The line immediately felt the significance, being double tracked from Chicago to Harlem Avenue immediately. Further double track work came in 1872, which extended to Aurora.
In Aurora, the line connected to other CB&Q lines heading west towards Iowa. This link was also critical in hauling freight from these rural areas to Chicago.
In Chicago, the line followed the Pennsylvania Mainline north to the station. Heading west, the railway connected cities line Cicero, Lisle and Naperville.
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy found this line to be very high priority, and all was triple tracked in the early 1900s.
The CB&Q was merged into Burlington Northern by combining with Northern Pacific and Great Northern, railroads which operated in Minnesota and spread to the west coast.
The BN continued to favor this line, and was eventually merged into the BNSF Railway, by combining with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996.
Today, BNSF continues to operate this line as the Chicago Subdivision, connecting to Mendota Subdivision, Aurora Subdivision and Illinois Railway Ottawa Branch, all former CB&Q lines.
12/03/21
View an article about this grade separation project.
Located in the South Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, this girder bridge crosses South Marshall Boulevard near W. 21st Street.
Built in 1899, the bridge consists of three through plate girder spans, set onto steel towers and stone substructures. This bridge was built for four tracks, of which four are still active.
In addition, the bridge has a ballasted deck. This deck has protected the bridge and is largely responsible for the respectable condition the bridge appears to be in today.
One unusual feature of the bridge is the southwest corner, where it appears the girder was cut down or replaced with an I-Beam.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.