St. Charles Air Line Railroad

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The St. Charles Air Line is a rail line in Chicago, Illinois, partially owned by the BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, and Canadian National Railway.

It is currently used by the Canadian National Railway for freight trains and by Amtrak passenger trains. The line runs east from south of Union Station to a junction with Canadian National Railway at 16th Street interlocking. The CN line then continues towards the shore of Lake Michigan, where it turns south under McCormick Place, passing over and then paralleling the Metra Electric Line. (from Wikipedia 2022-03-13)

From 2019-2021, CN replaced all of the 1899 bridges between Dearborn Street and Michigan Avenue, which had become quite decrepit. The historic St. Charles Air Line Bascule Bridge, and the Clark Street and Indiana Avenue Bridges, were not replaced.

For more information, see the following:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Charles_Air_Line

CN - Bridge #2.14 (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 1899; Replaced 2020-2021
Deck plate girder bridge over Alleyway on Canadian National Railway
Replaced by a new bridge

CN - Clark Street Bridge (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 1899; renovation and abutments rebuilt somewhat later
Pony/through plate girder bridge over Clark Street on Canadian National Railway


CN - Dearborn Street Bridge (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 1899; Replaced 2020
Pony/through plate girder bridge over Dearborn Street on Canadian National Railway
Replaced by a new bridge

CN - Dearborn Street Bridge (2020) (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 2020 to replace original 1899 bridge
Concrete deck girder bridge over Dearborn Street on Canadian National Railway
Open to traffic

CN - Indiana Avenue Bridge (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 1968
Pony/through plate girder bridge over Indiana Ave on CNRR
Open to traffic

CN - Michigan Avenue Bridge (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 1899; Replaced 2020-2021
Pony/through plate girder bridge over Michigan Avenue on Canadian National Railway
Replaced by a new bridge

CN - State Street Bridge (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 1899; Replaced 2020-2021
Pony/through plate girder bridge over State Street on Canadian National Railway
Replaced by a new bridge

CN - State Street bridge (2021) (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 2021 to replace 1899 bridge
Pony steel beam bridge over State Street on Canadian National Railway
Open to traffic

CN - Wabash Avenue Bridge (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 1899; Replaced 2020-2021
Pony/through plate girder bridge over Wabash Avenue on Canadian National Railway
Replaced by a new bridge

CN - Wabash-Michigan Alley Bridge (Cook County, Illinois)
Built 1899, rebuilt very recently on original abutments; Replaced 2021
Deck plate girder bridge over Alleyway between Wabash Avenue and Michigan Avenue on Canadian National Railway
Open to traffic

St. Charles Air Line Bridge (Cook County, Illinois)
Built in 1919, original length was 260 ft. -- later shortened to 220 ft. in 1930
Baltimore through truss bascule bridge over the Chicago River on CN RR
Open to traffic