Video of a SB BNSF manifest train passing thru Blue Island (South Chicago) IL
Nice video. I like the first car, a flat with a tank car loaded on it. What roads run over the other bridges?
First things first: Blue Island Junction is a fair distance from South Chicago, which is the neighborhood centered around 91st Street and Commercial Ave.
As you are looking north from Broadway, the bridges from left to right carry the following roads:
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Iowa Interstate and Canadian National connecting tracks from IHB to their own roads.
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IHB/B&OCT, also used by other roads
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Abandoned
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Canadian National (ex-GTW)
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CSX Blue Island Sub
WOW, what a location!!! [8D]
Oh yea, I’ve been there many times…you can’t believe all the trains that run through this location on a daily basis…rarely any down time at all. The area is not the best so watch yourselves all the time and keep your cell phone handy.
And South Chicago, in railroad terms, is something else, roughly where the NS main line crosses the Calumet River. Not an easy place to get to.
Bridge No. 3, in Paul’s list, used to carry the interchange track from the GTW main line to the Rock Island line (Iowa Interstate, as mentioned above–also CSX and Chicago Rail Link, and Metra).
Yes, it’s still quite the spot to watch trains, though it’s lost some of its luster since CN through trains no longer go through, since the EJ&E merger. In fact, CSX will be operating some of its trains over the ex-GTW route north of Blue Island. I’m told that a connection is being built between the two lines on the other side of the channel.
Blue Island is my default location when I’m not sure where I want to go when I have a day off and enough time. It has plenty of variety and a few CN trains still show up, usually eastbound on IHB to GTW moves, at least when I’m there.