel Company. Some years ago an intact Chicago Tunnel Company locomotive was discovered during some constuction work that was going on near the Field Museum of Natural History near Roosevelt Road (12th Street) and LaKe Shore Drive if I remember correctly. The locomotive was pulled out of the tunnel and was given to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois to add to their collection.
@@railrol82 I do not believe that there is any way for the public to view these tunnels. The tunnels still exist. According to the Wikipedia article on the Chicago Tunnel Company, the telephone cables were removed in the 1920s and in July 1959 the Interstate Commerce Commission gave permission to abandon the railroad. The flooding of the downtown/loop area buildings as a result of the breach of the tunnel at the Kinzie Street Bridge in April 1992 was probably the first time that anyone thought about the Chicago Tunnel Company since its abandonment. The Wikipedia article says that this was not the first leak in the tunnels. Since the abandoment in 1959 a lot of the downtown/loop buildings forgot that they were connected to the tunnel system because the openings to the tunnel were boarded or bricked up but not made watertight. So that is why the subbasements flooded. The article also indicates that urban exploration groups would find access to the tunnels to explore them. But since the advent of terrorism scares, the accesses to the tunnels have been secured to prevent anyone from getting into the tunnels. The article also says that the tunnels are still used for power cables so maintanence people for the power company may still get into the tunnels.
Check out the one we have in Jacksonville, Fl. The FEC ( Florida East Coast) Rail Road Bridge. Same type but with a steel counterweight. It was built in 1925.
RailRol82 Good evening Roly This was one Magnificent video Of this Historical Longest railroad Bridge in Chicago ever Wow You are a true Railroad Archeologist one of the best ever Thank you for sharing this piece of our history You are the best when it comes to finding Abandoned Or rarely used railroads that seem to be unused You are the Man, The Myth, The Legend in finding these Amazing Railroads like this one and a Awesome view of this bridge, I couldn't believe my eyes, I was also thinking when you we're filming This video What if by accident your phone fell in the water and nice catch of that Tourist boat you did one excellent job my friend Thanks for sharing this video Have a nice evening Roly Big Thumbs Up 👍👍👍👍👏👏
Did you smell the chocolate from Blommers Chocolate Company? A few bridges east of you is where Sean Connery tells Kevin Costner to go home and shleep well. Great video!!
Why are the bridge and tracks still there? Does UP think they might get business from the newspaper again? There’s lots of scrap in that bridge but I imagine it has historical significance for the city of Chicago.
@Lee Maxwell As explained in the description a H-Rail truck crosses the bridge once a year. It drives up to the rails , lowers the RR wheels and crosses the bridge to that small section of track by the Sun-Times building. It then either raises the RR wheels and rolls through the parking lot on the truck tires or drives in reverse back across the bridge to the original point of crossing and goes back to using the truck tires.
@@Thebaroncorvo Did you watch the video? Rails clearly visible on the bridge at the 7:48 mark. Did you read all the replies to Lee Maxwell's comment? This video was uploaded in 2019, so we as viewers have only that fact to set the time frame of the video. If you have a gripe, send it to the originator of the video, not to one of the commentators.
@@Thebaroncorvo- there are actually a few sections remaining, but are inaccessible. A recent venture to the Billy Goat Tavern found us searching & finding some on & around lower Michigan Ave.
A little history? The C&NW purchased the Chicago Great Western in 1968. As Thomas stated, this bridge has nothing to do with the CGW. Before it was organized { reorganized } as the Chicago & North Western, it was the Galena & Chicago Union. A little more factual history...……...
How did or who did you talk to to find out about it being operated once a year. With all the windows broke out of the control booth for it I would think it would be hard to operate each year as winters can get bad in the city and hard on exposed equipment.
@RailROL82 Does it cross each year on the same date? If it does, you could film the lowering and raising then. You might want to contact UP and have them send you an email before they do it next time.
In 1908 it was when it was built . Of course larger cantilever draw bridges were built after it was. Another record bridge is the Railroad bridge over the Missouri River at Booneville MO. It was the largest railroad lift bridge of its kind when it was built in the 1920s. By the KATY railroad.
I think you ALL have false info.. the biggest and heaviest was built in NO ONE GIVES A SHIT! For chrissake just relax and enjoy the fact that Roly here didn't get arrested for filming on private property!
Nice Video! WOW that's very old like about over 100 years old, WOW now that's history there WOW man great catch and keep them coming! I uploaded a train video on RUclips if u want to go watch it RailROL82!
Kevin Howard There are ongoing back burner ideas that the bridge could be put back in service to install light rail service out to Navy Pier. That line would also put people back in walking distance of the Northwestern terminal nearby. Until the late 50s there was streetcar service to Navy Pier but not along the same path. May never happen.
I love this video as I have never seen this bridge up as close as you till now. That large concrete piece of the bridge on the back is actually the counter balance weight as they lower the bridge it rise up and towards the river and the trains used run underneath of it. I am not sure on this but I think I read something a while back but I think (another fan may know for sure) that their original depot was located on the other side of the river. But I think the property was wanted and so was sold and then they built a new depot now located where it is today and is I think the main depot for Metra. I'm sorry right now I can't remember the name of it right now. But it is one of two depots in downtown Chicago. Also one other thing you might want to know is that if you would have walked to the south side of the Kinsey street bridge just across the street on the side of the River that you are on and looked down at the groups of pilings that protect the bridge from being run into by ships and boats. You would have been looking at something very very famous as the one set of pilings were the ones that were driven and damage the tunnels that run under downtown Chicago in the form of a miniature freight railroad that use to haul goods and coal to the buildings and hauled away the cinders and garbage. The rail road was abandoned years ago but the tunnels were still used for communication and electrical grid cables. The damage was reported but ignored and about a month or two later brook through and caused millions of dollars in damage in The Great Chicago Flood about 25 years ago. If you get time sometime look up the underground freight railroad there are pictures and even a couple of movies showing it running and maps on it and a lot to read about it. I spent a whole night on it and it's very interesting and you will love it being a railroad historian.
@@railrol82 More importantly.. why would someone start their comments with "hey you".. how rude! There's nothing in Troy Ohio except for a statue to the founder of ChemLawn, Po Duke. that's about it. Otherwise, it's just another one-horse town in Ohio.
Hey everyone you should give up money because I'm nobody and I dont know the gentleman that does these videos but I sure am a rail fan so I know good railroad videos and this young man is doing a fine job.
I appreciate the kind words, Carl. Thanks as always for the views and comments!
I should give up money?
@@Harew0lf Only if you'd like to. It goes to my traveling fund, but it isn't necessary.
@@railrol82 oh ok I just didn’t understand
How rare you see 4 railroads crossing gates guarding one intersection
In South FL that is the norm lately. Railroads are more and more safety conscious now. Thanks as always for the views and comments, Jeff
Good thing I live 25 miles west of Chicago :D
I highly recommend you visit this location one day. Thanks as always for the views and comments!
@@railrol82 😊
love Heavies Railroad Bridge in the world
sue!
Thank you Sue! Great minds think alike, I've always been fascinated by rails and bridges too. Thanks as always for the views and comments!
👍👍👍
Have you been back to Chicago since then ? Chicago has many railroad bascule and vertical lift bridges. Canal Street and St. Charles Air Line to name two.
This Chicago & North Western Railroad freight line used to go under the Merchandise Mart out to Navy Pier when Navy Pier was a location that loaded and unloaded ships that plied the Great Lakes. The line also served a Kraft Foods plant near Lake Shore Drive. The Merchandise Mart is built on the site of the Chicago & North Western Railroad's former Wells Street Station whichi was located at Wells Street and Kinzie Street. The Wells Street Station was abandoned when the Chicago & North Western Station on Madison Street between Clinton and Canal Streets at 500 West Madison Street, west of the Chicago River, was opened in 1911.
@@railrol82 To the average Chicagoan all railroads are a nuisance because they block traffic. They have no idea of the economic impact of a railroad. Look up the history of the Chicago & North Western Railroad on the Internet. The first page the the Chicago & North Western Historical Society's website (www.cnwhs.org) gives a history of the Chicago & North Western Railroad. You will find that first railroad west from Chicago was the earliest predecessor of what became the Chicago & North Western Railroad. That railroad was started in 1836 with the charter by the State of Illinois of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad. The Galena & Chicago Union Railroad began operation in 1848 westward from Chicago to Oak Park, Illinois and beyond. This line is part of Union Pacific Railroad's west line from Chicago to Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska. In 1855 the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad began service from Chicago northwest toward Rockford, Illinois through Beloit, Wisconsin on the way to Madison, Wisconsin. This line is the Union Pacific Railroad's current Northwest line out of Chicago. In 1859 a railroad named the Chicago & North Western was charterd by the states of Illinois and Wisconsin. In 1864 the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad merged with the Chicago & North Western Railroad. In 1868 the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad was leased to the Chicago & North Western giving it access to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This line is the Union Pacific Railroad's line from Chicago to Milwaukee and beyond to the Twin Cities. The first steam locomotive on the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad was a second hand locomotive named the "Pioneer". That locomotive has been preserved an is on display at the Chicago History Museum located at North Avenue and LaSalle Street in Chicago. The Galena & Chicago Union Railroad's first depot was located at Kinzie and Canal Streets which is where that building west of the railroad bridge is located. In 1858 the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad operated the first sleeper car west of Chicago. In 1864 the first Railway Post Office car was placed into service on the Chicago & North Westerm. In 1995 the Union Pacific Railroad acquired the Chicago & North Western Rainroad in order to get direct access to Chicago. For years before the Chicago & North Western was aquired by the Union Pacific, the two railroads were major partners in transporting freight to and from Chicago to the west coast via a connection at Fremont, Nebraska.
@@thomasmackowiak I used to date a girl from South Bend, IN and she would take the South Shore line into that station on Madison. This was in 1980, and that station was down-at-the-heel at that time.
@@dalethelander3781 The South Shore Electric train came into the Illinois Central Electric Line's Randolph Street Station just east of Michigan Avenue in the early 1980s. That Station was remodelled and is now called the Millenium Station because it is adjacent to Millenium Park. The Masdison Street Station of the Chicago & North Western Railroad is located at 500 West Madison Street a block west of the south branch of the Chicago River. The only commuter and passenger trains that entered the Chicago & North Western's Madison Street Station were Chicago & North Western trains. However, after Grand Central Station closed on 8 November 1969 Chesapeake & Ohio and Baltimore & Ohio passenger trains also used Madison Street Station until the beginning of Amtrak on 1 April 1971. In the early 1980s, the Chicago & North Western Railroad sold the front portion of the station. The trainshed was kept for use by the C&NW's commuter trains. The front portion was demolished and CitCorp built an office/shopping complex which is now called the Ogilivie Transportation Center.
@@thomasmackowiak My bad. My memories are fuzzy.
They named a landmark after Olgilvie? Nobody liked him.
Here's the funny thing. My Dad worked for The Milwaukee Road at Union Station. He always called this bridge the Belt Line Bridge and said it hadn't been used since the early 60s.
Good Times! Heehee. Nice video.
@@railrol82 Thanks for the subscription. I subscribed too.
In the city of Trondheim Norway we have a railwaybridge from 1918 at the same type. The Skansen Railwaybridge (In Norwegian "Skansen Jernbanebru") All trains between Oslo and Trondheim pass this bridge. With overhead lines and open for boats several times a day.
I looked it up on Google and that is a beautiful bridge and location! Is that a freight or passenger line?
@@railrol82 Freight and passengertrain. Trains between Trondheim and Bodø alså pass this bridge from the maintenance area/workshop south of Trondheim.
@@railrol82 ruclips.net/video/ddZVdInm4xY/видео.html
@@FS-qu5pv Amazing video!
@@FS-qu5pv Norway has a lot of beautiful scenery. Thanks for sharing!
CNW became UP but this bridge that was already abandoned was never used by UP as far as i know
You're right on the money, Brian. Thanks as always for the views and comments!
Wow!! This is magnificent!! 2 drawbridges in one vid!
Helll YES!!!! I’m Drawbridge fan!!! They just demolished a drawbridge here and made a 70 foot fixed span 😭😭😭 I’m obsessed with them!!!
This vid made my day!!!
I have seen the Kinsey St Drawbridge, I saw them all in Chicago!!
Florida is getting rid of a lot of them, there’s only one left on US route 1 in the Florida Keys called the Snake Creek Br!
Ah yes I remember this! It’s a one leaf bascule Br, in Islandmorada
Time to take it down before it collapses.
No way, this is a historic old bridge!
my dad worked in the old Sun-Times bldg [now the Trump.]
Great video! I followed the track all the way west to Clark St!!! I'm sure it goes farther, but you can't get past Clark. I think it's all underground from there.
Thank you! Chicago is a treasure chest for old railroad memorabilia. One can spend a month there documenting old historic relics and you'd still wouldn't have covered everything. Happy New Years!
This rail is much more interesting if you follow it to lake Michigan. It runs under so many business and at one time served both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago' Sun-Times. That is a wonderful trip under Chicago's most expensive neighbor
Great video!
that bridge was the entrance to the yard and station that was right across the river .... you should see the maps that have been made for Chicago its a C1920-40's Rail map showing the rails that used to be
You know your stuff, Brian.
@@railrol82 i try
Nice video, as always!
Thanks for doing this, I saw this bridge in action about 1963 or 64. I was 7 or 8 and we were on one of those tour boats and the bridge went down and a loco and a couple of boxcars went over into the paper. I wish I had a video camera like on my phone now, all I have of that trip is a picture of a family friend's dog.
Brilliant video!!! 👍
This was purely awesome, sadly I didn't get to see it when I was in Chicago last fall since we had to hurry back to the Union Station to catch our Metra train back to Aurora. But one thing that brightens my weekends is seeing a new vid from Mr. RailRol! :)
That pretty awesome bridge railrol
Glad that you made it back!
Super Video. 🇮🇳
The Merchandise Mart was built in 1930, then the most massive building in the world. Rail service continued under the Mart all the way to Navy Pier. There were RR yards where the Sun Times Building was built in 1958. Most of the buildings built along the river after the 1920s have air rights. That is, the railroad right of way below was maintained but gradually fell into disuse. Most of the tracks have been paved over. In the late 1800s the entire area where the Merchandise Mart stands, Wolf Point, was railroad property with extensive RR yards and a large Northwestern train depot. Before the current bridge was built, there was a large swing bridge serving those rail lines. As a matter of fact, at one time all the Chicago river bridges were swing bridges which have been replaced multiple times over the years finally with bascule draw bridges. The ground floor of the Merchandise Mart was used as a freight terminal with extensive trackage for many years.
RailROL82 The Merchandise Building is not gone. It’s alive and doing very well. What’s gone is the extensive railroad trackage that once were located there.
Thanks for describing this . I remember seeing this many times when I was in Chicago . Great job !!!!
cool!
Great vid yet again! Thanks for sharing this fantastic piece of history!
Nice! That is really cool!
Wasn't this another video that was originally lost to the hacker last year? I'm glad to see it back. And didn't these rails supply paper to the Chicago Tribune until 2001? I lost the tracks on Google Maps at 55 West Carroll Ave.
You're right on the money, Lance. Luckily RUclips has restored everything to just how l had it. Thanks as always for the views and comments!
Wow that bridge is awesome! I would love to see that bridge come down, would be a cool sight to see.
@@railrol82 That would be a great thing to see.
That drawbridge was part of the spur to the old Chicago Sun Times printing plant at the SE corner of Kinzie Avenue and the Chicago River, in the Chicago loop.
The last time that drawbridge was lowered was in 2001 when C&NW RR local delivered cars of newsprints to and pulled the empty cars for the final time forever. That bridge was first opened in September, 1908.
@@rodney4917 Wrong. It is inspected every year by the railroad and lowered if the navigation lights mandated by the US Coat Guard need replacement. Last time down was November of 2018.
this line goes under the Merchandise Mart and used to go to Navy Pier
@@rodney4917 C&NW was bought out in 1995.
Quaker Oats was the first customer.
Great video as always my friend!
Kind regards from Croatia :-)
Tidbits: When you walked out onto the southeast side of the Kinzie Bridge near the bridge tender's house 2:10 , you were standing directly above where the "Chicago Flood" of April 1992 started!!!!! Story: ruclips.net/video/-0udLJOStgk/видео.html If you had fallen off the bridge in that spot, you would likely have been sucked into the Chicago Tunnel System and ended up near State Street!!? There is another disused rail bridge not far from the CNW bridge on the river. It is located just south of Courtland St near Elston Ave, a swing span bridge. I know nothing about it.
Awesome, so glad you caught this! :D
Not sure why the high rail would "cross it". Track ends aton the bridge
She's a beauty isn't she? Just for FYI about that line. It became pretty much dedicated just to the Chicago Sun-Times only in the late 20th Century. But the main CNW passenger station, Wells Street Station, used to be where the Merchandise Mart is currently located. CNW passenger trains all came across that line to get back and forth to the station and there was a small yard there and freight houses. It extended east to the slips on the Lake and transferred cargo when the Port of Chicago was still at the mouth of the Chicago River. Obviously the location could not scale up as passenger volume grew.and it was replaced by a much larger station on the other side of the river and further south in 1911. That station was replaced by a modern high-rise in the 1980s, but the concourses remain today serving Metra Union Pacific commuter lines. So that route was once very important and served the original CNW passenger station.
Thats Crazy! I'm surprised they'd leave it there
Very very very nice video!! great looking facial hair!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks a lot now I’ve got the good times song stuck in my head lol 😂 to bad you couldn’t start this video with the intro from good times! Thanks again for the video’s
ruclips.net/video/BqR4S40FtgY/видео.html
here it is!
I need to go up to Chicago and check out these rails.
@@railrol82 I live about 45 mins south of Chicago.
@@railrol82 Definitely. I couldn't handle the traffic and non stop horn honking! Drivers are excessive with their horns in the city! Lolololol
Audra id suggest checking it out very soon. It was still intact about 3 weeks ago when i saw it. Since the UP has implemented Precision railroading, theres no telling if this bridge will last another year.
You should its the most incredible city on earth!
Those pilings are the ones that punched and flooded the maze of underground railroad tunnels under downtown that shut the city down in the early 90s
That must've been quite a site to see. Thanks as always for the views and comments!
@@railrol82 actually there wasn't much to see as the tunnels are 40' below the street. these were the Chicago tunnel company tunnels. for the most part when the "the great Chicago Leak" happened the most you would see is hoses and pumps pumping out sub basements to several buildings within the loop. If you come back out to Chicago plan a trip to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union Il as we have some equipment from the tunnels preserved in one barn. Which if I remember correctly was rescued during the rebuild of Lake shore drive and was located in the tunnel out to the I think the field museum which was built closer to the surface then the rest of the system and used an elevator to raise/lower equipment.
Probably cheaper to keep it open. If not they would need to pay to have it removed
Really nice video! I love how close you were able to get to such a unique peice of very large railroad history! Amazing! Good job at documenting that Roly I loved it!
Great and interesting video! I grew up near Pittsburgh, PA with a "ton" of bridges, some of similar or older "vintage" from this railroad bridge. Since the railroad tracks are buried in the pavement I guess this can be classified as a "bridge to nowhere". Very interesting to see this bridge up close and personal, so to speak. Consider this fact, this bridge was designed and built before computers to calculate loads, weights, etc. The only way to calculate was paper and pencil with the additional help of a slide rule to figure wind loads, counter balance weight requirements and such. The only reasons bridges of this time are still "standing" is that they where built to last AND the "fudge factor included" for a safety factor was so much greater than is used today to engineer anything! Again thank you for your quest in searching out famous and not so famous archeological items to record for future generations to know about.
that old bridge looks so out of place with all those modern buildings. Thanks for the history lesson!!
A few blocks from there is a great hot dog place called Fast Tracks that has tons of train stuff inside as well out outside
I'll keep that in mind next time l visit. Thanks as always for the views and comments!
whats on the other side?
CN&W was a really good railroad
BNSF Bandit yes because it was employee owned I believe, they had pride in their railroad
@@railrol82 My dad worked for Chicago & North Western from 1973 to 1981 at California Ave coach yard , 40th street diesel house and Proviso diesel house . he was a diesel locomotive mechanic .
The 'employee owned' period was a short one. It was a scheme { using 'scheme' in a creative way here } to drive up the stock price. Every employee was given a certain amount of stock. The portfolio of the C&NW eventually improved & many employees sold their stocks at a nice profit. The scheme worked. UP did the same thing for employees in the early 2000's....if memory serves it was worth around 30 bucks a share at the time. I set up my E-Trade to sell at $60 a share figuring it would never hit there. Boy, was I wrong! It has since split twice & is now around $166 a share! Ouch! I should've hung on.....the market is a wild ride!
And so were the people that worked for them. Toot my own horn.
Awesome R I seen that bridge when I visited Chi town long time ago. Thanks and your rocking the beard dude LOL thanks E
Wasn't the street bridge you were on . Was that pilings that caused the downtown flood when they breached the service tunnels underneath.
That is correct.
@@railrol82 First some background information. In the early part of the 20th Century a system of tunnels were built in the downtown area of Chicago. These tunnels belonged to the Chicago Tunnel Company which was a two foot narrow guage railroad. It was owned by the Chicago Telephone Company. Its purpose was to be used to bring out debris from the tunnels that Chicago Telephone Company was digging under the downtown area to lay telephone cables. It also brought in the spoons of telephone cable. When the telephone cables were completed, the tunnels were used to bring coal and other supplies to the stores and office buildings in the downtown area and to take out the ashes from the coal burning furnaces in the buildings. One of the tunnels was under the Chicago River near the Kinzie Street bridge (The bridge that you were on when you started your video.). The Chicago Tunnel Company had ceased operations years ago. In 1992 the City of Chicago contracted with Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company to replace the pilings next to the bridge tenders office on the south side of the Kinzie Street bridge. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company reported to the City of Chicago that the pilings were too close to the bridge tenders office and they could not replace the pilings without damaging the tenders office. The City of Chicago gave GLD&D the okay to put in new pilings to the south of the old pilings. No one thought to check to see if there was a Chicago Tunnel Company tunnel near where the new pilings were to be placed. GLD&D put in the new pilings and cracked the roof of one of the Chicago Tunnel Company's tunnels. This let water into the tunnel system which caused flooding in many buildings in the Chicago Downtown/Loop area. On 13 April 1992 water was discovered in the lower basements of Downtown/Loop buildings. You can read more information in Wikipedia at this URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_flood . If the URL does not work, then go to Wikipedia and type Chicago Flood in the search box and you will find the article. There is also a hyperlink in the Chicago Flood article that will take you to the Chicago Tunnel Company article in Wikipedia for more inforamation on the Chicago Tunnel Company and its system of tunnels. There are also a number of books that have been published about the Chicago Tunnel Company. Some years ago an intact Chicago Tunnel Company locomotive was discovered during some constuction work that was going on near the Field Museum of Natural History near Roosevelt Road (12th Street) and LaKe Shore Drive if I remember correctly. The locomotive was pulled out of the tunnel and was given to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois to add to their collection.
@@railrol82 They are still there. But permission is needed for access into them. There's 60miles of tunnels underneath Downtown Chicago.
@@railrol82 I do not believe that there is any way for the public to view these tunnels. The tunnels still exist. According to the Wikipedia article on the Chicago Tunnel Company, the telephone cables were removed in the 1920s and in July 1959 the Interstate Commerce Commission gave permission to abandon the railroad. The flooding of the downtown/loop area buildings as a result of the breach of the tunnel at the Kinzie Street Bridge in April 1992 was probably the first time that anyone thought about the Chicago Tunnel Company since its abandonment. The Wikipedia article says that this was not the first leak in the tunnels. Since the abandoment in 1959 a lot of the downtown/loop buildings forgot that they were connected to the tunnel system because the openings to the tunnel were boarded or bricked up but not made watertight. So that is why the subbasements flooded. The article also indicates that urban exploration groups would find access to the tunnels to explore them. But since the advent of terrorism scares, the accesses to the tunnels have been secured to prevent anyone from getting into the tunnels. The article also says that the tunnels are still used for power cables so maintanence people for the power company may still get into the tunnels.
@@railrol82 your very welcome
7:34 wow, wow, wow, wow. Amazing! That’s what I’m saying. I mean, look at that bridge!
Hey, you never know when I’ll visit Chicago.
Well then I should book a trip to Illinois!
Check out the one we have in Jacksonville, Fl. The FEC ( Florida East Coast) Rail Road Bridge. Same type but with a steel counterweight. It was built in 1925.
I see that bridge every holiday when we go to Florida.
Epic we have a C&NW Crossing box (idk if its called that) but we have like 2 in my city
@@railrol82 alright
@@railrol82 www.google.com/maps/@43.0683348,-89.3850758,3a,15y,233.52h,81.88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scQMLf2t72NcXKHqB6Zxk1Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 here ya go
in the google maps the are actually doing maintenance so you can see inside it :D
No problem
Has any trains passed by yet?
RailRol82 Good evening Roly This was one Magnificent video Of this Historical Longest railroad Bridge in Chicago ever Wow You are a true Railroad Archeologist one of the best ever Thank you for sharing this piece of our history You are the best when it comes to finding Abandoned Or rarely used railroads that seem to be unused You are the Man, The Myth, The Legend in finding these Amazing Railroads like this one and a Awesome view of this bridge, I couldn't believe my eyes, I was also thinking when you we're filming This video What if by accident your phone fell in the water and nice catch of that Tourist boat you did one excellent job my friend Thanks for sharing this video Have a nice evening Roly Big Thumbs Up 👍👍👍👍👏👏
Nice video. Nice to see your face. Love you buddy if nobody said if they did I do. Maybe one day the bridge will be used again. Nice capture
Can anyone walk right up to it, or is that alley private property?
Did you smell the chocolate from Blommers Chocolate Company?
A few bridges east of you is where Sean Connery tells Kevin Costner to go home and shleep well.
Great video!!
Why are the bridge and tracks still there? Does UP think they might get business from the newspaper again? There’s lots of scrap in that bridge but I imagine it has historical significance for the city of Chicago.
Here you go---- historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=truss/nbrail/ about the bridge case you haven't read this.
Next you need to film Carrizo Gorge.
How can it be active if there are no tracks running up to or from it on either side?
@Lee Maxwell As explained in the description a H-Rail truck crosses the bridge once a year. It drives up to the rails , lowers the RR wheels and crosses the bridge to that small section of track by the Sun-Times building. It then either raises the RR wheels and rolls through the parking lot on the truck tires or drives in reverse back across the bridge to the original point of crossing and goes back to using the truck tires.
@@alandunstan5485 - Wrong. There have not been any rails evident on the East side of the River (or the bridge) in 4 years. Long gone.
@@Thebaroncorvo Did you watch the video? Rails clearly visible on the bridge at the 7:48 mark. Did you read all the replies to Lee Maxwell's comment? This video was uploaded in 2019, so we as viewers have only that fact to set the time frame of the video. If you have a gripe, send it to the originator of the video, not to one of the commentators.
@@Thebaroncorvo- there are actually a few sections remaining, but are inaccessible. A recent venture to the Billy Goat Tavern found us searching & finding some on & around lower Michigan Ave.
Amazing bit of engineering, great that it has been saved but wonder why it has.
i have files that work in Google Earth that show all the old rails lines if you want it just say so and i can email it to you
Would "Historic Aerials.com" be the same thing? Or "Old Maps Online"?
@@lancereagan3046 no to the first never heard of the 2nd but again no cuz its not Google earth
I'm catching up on my comments tonight and yes I'm interested, Brain. Please send me an e-mail to ROL82@aol.com so l can reply. Thanks in advance!
@@railrol82 email sent
First it was the Chicago Great western then the CNW now Union Pacific a little history :-)
This trackage was never part of the Chicago Great Western. It has always been CNW trackage.
A little history? The C&NW purchased the Chicago Great Western in 1968. As Thomas stated, this bridge has nothing to do with the CGW. Before it was organized { reorganized } as the Chicago & North Western, it was the Galena & Chicago Union. A little more factual history...……...
Similar to the "Annie bridge" in Kearny, n.j.
Have u seen the one in Trondheim Norway.
And this is in use every Day.
@@railrol82 There is a video off it where the mecanics goes round and grease it and they also drive it manually.
I thought there was a train going on the drawbridge. What railroad owned the drawbridge? Are they ever going to reuse it?
Went to an old printing plant unless new business moves in nobody will use it last used by up and cnw before that
How did or who did you talk to to find out about it being operated once a year. With all the windows broke out of the control booth for it I would think it would be hard to operate each year as winters can get bad in the city and hard on exposed equipment.
@RailROL82 Does it cross each year on the same date? If it does, you could film the lowering and raising then. You might want to contact UP and have them send you an email before they do it next time.
Chicago and North Western. Northwestern is a university in Evanston. ;)
1:12 - The word you're looking for is, "Disused".
I'm surprised there's so little graffiti on it ...
In Detroit they sure as hell don't. 😂😂😂
Thats because its on the Northside. (Of town)
🤣Good Times. When Florida goes; damn!...Damn!...DAMN!!🤣
I think the Jacksonville drawbridge is much bigger and heavier than this
@@railrol82 The Jacksonville Drawbridge was built in 1890, you have false info bro
In 1908 it was when it was built . Of course larger cantilever draw bridges were built after it was. Another record bridge is the Railroad bridge over the Missouri River at Booneville MO. It was the largest railroad lift bridge of its kind when it was built in the 1920s. By the KATY railroad.
I think you ALL have false info.. the biggest and heaviest was built in NO ONE GIVES A SHIT! For chrissake just relax and enjoy the fact that Roly here didn't get arrested for filming on private property!
Nice Video! WOW that's very old like about over 100 years old, WOW now that's history there WOW man great catch and keep them coming! I uploaded a train video on RUclips if u want to go watch it RailROL82!
I have only one thing to say... WOW
(yes, I'm being sarcastic just in case no one caught that)
why don't they just remove it?
@@railrol82 That's what they said about Penn Station.
Kevin Howard There are ongoing back burner ideas that the bridge could be put back in service to install light rail service out to Navy Pier. That line would also put people back in walking distance of the Northwestern terminal nearby. Until the late 50s there was streetcar service to Navy Pier but not along the same path. May never happen.
Impossible u went there, I live here 3 years. And I’ve never went there
I love this video as I have never seen this bridge up as close as you till now. That large concrete piece of the bridge on the back is actually the counter balance weight as they lower the bridge it rise up and towards the river and the trains used run underneath of it. I am not sure on this but I think I read something a while back but I think (another fan may know for sure) that their original depot was located on the other side of the river. But I think the property was wanted and so was sold and then they built a new depot now located where it is today and is I think the main depot for Metra. I'm sorry right now I can't remember the name of it right now. But it is one of two depots in downtown Chicago. Also one other thing you might want to know is that if you would have walked to the south side of the Kinsey street bridge just across the street on the side of the River that you are on and looked down at the groups of pilings that protect the bridge from being run into by ships and boats. You would have been looking at something very very famous as the one set of pilings were the ones that were driven and damage the tunnels that run under downtown Chicago in the form of a miniature freight railroad that use to haul goods and coal to the buildings and hauled away the cinders and garbage. The rail road was abandoned years ago but the tunnels were still used for communication and electrical grid cables. The damage was reported but ignored and about a month or two later brook through and caused millions of dollars in damage in The Great Chicago Flood about 25 years ago. If you get time sometime look up the underground freight railroad there are pictures and even a couple of movies showing it running and maps on it and a lot to read about it. I spent a whole night on it and it's very interesting and you will love it being a railroad historian.
Love this video!
Hey you shod go to troy Ohio
@@railrol82 More importantly.. why would someone start their comments with "hey you".. how rude! There's nothing in Troy Ohio except for a statue to the founder of ChemLawn, Po Duke. that's about it. Otherwise, it's just another one-horse town in Ohio.