BRC's West 12th (22nd) Street Yard and MJ Overpasses

(Update: I have found other maps that called this 22nd Street Yard. Thus the parenthetical expression in the title.)

pdf copy from 1915 Smoke Abatement Report, p. 339

Between 12^th and 22^nd Streets (between Roosevelt and Cermak Roads on modern maps), Belt Railway of Chicago had a freight yard. This was an expensive yard because it was elevated and 16^th street went under it. Today, most of the yard area is inaccessible vacant land.

The underpass is interesting because it shows that the west-most track is owned by a different railroad because it has a separate bridge.

Satellite

Fortunately, this 1915 map is detailed enough to indicate that track was owned by the Manufacturers Junction Railway (MJ).

20140928 0059rc

A street level view of the west side of the railroad bridges over Cermak Road/22^nd Street also indicates the western bridge has a different owner. Not only is it painted blue, it has a more modern single span design. I'm still struggling with how to take pictures to best capture the "urban tunnel" of a long underpass. It seems the sun can catch imperfections in the windshield when the angle is right. The following three photos are of the 16^th Street underpass travelling from East to West. The third photo successfully caught the underside edge of the long BRC underpass and the relatively short underpass of the MJ.