Passenger Trains > CN Chicago bridge/track project update #3

This post: https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4814462,page=1

Was the first that announced that CN would single track a portion of it's track between between Cermak/21st St. and a new control point called Kelley near McCormick Place in Chicago. That includes the St. Charles Air Line between Kelley and 16th St. the project also includes replacing street bridges, and new road construction and urban development. I'm around the area a lot and check in on the progress, so I'll aim to title update posts of this work consistently. Amtrak uses portions of this track, and it crosses Metra and Amtrak/Metra/NS.

In this case, I saw that a northbound/westbound CN freight was coming up to 16th, and went to get a photo. Wentworth Ave. has been closed off near the diamond as the work unfolds, and a big change has happened since I last checked in - Main 1 has been partially ripped up. M337 passes some CN equipment, the tower, and the diamonds that have yet to be removed.

This was a previous thread where I got images of the new single track alignment at Cermak/21st. St.:
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,4818545,4818545#msg-4818545



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/19 17:04 by inCHI.

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As I understand it, Main 2 (the track that remains) will be shifted for a better alignment. For now, though, the odd temporary situation is that the now ripped up curve of Main 1 near 16th *looked* a lot better than Main 1. At the moment, Main 2 is sunken beneath the level of now-gone Main 1, with this bad mud spot. I get, though, that it is temporary. M337 had something like 160-170 cars going over this shortly after these shots were taken. The odd little signal still remains. Also, Main 1 hasn't yet been removed on the straight section around the curve here - maybe that part becomes the new alignment?

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Moving to the other side of 16th St., the bridge work is in progress. The bridges for Main 1 or any extra tracks on the northern side of the St. Charles Air Line have been removed, at least on State St. and Wabash Ave. These first photos show the State St span. Active Main 2 is the middle bridge and I think no track is on the southern-most span.

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Close ups of what is left on the State St. bridges, and the last photo shows two spans removed on Wabash Ave.

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Thank you for the updates. It has been a while since I could get to Chicago - it is good to see progress,

In the final pic, you can sit out on your porch and have 400,000 lb diesels and 150 car trains passing  within 10 feet of you.  What pleasure!  What serenity!  Squealing flanges!  And in the middle of the night, when the slack runs out of a freight stopped at 16th St., the cascading noise will lull you to sleep........  (I am sure these people hope for the CREATE project to move ahead quickly)

MEKoch Wrote:
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> In the final pic, you can sit out on your porch
> and have 400,000 lb diesels and 150 car trains
> passing  within 10 feet of you.  What
> pleasure!  What serenity!  Squealing flanges! 
> And in the middle of the night, when the slack
> runs out of a freight stopped at 16th St., the
> cascading noise will lull you to sleep........ 
> (I am sure these people hope for the CREATE
> project to move ahead quickly)

CREATE projects will have no bearing on any CN traffic at this location. CN withdrew from CREATE once they had purchase their own route around the city.

A couple of snapshots from Saturday evening:
Track 1 cut at the signal with Track 2 shining from being used.
Workers at the diamond where the connector track between the Air Line and the Rock Island crosses CN.

There was track equipment on the connector as far west as the bridge. After a Metra passenger train cleared (making a lot of noise for the track workers) a three car balast train was pulled through and dumped balast on the Track 1 diamond. It was too dark for my camera, but the balast hoppers were being pulled by a large truck.

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Note ... the former bridge structure on the connector between the Air Line and the Rock Island has been removed (illustrated below).
The map shows the future Wells-Wentworth connector passing under the Air Line at the location of the current bridge east of the river. The underlying image is dated July 29. 2019.
A new bridge/viaduct will be needed on the CN track to go over the new Wells-Wentworth connector.

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I wandered on Sunday ...
Of the old four track alignment from Dearborn St to Indiana. The north two track alignments have been removed. In modern terms: CN Track 2 and the vacant alignment north of Track 2. The south two track alignments remain. In modern terms: CN Track 1 and the vacant alignment south of Track 1. The bridges at Clark St and Indiana Ave have not been touched. No changes noted at 16th St from last weekend.
(Note: On the Chicago Subdivision the west track (or south track as it turns the corner and goes toward the Freeport Division) is Track 1. Track 2 has been removed. On the Freeport Subdivision the north track is Track 1. The tracks swap designation at 16th St.)


Here is the plan for the Air Line from CN courtesy of the local alderman.
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Proposed-St--Charles-Air-Line-Bridge-Track-Replacement-Project.html?soid=1101917229909&aid=F95uUHSe8nk
A realignment of the north track (labeled Track 2) including a new alignment crossing Clark St!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/19 00:30 by justalurker66.

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Information from various sources mapped out by me.

The green track is currently in service - the red track is out of service.
The blue track is what CN has announced as their plan.
Overlapping plans for realigning Metra Rock Island for the new 78 Neighborhood add some complication.

Once the new CN bridges are complete the other half of the old bridges will be removed. CN has been promoting this as a "single track" line, but their alley bridges and the bridge at Dearborn are designed for two tracks.

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