Abandoned 12th Street Bridge (St. Charles)

St. Charles, Kane County, Illinois

Default pic
Main span
Looking west
Looking west
Overview
Overview
Overview
West abutment
Main span
East abutment
Former second track
Under main span
Broken plaque
Under bridge, showing rebuilt bracing
Overview

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Default Pic
Main span
Looking west
Looking west
Overview
Overview
Overview
West abutment
Main span
East abutment
Former second track
Under main span
Broken plaque
Under bridge, showing rebuilt bracing
Overview
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Date Taken:
Author:
Caption:
Name Abandoned 12th Street Bridge (St. Charles)
Chicago Great Western Railway Bridge #36.65
Built By Chicago Great Western Railway
Currently Owned By Union Pacific Railroad
Superstructure Contractor Des Moines Steel Company of Des Moines, Iowa
Substructure Contractor Unknown
Length 16 Feet Total
Width 1 Track
Height Above Ground 15 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design Steel Stringer
Substructure Design Concrete
Date Built 1941
Traffic Count 0 Trains/Day (Bridge is Abandoned)
Current Status Abandoned
Chicago Great Western Railway Bridge Number C37.11
Chicago Great Western Railway Bridge Number 414 (Old Number)
Significance Local Significance
Documentation Date 12/1/2024; 12/8/2024

In 1887, the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad (M&NW) constructed 147 miles of new railroad, extending from Aiken to Forest Park, Illinois.  At Aiken, the railroad began at the Illinois Central Railroad, which offered the railroad trackage rights into Dubuque.  At Dubuque, the line connected to the rest of the M&NW system.  At Forest Park, the line connected to the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad (B&OCT), which continued to downtown Chicago via the St. Charles Airline.  In 1894 the M&NW would be sold to the Chicago Great Western Railway (CGW).  The CGW had acquired and constructed a modest railroad network throughout Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota; connecting major cities in these states.  The CGW was one of the smaller railroads in the area, and was late to the game.  As a result, the railroad never saw the fortunes of other railroads in the area.  This line served as the eastern portion of the CGW system, connecting Chicago with Kansas City, Omaha or the Twin Cities.  The CGW would be acquired by the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) in 1968.  The C&NW already operated parallel, better constructed routes in Illinois and Wisconsin.  As a result, traffic on this line dwindled to largely local movements, and conditions of the track deteriorated. 

The line would be abandoned in several stages.  The segment from Forest Park to Elmhurst was abandoned in 1970, followed by the segment from Aiken to Byron in 1972, the segment from Elmhurst to Villa Park in 1974 and the segment from St. Charles to Sycamore in 1977.  The portion from Sycamore to Byron was abandoned in 1981, and a small spur was sold to the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad to access a power plant.  Further abandonments came in 1985 between Villa Park and Carol Stream and in 1993, when a section around the DuPage Airport was realigned.  The C&NW was purchased by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1995.  The segment from Kirk Road to St. Charles would be abandoned in 2011.  Today, Union Pacific operates the remaining trackage around West Chicago, and CPKC operates the spur at Byron.  Between St. Charles and Sycamore and West Chicago and Forest Park, the line is now part of the Great Western Trail.

Located on the west side of St. Charles, this small steel stringer bridge carries the former Chicago Great Western Railway over 12th Street. The first bridge at this location was likely constructed in 1886-1887, when the line was initially built. This bridge likely consisted of a steel stringer or deck girder span, set onto stone abutments. At some point in the late 19th or early 20th Century, a second track was added to the bridge. In 1941, the bridge would be reconstructed by the current bridge. The bridge consists of a single track 16-foot steel stringer span, set onto stone abutments reused from the previous bridge. The abutments were rebuilt with concrete caps during the reconstruction. Des Moines Steel Company fabricated the superstructure, which uses two sets of two beams. Since the 1941 construction, it appears that the bracing of the beams has been rebuilt with high strength bolts. This design of bridge was commonly used by railroads throughout the United States, as it was durable and easy to construct. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The bridge is currently abandoned, and its future is uncertain. It is possible that the Great Western Trail will be extended over this structure at some point. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.

Citations

Builder and build date Des Moines Steel Company plaque
Railroad History Citation ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele