Industrial History: Lake Corridor Bridges over Indiana Harbor Canal

(B&OCT Bridge Hunter; NS Bridge Hunter; NYC Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges)

While studying EJ&E Bridge 738 over Indiana Harbor Canal, I noticed that there were several bridges near the mouth of the canal. And a new one (blue) has been built.

(Update: these bridges are controlled by Hick Tower. There is a good view of this tower in this video.)

Bird's Eye View, West is at the top

Rotating the Bird's Eye View 90-degrees to the right so that we are looking West confirms there is a raised bridge under the pipeline bridge. Also, the "blue bridge" was probably built during the last decade because it is not in the Bird's Eye View. I could not determine if there had been a bridge in the now empty spot. The following photo is hard to analyze. But the photo further below with the semaphores clearly shows that the spot did not have a bridge.

.pdf copy from 1915 Smoke Abatement Report

Viral Media posted

Indiana Harbor Canal

Postcard from around 1910 shows the five of the bridges over the Indiana Harbor Canal in East Chicago, Indiana. B&OCT later replaced the Rall Bascule bridge shown with a Strauss Bascule Bridge in 1914.

The Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal was built on Lake Michigan connecting the Grand Calumet River to Lake Michigan. It has two branch canals, the 1.25 mile Lake George Branch and the 2 mile long Grand Calumet River Branch which join to form the main Indiana Harbor Canal. The land developer, The East Chicago Co., put up most of the $2.5 million to build the canal between 1901 and 1909. The East Chicago Co. paid $500,000 for the six railroad lift bridges over the canal. There were four Rall Bascule Bridges and two Scherzer Rolling lift Bridges. The canal was built after Inland Steel agreed to construct a mill at the site.

The former EJ&E (CN) Scherzer and the Norfolk Southern (NYC) Chicago Line bridge are the only legacy bridges still in service. Today, the other legacy bridges are “in the upright and locked position” (non-operable). Hick tower operates the movable bridges.

Bridges from Left to Right:

ex-NYC - Egyptian Line (pipeline bridge)

ex-NYC – two bridges

ex-NYC - NS Chicago Line bridge

B&O passenger line bridge (Lake sub)

EJ&E Lakefront Branch bridge

Paul Grone shared with the comment: "I saw this on a non-RR site. But I thought it was interesting..."

Darren Reynolds shared

Bob Poortinga: The EJ&E bridge was originally built by CLS&E. Photo of it being built from 1908: https://digital.library.pitt.edu/.../pitt:201203.1908.4420

Greg Burnet shared

Matt McClure: A second ex-NYC bridge needs to be refurbished. This is a huge choke point. Similarly, either the ex-PRR or one of two ex-NYC bridges need to be added ar Calumet at the state line, another massive choke point. Both locations were analyzed as part of the "South of the Lake Reroute" study by Amtrak and the DOTs of IL, IN, and MI.

J.R. Valderas commented on the above post [looking West]
How it looks now (as of 2021). I was riding Amtrak's Pere Marquette to get this shot (only way to access this area). The two bridges at far left is the former NYC (Egyptian Line and ex-LS&MS) which have been abandoned for decades. The bridge in the operable position is the current NS Chicago Line (ex-NYC nee ex-LM&MS). Alongside it is Hick Tower. The bridge next to it is the ex-B&OCT. It is abandoned as CSX uses trackage rights on NS to reach the remainder of the ex-B&OCT line. The E.J.&E. bridge is out of view and it is still operable by CN.

J.R. Valderas commented on the above post [looking East]
How it looks now (as of 2014 - looking from the opposite direction). I was riding Amtrak's Pere Marquette to get this shot (only way to access this area). The bridge at far left is CN's ex-E.J.&E. (which is still operable). The bridge next to it is the ex-B&OCT. It is abandoned as CSX uses trackage rights on NS to reach the remainder of the ex-B&OCT line. Alongside it is Hick Tower. The bridge in the middle (in operable position) is the current NS Chicago Line (ex-NYC nee ex-LM&MS). The two bridges to the far right is the former NYC (ex-LS&MS and Egyptian Line) which have been abandoned for decades.

Sam Foster posted
NS 4000 hops onto the Norfolk Southern Chicago Line here at Hick Tower with what looks to be a steel slab train from the Chicago Short Line. CSL seems to often borrow NS power for their trains to and from Indiana Harbor and I’ve yet to catch their switchers here at the tower. This blue and gray AC44C6M will do for now.
9/4/23
https://flic.kr/p/2p6hZQV
Craig Cloud: Caught 60C few months ago 2 ldg with solo dpu facing west. Abandoned Pennsy then NYC, B&O and J but other draw belong to? Its been a while my last and only visit to Hick.
Sam Foster: Craig Cloud The other bridge is for steel mill trains in the mill.
Adam Powell: Craig Cloud that was built by Arcelor Mittal.
Lenny Wilfinger: I used to work Hick Tower. You would see CSL power on coke trains going from the old B&O lake front line to spot/pull BP. They would keep and turn NS road power for outbound steel trains/coke trains. Interchange with NS is just East of CP502.

Viral Media posted

Indiana Harbor Canal

The first bridge over the industrial canal in East Chicago, Indiana was built by the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway (now #CN) in 1880. It was a double track Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge designated No. 728. Crossing the Indiana Harbor Canal created a unique partnership with three railroads in 1909. Lake Shore and Michigan Southern (NYC), the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railway (PRR) and The Baltimore and Ohio contracted one bridge builder to construct four identical double track lift bridges. Two for the NYC four track mainline, one for the Pennsy and one for the B&O. The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railway (PRR) was the southernmost of the bridges and has been removed, although the foundation is still visible.

In 2008, ArcelorMittal's built a bright blue Pony plate girder bascule rail bridge over Indiana Harbor Canal. Today only three bridges remain in operation: ArcelorMittal’s blue bridge, the former EJ&E (CN) Scherzer and the Norfolk Southern (NYC) Chicago Line bridge. The remaining bridges are “in the upright and locked position” (non-operable). Hick tower is still in operation to oversee the movable bridges.

Bridges from south to north:

ex-NYC pipeline bridge (out of service)

ex-NYC mainline bridge (out of service)

ex-NYC - NS Chicago Line bridge (active)

B&O passenger line bridge (Lake sub, out of service)

EJ&E Lakefront Branch bridge (active)

CLIFFS (ArcelorMittal) “Blue” bridge(active)

Darren Reynolds shared

Scott Perry: Ns claims this to be a bottleneck, why don't they fix one or replace them?

Russel Dove: Scott Perry probably more to do with the connections to/from the IHB just east of here slowing traffic down.

They could put a bridge back in service, but that wouldn’t alleviate the various moves to/from the IHB being slow.

This is a new angle.

Viral Media posted

Indiana Harbor Canal

View of the canal railroad bridge complex in East Chicago taken by Kevin Heggi in 2008.

The former EJ&E (CN) Scherzer and the Norfolk Southern (NYC) Chicago Line bridge are the only legacy bridges still in service. The other legacy bridges are “in the upright and locked position” (non-operable). Hick tower is left of the bridge, and operates the movable bridges.

Bridges from north to south:

EJ&E Lakefront Branch bridge (active)

B&O passenger line bridge (Lake sub, out of service)

ex-NYC - NS Chicago Line bridge (active)

ex-NYC – Mainline (out of service)

ex-NYC - pipeline bridge (out of service)

Tim Shanahan shared

.pdf copy from 1915 Smoke Abatement Report

All five bridges carried two tracks each. The Chicago, Indiana & Southern (CI&S) is part of the corporate linage of the Kankakee Belt Route so it and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern (LS&MS) were part of the creation of the NYC in 1914.

The leftmost (lake side) bridge did, and still does, carry the EJ&E. The B&O would have used the bridge that is just to the right of the gap behind the signal pole.

1915 Smoke Abatement Report

I can't decide which of the remaining three bridges were owned by CI&S and which were owned by LS&MS. None of the maps I have looked at, including the one in the Smoke Abatement Report, include the CI&S. Since they all became NYC, then Penn Central and then Conrail, it really doesn't matter. NS got these former-NYC assets when Conrail was broken up. Some of the bridges had probably already been abandoned by PC and/or Conrail. According to the satellite view, NS is now using just 2 of the original 6 tracks.

.pdf copy from 1915 Smoke Abatement Report

Bird's Eye View, North is at the top

It appears the interlocking tower is still standing, but with a lot of the windows filled in.
(Update: Scott Griffith indicated on Facebook that this is Hick Tower.)

Satellite

The Pennsylvania mainline across Northeastern Indiana has been completely abandoned. And the bridges have been removed.

Update:
Bob Lalich posted a couple of pictures in comments on the fourth photo by Mark Hinsdale of Inland Steel.

The two bridges that are out of service belonged to the NYC. The NYC was four main tracks. I believe the other two tracks were originally the Chicago, Indiana & Southern. In addition to serving the former Youngstown Sheet & Tube plant on both sides of the ROW west of the canal, the NYC served a large grain elevator, Union Carbide, and Standard Oil west of the canal. Here is a shot of the bridges taken not long after the canal was built.CI&S (maybe), NYC, NYC, B&O (not a B&OCT owned line) EJ&E

Here is a 1950s era photo taken west of the canal.

Kevin A Heggi posted
Another day on the Sintering Plant....another train.....

Joseph Kelly Thompson Flickr 2018 Photo

Seth Lakin commented on a post
A view farther back looking west. From left to right, IHB, NYC eastbound both raised out of service. NYC westbound only one in service, tower, B&O (out of service and raised), EJ&E in service (light green counter weight) and in the far corner a new Arcelor Mittal bridge that’s bright blue.

BRHS posted

Three of the five bridges over the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal.

At left long severed is surrounded by a steel mill lift bridge.

The center one is Conrail's, seldom used.

On the right is Conrail's main line.

Photographed from the east side of the canal by Vic Wagner on June 16th, 1992.

Bob Lalich: All three bridges in this photo were NYC. The Lake Shore line was four tracks originally. The bridge on the left came off the CI&S. The NYC had a grain elevator and yard on the other side of the canal in the old days.

David Vondra posted
David Vondra It’s strange I maintain a bridge in Chicago, CR or CD 509, and it’s an original Pennsy, but at Hammond Pensy went south and as far as I know kinda went away and NYC stayed north east to Cleveland. So I maintain a NYC and a PR bridge.
David Vondra David Daruszka As far as I can tell the bridge farthest to the south was never really utilized. The one next to mine was locked in the up I believe in 88. The B/O to the north was pinned up when the B/O got destroyed over the Calumet River.

Bob Lalich commented on David's post
That bridge farthest south at Hick certainly was used when built. It was an extension of the Chicago Indiana & Southern RR, owned by LS&MS/NYC and operated by the IHB. Among other things, it was used to access the NYC grain elevator west of the canal.
David Vondra Bob Lalich I can not tell you how much I appreciate the pic. Been with NS 15 years and spent them wondering. WOW! No mill on the west side yet?

Bob Lalich commented on David's post
Construction of the Mark Manufacturing plant on the west side of the canal began in 1916. Here is a clip from a history of Marktown document.

HalstEd Pazdzior posted
CP 7058 through CP502. Canadian Pacific's 7058 a SD70ACU heads east through East Chicago on NS. With rumors floating around that these units were "trail only" it was a good sight to see one leading.
1/28/21
[Because of the human resources building for the steel mill, a public road does get rather close to this location.]

(new window) The bridge goes up starting at 5:35, but just for a maintenance test. Then one of the normally up Rall bridges starts down at 6:21. Looking at later scenes, that bridge did go all the way down.

Art Gross Flickr 2019 Photo looking downstream from Dickey Road

Nick Hart posted
ArcelorMittal GP15-1's 418 and 417 are seen making their way across the Indiana Harbor Canal in East Chicago, IN. They're shoving a train of NS coke cars into the Indiana Harbor plant for loading. Word on the street is that new owner, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc has started the process of patching over the ArcelorMittal lettering on a number of the locomotives. Get your shots, now. Photo taken back in July of 2020.
[The hot stoves for some old blast furnaces are still standing. Do they have asbestoes?]