Trackside Guides

QUOTE: Originally posted by DanRaitz Are we ready to renumber every bridge? I was going through some of my papers and came across a partial copy of the 1914 Sanborn map of Bemidji, MN. It shows 4 RR bridges on the Mississippi River between Lake Irvine and Lake Bemidji. http://www.railimages.com/albums/danielraitz/aci.sized.jpg The first one was the Minneapolis, Red Lake & Manitoba RR (abandoned, removed 1938). The second is the Great Northern Rwy (currently in use, BNSF). The third was the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Ry (abandoned - in place). And the fourth was the Minnesota & International Ry (later Northern Pacific) (abandoned, removed). Dan

Dan, fortunately I haven't gotten around to my renumbering after the second addition. This means I won't have to shoot you. I'm waiting til the dust settles.[swg]

I dont have anything to add to this, but in my limited travels across the Mississippi, I have always enjoyed not only the railroad bridges, but also simply crossing the river.

Great job to you guys.

ed

Whenever I travel to Memphis I always try to use the I-55 Bridge so I can watch Rail traffic on the Frisco and Harahan Bridges.

Thanks for the help guys.
Dan-I still need 5 more to make 60.[:D]
Elliot-Would Dave Zuhn know when the SPB&T bridge first opened ?
I have added google links for 24 bridges. These have better pictures but you need to click on satellite.

Dale, he might. His model railroad is based on that part of the metro area, more so than mine is. He has done a good deal of research to create his design. If you'd like, I could ask him, since I had wanted to talk to him anyway.

I haven't had a chance to look at the new pictures yet, I'm falling asleep.[|)][zzz][zzz]

Does anybody know how the "Huey P. Long" bridge handled Katrina?

Dan

I noticed in that first post that some of my photos came up in the search, I love this one: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=88481 that was a joy to make, lol. Try a keyword search on "Thebes Bridge", more should come up....ahh...I did for you: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/srchThumbs.aspx?srch=thebes+bridge .

wow--all I can say is that someone has done a lot of diligent work! we should all be
grateful for this excellent contribution. I am not familiar with the upper Mississippi. I
have crossed by rail at Newport, twice on the Milw Rd, at Ft Madison, Merchants, Eads,
and MacArthur at St Louis, both at Memphis, and Huey Long at New Orleans. I have
also used road vehicles by several where this was possible [some still rail have been
closed to vehicular]. is McKinley at St Louis closed to vehicular? We may need new
rail bridges to relieve New Orleans, especially if the Old River Structure fails and sends
the Mississippi out through the Atchafalaya 80 miles west of New Orleans. Several
geologists think this a real, even eventual, possibility.
Theo Sommerkamp crosstie@wowway.com

Having grown up in Memphis I have always been partial to the bridges of the lower Mississippi River. (Caro to head of pass south of New Orleans). The bridges are bigger , taller and the distance between crossings are greater. I have always told my non -railroad frinds that the crossings of the Mississippe River are the heart of the economey of middle America.

Hey nanaimo73, I have some new shots of #33 in Dubuque if you're interested.
http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=7519

Thanks Brian.
I went to add them in and I ended up just adding this one by mistake.
http://blhanel.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=207431  
Nice shot. Looks like you had a good day.
How does this bridge operate ? I would assume it is open for barges 90% of the time and CN has an operator there 24-7 ? Have you had thoughts of running across ?
Something like that would be easier up north.

There was a pickup truck parked immediately behind where I took that picture from, I assume it belonged to the operator. I walked over to the track and looked down through the bridge, and saw the operator standing near the middle of the second span, which rotates on the pier that it is centered on. I wasn't going to even attempt to walk out there. I suspect that it does have to be manned 24/7, since if it's open the operator is stuck out there, and there's more barge and large boat traffic than there is train traffic on that bridge.

EDIT: I bet it's not 24/7 starting sometime in late December or early January, for about three months! Extended vacations for the operators...

I've been trying to research bridge 29 in Winona,MN for about a year and have given up for now as the info is not out there. I've spent my summers of my childhood in Winona watching the trains cross the #29 swing bridge. I never knew #30 exsisted until a year ago as that bidge was on the eastside of town which is industrial. Actually my grandparents did live pretty close to it. My last visit to Winona in July gave me alittle more info on where to look for history on the town. So that will be part of my next visit.
http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Bosse/Plates/Plate16.htm

#38 Keithsburg, IL M&StL

I believe what remains of this bridge was constructed around 1912. You can see the piers nearby of the earlier Iowa Central structure it replaced. "Mile Posts on the Prairie" will tell you more if you can find a copy of this M&StL history. As a kid, I remember riding a jon boat under the bridge while a string of M&StL F units pulled an impressive length of freight cars overhead. Passenger traffic never figured large on this route.

The C&NW was quick to downgrade the Oskaloosa, IA to Peoria, IL mainline of the old M&StL. Around 1972, the line through Keithsburg was abandon. The bridge and a short stretch of track remained between Keithsburg, IL. & Oakville, IA.

The elevator in Oakville was reportedly interested in using the bridge to drop grain directly from hopper cars into barges. There was even talk of rebuilding track west to Morning Sun, IA and a connection with the Rock Island running between Burlington, IA and the Twin Cities. The Rock Island bankruptcy resulted in abandonment between Burlington and Cedar Rapids, IA. Nothing ever came of this rail to river transfer plan.

The M&StL bridge was an impressive vertical lift span. I say was.

Once abandon, the lift span was hauled up so barges could pass. In the early 1980's, local youths decided to include the M&StL bridge in their July 4th celebrations. They scaled the lift span up to the the bridge tender's shack and threw fireworks inside.

The resulting fire fueled by old grease caused the lift cables to fail. The lift span fell into the river blocking commercial navigation for several days. The US Army Corps of Engineers dynamited the lift span and removed the remains.

Other than the lift span, the M&StL bridge remains. Conversation with locals in a Keithsburg tavern over a decade ago brought up the Corps leaving the rest of the bridge in place since it was no hazard to navigation and could be quickly made capable of hauling heavy vehicles in case of "national emergency."

The M&StL bridge is the only one crossing the Mississipp Between Muscatine, IA and Burlington, IA., a distance of 50 - 55 miles. Proposals to refit the bridge for highway traffic have surfaced. Width is a problem as the bridge is only a single track structure.
Again, talk is as far it this has gotten.

If you wi***o view this structue, forget about doing so from the west without a jon boat. There is no road access anywhere near where it reaches Iowa. A steel trestle carries the bridge across a slough from Iowa to an island. From this island to Illinois, large steel trusses span the gap between piers. The void over the navigation channel where the lift span was is close to the Illinois shore.

Your best view of this bridge is from where Keithsburg's main street is stopped by the Mississippi. Ammenities in Keithsburg are few. Keithsburg never was very large and the flood of 1993 wiped out much of what was. Keithsburg is between IL 92 and US 34 on the Illinois Great River Road. This scenic byway is well marked.

Access to the bridge on foot is no longer possible. The M&StL right of way between IL 17 and the bridge was ripped out to aid drainage. If you wi***o make physical contact with the bridge, bring a boat.

I might have missed it in the forum, but did you note how long the bridges are? Which one is the longest and the shortest?