Calumet Sag Channel CN Railroad Bridge

Most Recent Visit To Bridge: August 12, 2006

Although I did not have time to visit them on my second Chicago trip which included getting a few photos of this bridge, there are many more metal truss bridges that display design and details typically seen in the 1950s and 1960s. These bridges are all what I would term semi-historic bridges. They are bridges that display an intricacy and feature some designs not seen in modern bridges, but on the other hand they are not really all that old and are a far cry from other metal truss bridges built around the turn of the 20th century. This railroad bridge I visited is typical of the railroad bridges seen on the Calumet Sag Channel. The bridge is a polygonal top chord subdivided Warren through truss with riveted connections. Most of the highway bridges are similar to this design as well, with an exception being the 1930s bridge near this rail bridge.

If you are interested in these bridges, there is one place on the Calumet Sag Channel, (sometimes called the Cal-Sag for short), near Blue Island where there is a whole group of these bridges side by side. They are east of the Francisco Avenue Bridge over the Cal-Sag Channel. I think you can get good portal views of them as well from Broadway Street on the south side of the Channel. I have seen numerous rail-fan websites with photos of these bridges. It must be both an easy-to-access area and an active train area.