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"Eight-Track" Bascule Bridge

Cook County, Illinois
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Photos 

General View Taken From The Western Avenue Bridge Looking West

Photo taken for the Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

Map 

Street View 

Description 

The design and history of these four parallel, double-track, double-leaf bridges is the most unusual of the bridges built in the Heritage Corridor. -- Historic American Engineering Record

The Main Drainage Channel of the Sanitary District of Chicago is crossed by 3 railroads. The Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis; Chicago Terminal Transfer and the Chicago Junction Railways. The first having the western four tracks and the others having the next two each easterly tracks. Making a total of eight tracks crossing the channel. From this is derived the name of the structure. --Journal of the Western Society of Engineers--

Two western spans no longer in use.

Facts 

Overview
Warren through truss with all verticals bridge over Sanitary & Ship Canal on Chicago & Northern Pacific
Location
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1901 and 1909
Builders
- Chicago Bridge and Iron Works Co.
- Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Co. of Chicago, Illinois
Design
Warren through truss with all verticals.
Four Separate two track lift bridges. The western two are no longer in use.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.83670, -87.68725   (decimal degrees)
41°50'12" N, 87°41'14" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/442937/4631873 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Englewood
Inventory number
BH 50842 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Built 1901 (283)
Built during 1900s (4,243)
Chicago & Northern Pacific Railroad (1)
Chicago Bridge and Iron Works Co. (2)
Chicago Junction Railway (1)
Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad (1)
Chicago, Illinois (98)
Cook County, Illinois (167)
Deck girder (1,796)
Deck truss (953)
Girder (3,230)
HAER documented (781)
Have street view (9,883)
Illinois (2,498)
Movable (1,355)
Navigable waterway (1,448)
 Open (28,297)
Owned by railroad (4,036)
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, & St. Louis Railroad (23)
Plate girder (2,245)
Railroad (4,063)
Riveted (1,011)
Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Co. (8)
Through truss (9,201)
Truss (23,561)
Vertical lift (275)
Warren deck truss (337)
Warren deck truss with no verticals (2)
Warren through truss (925)
Warren through truss with all verticals (143)
Warren truss (3,956)

Update Log 

  • September 30, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added categories "Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, & St. Louis Railroad", "Chicago Junction Railway", "Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad"
  • September 29, 2012: Updated by Steve Conro: Removed category "Pennsylvania Railroad"
  • January 6, 2012: Updated by J.P.: Added categories "Navigable waterway", "Pennsylvania Railroad", "chicago and northern pacific railroad"

Sources 

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Comments 

"Eight-Track" Bascule Bridge
Posted September 30, 2012, by Nathan Holth (form3 [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

They would have been operated during World War II for sure, since the nearby Western Avenue Bridge was retrofit into a lift bridge at that time and it is far higher than the RR bridges. Not sure when the S&S canal ceased to have operable bridges. I do know that these RR bridges have the lowest clearance of all bridges on the S&S Canal. Many scrapes and bends are visible on the underside of these bridges from barges that were too tall.

"Eight-Track" Bascule Bridge
Posted September 29, 2012, by Ed Hollowell (erhollowell [at] aol [dot] com)

I wonder what the last time this bridge was 'opened'? I'd bet it's been a while.