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| Name | River Forest Railroad Crossing Soo Line Railroad Bridge #10.41 |
| Built By | Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad |
| Currently Owned By | Canadian National Railway |
| Contractor | Unknown |
| Length | 208 Feet Total, 100 Foot Main Span |
| Width | 1 Track, Formerly 2 Tracks |
| Height Above Ground | 35 Feet (Estimated) |
| Superstructure Design | Through Plate Girder |
| Substructure Design | Concrete and Steel Bent |
| Date Built | c. 1910, Raised 1914 |
| Traffic Count | 5 Trains/Day (Estimated) |
| Current Status | In Use |
| Soo Line Railroad Bridge Number | 10.41 |
| Significance | Local Significance |
| Documentation Date | 2/19/2022; 11/18/2023 |
In 1882, the Milwaukee and Lake Winnebago Railroad (M&LW) constructed 64 miles of new railroad between Neenah, Wisconsin and Germantown, Wisconsin. Between 1885 and 1886, the Chicago, Wisconsin and Minnesota Railroad (CW&M) would construct an additional 66 miles of new railroad between Germantown and the Illinois/Wisconsin State Line, and the Chicago and Wisconsin Railroad Company (C&W) would construct an additional 42 miles of railroad to near Chicago at the same time. Outside of Chicago, the line connected to the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT) near Forest Park. The line would be leased and operated by other railroads, including the Northern Pacific Railway between 1890 and 1893, and the Wisconsin Central Railroad from 1893 to 1899. In 1899, the railroads would be consolidated to form the Wisconsin Central Railway (WC). This line formed the backbone of the WC, which operated a mainline extending from Chicago to Minneapolis. Except for short segments near Forest Park and River Forest, much of this line was single tracked.
In 1909, the WC would be leased by the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault
Ste. Marie Railway (Soo Line), which itself was controlled by the
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). The Soo Line had constructed a large
network of railroads, connecting the Upper Midwest with Canadian
Railroads. Throughout the 20th Century, the line remained a critical component of the Soo Line system. By 1961, the Soo Line would be merged with other CP subsidiaries Duluth,
South Shore & Atlantic Railroad and Wisconsin Central Railroad to
form Soo Line Railroad, a company controlled by CP. In 1984, the Soo
Line would be reorganized as the Soo Line Corporation, and the railroad
would be fully merged into CP in 1990. After the Soo Line acquired the Milwaukee Road in 1986, this route
became less important, as the Milwaukee Road purchase provided Soo with
additional connections between Chicago and Minneapolis. In 1987, the route
would be sold to Wisconsin Central, Ltd. Known as the "new" Wisconsin
Central, the railroad acquired several excess rail lines from the Soo
Line and Chicago & North Western Railway, before being acquired as the American subsidiary of Canadian National Railway (CN) in
2001. Today, CN operates this line as the Waukesha Subdivision.
Located in River Forest, this through plate girder bridge once carried the Soo Line over the Chicago & North Western Railway, Keystone Avenue and Central Avenue. Originally built in approximately 1910 as part of a larger track elevation project, the bridge consists of a 100-foot and two 54-foot through plate girder spans, set onto steel bents and concrete abutments. The bridge was originally constructed to carry two tracks. In 1914, the bridge would be raised to accommodate a separate grade separation project along the Chicago & North Western Railway. The girder spans use rounded edges, and the bridge utilizes a ballast deck. The ballast channel of the bridge is constructed using a concrete deck, poured around the floorbeams of the structure. Through plate girder spans like this were often used to cross city streets and railroads in urban areas, as the design was durable, easy to construct and maximized clearance underneath. Ballast decks were preferred on these structures, as they reduced hazards to roadway users below and were more cost effective to maintain. The western track was removed in the 1990s. At the time of documentation, the bridge appeared to be in fair to good condition, with minor deterioration noted throughout the substructure. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
Citations
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |