Chicago & Alton Bascule Railroad Bridge, Chicago, Illinois

According to Historic Bridges.org: The Chicago & Alton Bascule Railroad Bridge was built in 1906 by the American Bridge Company of New York. This bascule railroad bridge is 214 feet long and spans Bubbly Creek southwest of downtown Chicago. This is the only bridge of its kind in Chicago and most likely the world. Let me explain.

This was the first Page Bascule Bridge erected for railroad use and at the time, it was the largest bascule bridge in the world. It was patented by John W. Page, a Chicago Engineer and designed by William M. Hughes. Notice the distinctive shaped curvy racks where the pinions run. These were the largest individual sections of structural steel ever fabricated in Chicago at that time weighing in at 70 tons each and measuring over 75 feet in length.

The bridge was built to replace this pervious bobtail swing bridge built in the 1880s. The former bridge stayed open while the current bridge was constructed. The plan was to close rail traffic for 24 hours to make the switch for the tracks. Unfortunately the previous bridges pinned connections were extremely rusted and difficult to remove. As a result it ended up taking 25 hours to make the switch instead of 24.

This bridge no longer raises but still see’s rail traffic although I don’t know for how long. Notice the steel is now completely rusted through in some locations.

Regarding my comment at the beginning being the only one of its kind…One other similar bridge was constructed. The other bridge was the Hohman Avenue Railroad Bridge in Hammond, Indiana. It was constructed in 1909 and in use up until the 1980s when CSX “gave” the bridge to the City of Hammond in 1987. It sat abandoned for years util 2014 when a scrap dealer began dismantling the bridge without a permit or permission. In January 2015 he was order to stop work on the bridge when it was discovered that he had already scrapped half of the bridge. Mr. Morrison ended up it court where eventually he was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

With the Hammond Bridge gone, this make the Chicago & Alton Bascule Railroad Bridge the only other remaining bridge of its kind.

Let me know in the comments below if you remember seeing the Hammond Bridge before it was dismantled.

GPS Location: 41º50’24.0″N 87º39’52.0″W