Forums

[mogul264]

 Are any RR swingbridges still in operation?  I know of one being renovated with new rails in B.C. Canada, for use with the Yukon and White Pass NGRR out of Skagway, Ak.  Are any others still operable and/or in use in the states?

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The BNSF bridge on the Transcon at Fort Madison IA is a swing bridge and is very much in service.  The bridge over the Harlem River used by Amtrak to reach Penn Station over the former West Side Freight Line may also be a swing bridge.

[mudchicken]

Sacramento, CA (now Union Pacific)

[DSchmitt]

 

I Street Bridge Sacramento, CA

http://www.noehill.com/sacramento/nat1982002233.asp

http://home.pacbell.net/hywaymn/tower_bridge_history.htm

The I Street bridge is a double deck structure. Highway/Rail

 The Tower Bridge  (lift bridge) was built for highway and  rail (Sacramento Northern main line). The rails have been removed, but there are proposals to install a light rail line on the bridge

http://www.goldenstateimages.com/GSI_search.php?srch=sacramento%20tower%20bridge&op=ex

[YoHo1975]

Former NP now BNSF bridge over the Columbia River connecting Portland and Vancouver Wa. is a swing bridge. And it swings regularly.

[spikejones52002]

 Ride the Chicago South Shore & South Bend to Michigan City, IN. Just east of the Amtrak station is an operational Swing bridge. Many times a day.

[WCfan]

 Sabula Iowa on the CP. I think the UP bridge in Clinton Iowa is a swing bridge.

[BaltACD]

On CSX's Baltimore Division the Schuylkill River, Bear Creek and Marley Neck drawbridges are all swing spans and are in daily operation.

[richhotrain]

I wonder how many swing bridges were ever in operation.  I see photos of swing bridges over the Chicago River near downtown Chicago, but they are long gone.

[BaltACD]

richhotrain

I wonder how many swing bridges were ever in operation.  I see photos of swing bridges over the Chicago River near downtown Chicago, but they are long gone.

Swing bridges by their very design create severly restricted channels for water traffic.  With the relatively narrow nature of the Chicago River to start with, swing bridges on that waterway would just about rule out the operation of commercial vessels of today's size.

[spikejones52002]

 If you have any photos of swing bridges in Chicago. I would like to see them. All I remember is draw and lift bridges. Earlier they had tunnels under the river near the loop.

[Paul of Covington]

  Here in south Louisiana we have many waterways with many RR drawbridges of all types, including quite a few swing bridges.    The CSX bridge over the Rigolets pass which carries Intracoastal Waterway traffic is pretty impressive.   It is not accessible except by boat, so it's not easy to get pictures of it, but Google Earth has a pretty good view of it:

 lat 30 deg 09' 19" ---- long 89 deg 37' 51"

[trainman6446]

The UP bridge in Clinton Ia is a swing bridge. The Iowa Interstate has a swing bridge in Davenport Ia. The IAIS bridge also has an automobile road underneath it.The BNSF also has a swing bridge in Davenport. It is downstream from the IAIS bridge.

[cnwfan51]

   I think the BNSF bridge across the Mississippi at Burlington Iowa is a swing type. And if memory serves correct the ICRR Bridge at Council Bluffs to Omaha is a swing type but it hasnt been used in years

[EM-1]

I definitely miss the old swing bridge that used to take the old Nickle Plate main across the Black River in my home town.  There were gauntlet switches on the approaches at either end, so the double track was squeezed down to maybe 5 1/2 feet across the bridge.  Actually rode it a couple times as a kid.  It was private property, but still used as a short cut by people either didn't have cars or didn't want to wait for a bus, so just took the short cut, walking across the bridge.  It was replace around 15-20 years ago because of the restriction the center column presented to the 900' and 1000+ foot ore boats.  The earlier 650 to 750' boats could get through with almost no trouble, even using 2 or 3 tugs, but the beam of the bigger boats created problems, even with bow and stern side thrusters eliminating the need for tugboats.  We now have a twin tower vertical lift bridge that gives much greater clearance for the wider boats.

Also, wish I still had some of the old photos I'd snapped then.

Sorry to see that the new update still doesn't allow direct insertion of photos like all the other websites I frequent.