Metra/Rock Island over Cal Sag in Blue Island, IL

(Bridge Hunter, Historic Bridges)

Redeker Rail Video & Photograpy posted
This week we are in the Chicago area working a few stores & I lucked out grabbing Metra’s Rock Island Heritage unit crossing the Calumet River/Canal in Blue Island Illinois. This is a shot I have been wanting to get for a long time & the Rock Island unit made it even that much better!! 4/14/2020
Terry Redeker shared
Terry Redeker shared
Terry Redeker shared
Jeff Lewis shared
Metra's Rock Island heritage unit crosses the Cal-Sag channel southbound on an overcast Tuesday, April 14, 2020.
Drone image captured by Terry Redeker.

Streetview from Western Avenue Bridge

3D Satellite

Michael Brandt posted
A great areal shot of Western Ave in Blue Island going over the Cal Sag. A nice view of Old Western Ave too, I believe Jebens Hardware is also in the picture.

HalstEd Pazdzior posted

Two Metra's meet at Blue Island.

10/21/20

Russell Ingram posted two photos with the comment: "Blue Island, IL   cal-sag canal and Western Ave (overhead), 06/17/17 and 06/18/17. Rock Island. NKP 765."

1

2

Chris Ness posted

One more Blue Island.

This is a little different. There is another crossing a few hundred meters downstream.

From the Illinois Central crossing of the Calumet River Sag Channel. don't know who had the second bridge built. Oh, the joy of having competition in the rail industry. (Now METRA)

Bartholomew Broz: all the bridges are owned by the CSX now.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bartholomew's comment

You are thinking of the five bridges on the left side of this satellite image. The photo is of the two Metra/Rock Island bridges on the right side of the image.

41°39'07.9"N 87°40'50.6"W

Bartholomew Broz: Dennis DeBruler if you ever get out thus way ill take you for a tour and show you some cool old lift bridges and stuff they still have in operation in the lower side of the Chicago land area.

Dennis DeBruler: Jeff Lewis The left two bridges are owned by CSX because of B&OCT, not GTW. Both IHB and B&OCT wanted to build a belt line on the southwest side. Rather than have wasteful parallel lines, they agreed that IHB would build the northern part and B&OCT would build the southern part. But IHB dispatches both parts. The boundary between the two parts is somewhere around McCook.

Portal views of the bridges were caught by a photo by Kim Piersol of Rock Island #655, an E9A. (Found in a Rock Island posting.)

Arturo Gross Flickr 1995 Photo with IAIS Paduch GP10 402 entering the Blue Island Yard. (source) It catches some of the north side of these bridges.

Note photos 5-8 in David Daruska's Blue Island album.