Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit

The Division Street Bridge in Lockport, IL is currently closed to all traffic (including pedestrian traffic) and hidden behind growth. It once carried traffic across the Des Plaines River, although lost importance once the IL 7 bridge was completed. Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit photo (Jan. 2025) The bridge approach is only accessible via IL 53 on the west side of the Des Plaines River/Sanitary Ship Canal. Forgotten Lands, Places and Transit Photo (Aug. 2018) According to HistoricBridges, "this abandoned bridge which is closed to all traffic carried Division Street over Des Plaines River.  " Division Street Bridge over the Des Plaines River " - Courtesy of Lewis University. At one time an additional bridge, a swing bridge which is today gone, would have carried the street over the Sanitary and Ship Canal to the east as well.  Lockport Historic District, Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, Swing Bridge, Sixteenth Street, Lockport, Will County, IL ( Library of Congres...

Kansas City will be getting a new attraction in the Summer of 2024, as a new entertainment district, restaurant and trailhead is being built over the Kansas River. The most interesting part of this plan, to me at least, is the fact that they are building it on an abandoned railroad bridge, much like Trestle Park in Milwaukee , but with much larger ambitions! Rendering of the central truss. Image courtesy of Rock Island Bridge. If you are looking for a unique and exciting place to visit in Kansas City this summer, you might want to check out the Rock Island Railroad Bridge , a historic structure that is being transformed into an entertainment district and venue over the Kansas River. (Location on our Railroad Points of Interest Map ) In fact, The Wall Street Journal and New York Times just listed the KC area as a top place to visit in 2024, and Rock Island Bridge was listed as a key reason.  Rock Island Bridge schematic. Image courtesy of Rock Island Bridge. Groundbreaking on the pr...

The Colorado Midland Railway ran from Colorado Springs to Grand Junction, CO via the Rocky Mountains. ( Right of way ). Between Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs, the road used tracks that were jointly operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. With its picturesque route through the challenging terrain of the Rocky Mountains, the Midland played a significant role in the transportation history of Colorado. Proposed in 1883, the railway became operational in 1887, connecting Colorado Springs to Grand Junction via the Rocky Mountains.  The construction and operation of the Colorado Midland Railway were formidable tasks due to the difficult trajectory through the mountains. The route, while scenic, presented challenges, especially in the winter when snow persisted until June, rendering operations nearly impossible. Nevertheless, the railway achieved the milestone of becoming the first standard-gauge line in the state to cross the  Continental Divide . Colorado Midland Ra...

On March 7, 1958, a routine freight train departed from Manitowoc, WI headed for Two Rivers, about 8 miles northeasterly along Lake Michigan.  The train consisted of nine cars loaded with a variety of goods, including lumber, aluminum and sand. What should have been a simple journey quickly turned into a the plot of a movie when the crew decided to take an early morning breakfast break. Thankfully, other than the sinking of the engine and two box cars, there were no injuries, and as there was little in the way of elevation change or curves along the branch, unlike the disaster that occurred at  Lac Megantic, QC , there was no damage beyond the aforementioned consist. The crew that stopped for breakfast had not properly secured the train before leaving. As a result, the train began to move on its own, picking up speed as it traveled down the tracks. Despite efforts to catch up with the train and bring it to a stop, the crew was unable to do so. "This photo shows Chicago and No...

Much like the Interstate Highway System , there exist in the United States some head-scratching US Highways and alignments that make you question how and, more importantly, why, these routes continue to exist.  The US Highway System predates the Interstate Highway System by about 30 years, and as such, there were some routes that were eliminated, consolidated, or supplanted by the new Interstate System. The website US Ends tracks the changes and eliminations in US Highways quite well, and we use them a lot for research when discussing US Highways.  AASHTO even went as far to enact policy to remove all US Highways that are less than 300 miles in length unless they exist in more than one state. Interestingly, there exist numerous routes, some on this list and some outside of it, that just enter a second state so that the policy above would not apply. Wherever there is a loophole, it will be exploited I suppose. However, some routes fit neither of these criteria, and nonetheles...

There's a small but amazing looking heritage railway line in Japan that mostly runs along a bridge that no longer features other railway traffic after an earthquake: It is known as the Amaterasu Railway , and the more you learn about it, the more fun this line seems to be! I hope I get the opportunity to visit it someday. Open air "Super-Kart" trains that run along the route to the bridge . (Image: Sora News 24) The Amaterasu Railway runs in Takachiho, Japan, and takes riders on a roughly 30 minute train ride along a 2 mile stretch of track along the former Takamori Station and the Takamore Bridge of the Minamiaso Railway. " Amaterasu " is the name of a Shinto sun goddess in Japanese mythology, and one can certainly see how this mythology plays out over the bridge and scenery that encompass the railway line. One of the Amaterasu Railway's "Super Kart" open-air trains over the Takachico Bridge. (Image: TAR Inc.) Originally part of the Japanese Nati...