The Flickr Saintcharlesairline Image Generatr

METX #211 leads train #1307 around the wye at Canal Street passing under the Saint Charles Air Line bridge.

A pair of maintenance-of-way trucks is seen on the St. Charles Air Line above two parked Metra locomotives. This part of the St. Charles Air Line has been out-of-service for most of 2020. The Saint Charles Air Line Bridge over the Chicago River has been locked in the upright position.

Owner CN Rail has been doing a track realignment and bridge replacement project on the Air Line east of the Chicago River. I'm not sure if CN is doing track repair or replacement along this western part .

It's a beautiful morning as the Chicago Skyline provides a great backdrop for two famous railroad bridges. The B&OCT Bridge has been locked in the up right position since about 1981. The St. Charles Airline Bridge (the one at the 45-degree angle) has recently been locked as so.

I don't have much information on why the St. Charles Airline Bridge has been locked. This csanders429.wordpress.com/2018/01/12/cn-to-rebuild-st-cha... indicates that CN is rebuilding the bridge.

The St. Charles Airline Bridge (foreground) and the B&OCT Bridge (background) are seen in the upright positions.

The B&OCT Bridge has been locked in the up right position since about 1981. The St. Charles Airline Bridge has recently been locked as so.

In the aftermath of the morning rush, GTW #5832 brings a six-car R967 through 16th Street interlocking on the return trip to Glenn Yard. Although not the prettiest of the bunch, #5832 is a genuine GTW GP38-2, one of 25 built for the Grand Trunk Western in the late 1970s, still in its original livery from forty years ago.

AMTK #500 along the South Branch behind a backdrop of the Saint Charles Air Line.

Comprising of two Superliners, a baggage, and a Viewliner, AMTK #519 will lead the Beech Grove section down to Indianapolis on the evening Cardinal for Penn Station. Here they are parked under the Saint Charles Air Line as thunderstorms pass through.

After almost an entire month on the road, this couldn't be a more welcoming sight.

NIRC #4 heads down towards 16th Street after pushing a single bilevel over the massive Saint Charles Air Line bridge on its way to 47th Street.

A West Coast scene in snow-covered Chicago: AMTK #451 gets shuffled around the 14th Street engine terminal near UP #8920, which showed up on one of the LD trains several weeks ago.

#464 was also in town when this was taken, and they were shipped down to Beech Grove the following night. #457 and #459 showed up in the following days, and I believe that's the last of the Surfliner F59s.

GTW #5936 and BLE #866 take R967, the Recycle Job, around the curve near 16th Street as they make their way back to Glenn Yard. The lead engine, #5936, was originally a MoPac SD40-2, hence the absence of dynamic brakes, and is the sole remaining SD40-2 in GTW livery.

Amtrak SW1 732 at Canal and 16th Street in Chicago, Illinois on June 7, 1982, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler. On a hazy Chicago day, Amtrak SW1 732 is about to wye a train through the Union Avenue interlocking. It appears the number 732 was built in May 1949 as NYC SW1 605 ( c/n 6411 ) on EMD Order E999, later became NYC 8431, then PC 8431, then AMTK 245 (2nd) then AMTK 732. In the background is BN NW2 543, delivered to the CB&Q in August 1946 as 9246 ( c/n 3642 ), awaiting its turn through the interlocking. Overhead is a C&NW transfer on the Saint Charles Air Line. This was the Illinois Central's ( by this date, the ICG ) westward main line through Illinois and Iowa. The name "Air Line" denotes that the rails ran as straight as possible, as if a line was drawn in the air, avoiding as many curves as was possible. The caboose 12557 was a Rock Island wide vision, but has acquired steel plating over the cupola windows, likely in conformance to FRA glazing regulations.

'Tis the season for opening bridges in Chicago, as boat traffic gets shipped up the river for winter.

Just behind the W.M. Hoyt & Co. Building, we get a snapshot of the Canal Street Bridge opening up for boat traffic while PRR Bridge #458 (to the right) closes. In the distance, the Saint Charles Air Line bridges can be seen.

Although Pittsburgh is officially known as the City of Bridges, it is safe to say that Chicago is the city of bascule bridges.

GECX #7342 and CN #2001 lead an empty coal train from Consumer's Energy in Essexville, Michigan onto the Saint Charles Air Line for interchange with BNSF. How ironic to see a CN battery on an old CSX motor; CN is sure putting these things to good use!

An Englewood-bound Green Line run has come to a halt at Tower 18, and its tail end is stopped over Franklin Street. The Saint Charles Air Line is visible from here. Looking through the canyon of offices and skyscrapers on Franklin, one can see the raised position of the B&OCT Bridge in the distance.

METX #410 has just cleared the 16th Street diamonds on the back end of the Sunday morning Joliet Rocket, only a minute away from arrival at LaSalle Street Station.

Sometimes, you have to appreciate the machine itself.

Nickel Plate Berkshire Type 2-8-4 #765 was built in Lima, Ohio in September 1944, a year away from Allied victory in World War II and during the most radical event in railroad history: the transition from steam to diesel.

Although #765 and the Berkshires proved to be remarkable steamers, nothing could stop the advent of the diesel locomotive. It's builder, Lima Locomotive Works, was unable to keep up with the competition with EMD and ALCO, which had already begun developing diesel combustion engines as early as the 1930s. Despite several attempts to stay afloat, including a merger with former competitor Baldwin Locomotive Works, Lima produced its last steam engine in 1949, and left the industry completely in 1956. #765 is now one of only a few active Lima steam locomotives in service today, alongside Pere Marquette #1225 and Southern Pacific #4449.

Here is an up-close view of the front of #765 as it prepares to bang the 16th Street diamonds, in the background of the Saint Charles Air Line Bridge. It's a timeless display of power from a long-gone generation of railroading.

The banging of the 16th Street diamonds can be heard for blocks around as METX #184 pushes #318, a Blue Island local, past the 1901 tower at 16th Street Crossing. One of the first Dash 3 rebuilds introduced to the Rock Island, the engine has become quite filthy in its "lightning bolt" scheme.

UP #4367, a freshly painted SD70M, is the leader on westbound train M337 to Waterloo, Iowa. Union Pacific power isn't a stranger to these parts; UP used to heavily utilize the Saint Charles Air Line to interchange with CN.

NKP #765 rolls by 16th Street Tower with the afternoon run of the Joliet Rocket. For the second year in a row, #765 makes some noise at the 16th Street diamonds as it arrives LaSalle Street Station.

At one point in time, the NIckel Plate had its own terminal at the corner of Clark and Roosevelt before moving into LaSalle Street Station at the start of the 20th Century.

After less than hour at LaSalle Street, METX #184 is back on the move through 16th Street with #119 to Joliet. Here it is crossing the Saint Charles Air Line and the former Illinois Central just south of the tower.