I’m looking for prototype information, photos preferably, where the mainline of a modern class 1 railroad passes under a part of a building. I’m trying to conceal several openings in the backdrop where the main line passes through it several times. Using a hiway overpass to conceal an opening works well, but I don’t want to use road bridges for every opening. There are also ways to use trees and hills and such, but my scenic theme dictates buildings would be the best way to conceal the openings.
Usually, examples of buildings over tracks exist in urban areas. Most helpful for me would be photos of non-urban areas where this may be the case.
I know my parameters narrow my options greatly, but I’m thinking maybe grain conveyors or walkways spanning a mainline, or branch line, of a class 1 railroad may be my only plausible option for a non-urban example.
As I recall the Milwaukee’s road’s east-west mainline in south Minneapolis ran under the huge Lake St. Sears building. The main line ran in a depression below street level parallel to Lake Street (on the north side) and the Sears was built over the tracks. The building’s still there but the line was abandoned after the Milw-Soo merger and turned into a walking trail.
the old IC main line into downtown chicago passes under mc cormick place. you can get a good look at it on bing maps. use the bird’s eye view. it is right where I-55 ends.
The Sunset Route passenger line of the former Southern Pacific (now UP) runs more or less east and west on the north bank of Buffalo Bayou, crossing White Oak Bayou on a steel trestle where White Oak flows into Buffalo. North Main Street was built on a bridge-viaduct across the bayou AND across the rail line. The multi-story M&M building, approximately 2 blocks square is built with the main level at the level of the Main Street viaduct. (M&M Building is now University of Houston Downtown Campus.) A part of the building with a parking lot on the roof extends over the Sunset rail line, with the rail line open on one side like a “gallery” to the bayou. There used to be spurs for unloading merchandise into the basement of the building, so switching would not interfere with Main Street traffic.
One block east of Main Street, an MKT line used to make a junction and crossing with the SP line. It had its own bridge across White Oak Bayouit at about a 30 degree angle to then SP bridge. The MKT line has been abandoned, but the bridge is still there. The MKT line ran under the northeast corner of the M&M building, with a passenger station extending partly under the building,
To add to the fun, a light-rail line has now been built onto the Main Street viaduct, terminating on top of the viaduct in front of the M&M/ UT Downtown building.
So bayou- rail line and rail bridges over the bayou- building, street bridge, and light rail over the mainline rail lines. Pictures available on goggle earth at the latitude and longitude shownh above.
Norfolk Southern also passes under a train shed at the old PRR Station here in Pittsburgh. No double stacks and I believe there’s a speed restriction there as well. Allegheny Valley Railroad also uses these tracks.
I have a lot of pictures in various railroad and non-railroad books that I own that show railroads under buildings, but these are all urban areas; inner city and the like. As I think about it, I can’t understand that a building would be constructed over a mainline where there is sufficient space to separate buildings from the track. The only type of building that I can think of that might be above a rural mainline would be some type of loading facility. The plausiblity for running a mainline under a loading facility excapes me, unless the mainline is a necessary by-pass under the structure for the movement of cars and locomotives. It might look a little strange to see a train moving at speed through a loading facility, but it would only last while the train was running under the structure.
The Indianapolis Union Depot in downtown is now a Holiday Inn. It has one level where they have converted railroad cars into suites but trains srill run through to the Big Four yrad on the west side of town. The whole building runbles as the railroad is elevated and riding on I beams through the old boarding area attached to the station.
In Downtown Reno NV the ran through a parking garage. If you use Google Maps and look at at Commercial Row you see one side, also look at the street view and pan 360 degrees and note photos. This is the location of the famous Reno Sign, “THE BIGGIST LITTLE CITY IN THE WORLD.” The other side of the parking garage is at and Commercial Row. Do the same here and you will see the Amtrak Station. At he time of the aerial photos the UP was in the process of digging a trench for under grounding the mainline the visible tracks are a shoofly bypassing the project.
The roof of the baseball stadium(Safeco Field) in Seattle opens up over the railroad tracks of the BNSF. If you happen to watch a ball game there the announcers quit talking when the trains are whisteling for the street next to the stadium as the horn drowns averything out and that happens several times during a game. They say it adds character to the ballpark…