Our city has a bike trail system by the river that allows you to look at some railroad tracks and railroad infrastructure at close range. At one spot it goes beneath some tracks on an old bridge. It intrigues me as to why this bridge hasn’t dropped into the river yet. The line is a former CNW/Omaha Road main. It crosses the Big Sioux River on a steel girder bridge built in perhaps the late 1880’s. At each side of the river is a pier (if that’s what it’s called) holding up the bridge. They are made of pink quartzite rock from local quarries, built about 10’x20’ and are about 10 feet tall. Over the years they look to have been reinforced with vertical steel I-beams somehow anchored back into the rock. At a later date (?) several rows of 1” round bar were wrapped horizontally around the I-beams and held together with turnbuckles. It looks like the industrial version of sticks and baling wire. The bubble gum portion must be hidden. The line is used to haul rocks from a quarry- lots of them, and cement and oil cars to distribution points. It’s on a short line that is about 6-7 miles long. Who inspects things like this for structural soundness? Is it just the railroad in question?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
I believe Bridge & Buildings personnel inspect ALL railroad bridges yearly or more frequently if necessary. I believe yearly inspections are required by various regulations.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Assume this is now Uncle Pete's bridge.
Inside the structures department at Omaha is a set of specialists known as steel bridge inspectors who report to the system bridge engineer. The system steel bridge inspectors go over each and every steel bridge at least once per year and sometimes more often to critical structures that have been singled out.
In addition, the region or division has bridge gangs and bridge supervisors out dealing with the bridges in their local jurisdiction, looking at all of their bridges (of all types, not just steel bridges) on a regular rotation.
The system bridge engineer has files and inspection records that probably cover the life of the structure and also the previous structure. The railroad sets up rehab or replacement programs based on all those years of files and inspections. Sadly, many shortlines don't have the files and records from the their prior Cls. 1 owner because they were stupid at the point of transfer of ownership to ask for them (poor due-dilligence on the shortline's part)
FRA/Bridge is at least looking at the bridge inspection reports annually, if not going to the field (ironically, in the Mississippi M&B rocket motor bridge collapse incident, an FRA bridge inspector had just been there to observe construction on the bridge under traffic.)...FRA right now is more concerned about the shortlines as compared to the Class 1's, because the small railroads do not always have the staffing or expertise. FRA has gotten a lot more picky on quals for who inspects and rates bridges these days.
All in all, you ought to be more concerned about your local highway structures than about railroad bridges. (You are probably going to remember the forum string about the Covington KY people complaining about rust and concrete surface spawling thing that is a major bridge deficiency (hardly, but CSX still had to deal with all those chicken littles)
PDN will chime in here somewhere.
Sorry- I probably wasn't clear enough. It used to be CNW. For the 33 years I've lived in town, it's been owned by a short line, the Ellis & Eastern Railroad which also owns the quarry. That's what made me wonder who looks at things like that.
Bridgehunter says the E&E has 2 active bridges.
http://bridgehunter.com/category/railroad/ellis-eastern-railroad/
https://concretematerialscompany.com/ellis-eastern-railroad
wanswheel Bridgehunter says the E&E has 2 active bridges. http://bridgehunter.com/category/railroad/ellis-eastern-railroad/ https://concretematerialscompany.com/ellis-eastern-railroad
While you're looking at thingies (The cat owns the rights to the yellow ones), take a look at FD-36118 on the STB website. It appears that Ellis & Eastern is creating (?) a subsidiary to bring one of its mothballed branches out of retirement.
mudchicken While you're looking at thingies (The cat owns the rights to the yellow ones), take a look at FD-36118 on the STB website. It appears that Ellis & Eastern is creating (?) a subsidiary to bring one of its mothballed branches out of retirement.
That's interesting to say the least. The Minnesota line is a 10 m.p.h. affair that hauls some grain and ethanol really slowly. The 7.7 miles S.D. branch is the interesting one. To resurrect that one will require fixing up 2 major bridges and a dozen smaller ones and pulling the line up out of the dust. I don’t think it’s seen a train in 20+ years. E&E’s parent company is a quarry and concrete company. The only way this makes sense, is if this is a way to try and get a competing connection to the current BNSF one. I can’t imagine there being enough traffic to pay for the rehab costs, but maybe I just don’t dream big enough.
Rehabilitate (build ) it, and the traffic (they) will come?
Johnny
STB Notice published today in the Federal Register
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/24/2017-10653/ellis-and-eastern-company-acquisition-and-operation-exemption-eander-company
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