A Little Railroad in a Big City

The design of this Illinois Northern steam engine was typical for switch
engines that operated at lower speeds and required greater tractive effort.

Being the historic railroad center of the nation, Chicago hosted many of the major players in the railroad landscape.  The city was also home to a number of smaller industrial and transfer railroads that played an equally important role in the movement of raw materials and finished products for interchange with the larger railroads.

Illinois Northern's McCormick freight transfer station.
 

The Illinois Northern was one of those railroads, only 8.45 miles in length including main and yard tracks, it was incorporated on May 15th in 1901.  It was initially owned by the International Harvester Corporation, who would eventually go on to lease the railroad to a consortium of other railroads.  Built to service the massive McCormick works on the city's near-South side, it eventually included other industries that located in the immediate area.

A partial aerial view of International Harvester's McCormick Works.

In 1902 portions of the railroad were leased to the Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, the Chicago & Illinois Western Railroad and the Chicago Junction Railway.  Each railroad paid a proportionate share of taxes and maintenance as part of the lease agreements.  Aside from International Harvester a number of industries were enticed to locate along the tracks, attracted by rail access and proximity to the South branch of the Chicago River.  Water was often an essential element in manufacturing and this ad for the railroad touts proximity to both the river and the Chicago drainage canal, built in the late 1800's to reverse the flow of the Chicago river system to remove the city's sewage from the lake.  Notable as well is the number of railroads the IN interchanged with.

The Santa Fe would later become the sole owner of the IN which would eventually transfer to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe via merger.  As industry slowly disappeared along the line the BNSF petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission for abandonment in 1999.  Two shippers protested the petition, which was declined by the ICC.  In 2001 the Central Illinois Railroad leased and assumed operations of the IN which continued until they declared financial losses in 2010, whereupon the BNSF resumed operation and subsequently abandoned the service.

Illinois Northern swing bridge over the Sanitary and Ship Canal.

While the tracks have since been removed, one reminder of the line still exists and is designated as an official Chicago landmark.  The double track swing bridge, one of the few of this type remaining in the city, was built by the Sanitary District as part of construction of the drainage canal and today known as the Sanitary and Ship Canal. The Pratt through truss bridge, built in 1897 by the Keystone Bridge Company, stands as a testament to a small railroad that played a major role in Chicago's industrial history.