CN/IC Bridges over Little Calumet River

(Bridge Hunter, Historic Bridges, 3D Satellite)

CN/IC crosses the Little Calumet River twice. This northern crossing is part of the Illinois Waterway. The southern crossing is still a natural river.

Stan's posting is an interesting sequence of photos from the cab as he drives into Chicago. This one allows me to add some value to the usual bridge sites referenced above.

Stan Sienicki posted
Just crossed over the top of the CSX Barr Yard we head north on IC Thoroughfare 4 we approach the Cal Sag River.

The other LRC crossing

David Daruszka posted
Approaching the bridges over the Sanitary and Ship Canal in Riverdale, IL.
David DaruszkaDavid and 620 others joined RAILROAD BRIDGES, TRESTLES, TUNNELS AND CUTS within the last two weeks. Give them a warm welcome into your community! 2009Dennis DeBrulerYou and 620 others joined RAILROAD BRIDGES, TRESTLES, TUNNELS AND CUTS within the last two weeks. I see there is a fourth bridge that is now abandoned. https://www.google.com/.../@41.6508529,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3David DaruszkaDavid and 620 others joined RAILROAD BRIDGES, TRESTLES, TUNNELS AND CUTS within the last two weeks. Give them a warm welcome into your community! I believe the 4th bridge was a connection with the B&OCT and the Panhandle.

Jim Griffith posted
Riverdale Tower-Riverdale, Illinois

Don Horn commented on Dave's posting
Here is a photo from my files.
Dennis DeBruler I didn't realize the navigation channel was widened so late in the 20th Century. This photo allows one to see the fixed-trunnion bascule spans that Nathan describes in the Historic Bridges link at the top of these notes.

I watched a history video to try to find when the channel was widened from one barge width to today's width because that is when this bridge would have been replaced by the truss bridges. But it did not mention the former channels including:

Bob Busch This video has forgotten the first Cal Sag Channel which was called the Cal Sag Feeder that opened in 1848. It was built in order to provide enough water for the Illinois Michigan Canal .

Update:

Bob Lalich commented on a post
The truss bridges were built in the early 1970s. Here is an aerial from 1973 during construction.

Bob Lalich commented on a post
The old bridges at Riverdale were deck type as well, but there were fewer spans. here is Riverdale in 1959.

So did this swing bridge proceed the steel girder bridge?

Douglas Butler posted, "Railway Gazarette"
Illinois Central Railroad Swing Bridge crossing the Little Calumet River in Riverdale, Illinois.
It was replaced in 1925.
Michael Brandt posted
It's the old IC bridge over the Calumet River before they raised the tracks.

Michael Brandt posted
A great shot looking up at the IC bridges that go over the Calumet River. It sure was nice of them to build these for us, it was like installing monkey bars on steroid's . Can we still say monkey bars?