At about 8am Friday Morning (5-6-2011) about 25 cars of a loaded Grain train derailed and totally destroyed the thru truss bridge at MP17 on the Union Pacific, Peoria Sub. This is on the Union Pacific line between Nelson & Peoria IL, all traffic on this line will have to be rerouted till a new bridge or shoo-fly bridge is constructed.
this is what the bridge looked like before friday morning...http://www.pbase.com/trailryder/image/47636188
Current Photos and more commentary can be found at this link...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trailryder/EnjoyLater Bill Dixon, IL
Hey Bill, I'm orginally from Dixon. I try to get back every summer for little train watching in Rochelle and Nelson. Just thought I'd say hi from a former Dixonite.
Harry
From some recent posts on the "Trackside Lounge" thread here:
CShaveRR: [snipped] . . . it took out one of the distinctive CNW-style Whipple (?) truss bridges.
Good catch, Carl - I believe you're correct, although that one appears to be a sub-species because of the several other heavier compression members that are closer to the end and cross the splayed thinner tension members. It appears that each tension member crosses 3 compression members - but only 1 full 'panel' - because each panel's half has been further subdivided in half - hence the 2 additional members, so i'm not certain what the precise technical name for that configuration is. Anyway, see the discussion of the "Whipple Truss" about 2/3 of the way down the "Bridge Basics" webpage at: http://pghbridges.com/basics.htm , from which the following is excerpted:
"The Whipple truss gained immediate popularity with the railroads as it was stronger and more rigid than the Pratt. . . . They were usually built where the span required was longer than was practical with a Pratt truss.
Further developments of the subdivided variations of the Pratt, including the Pennsylvania and Baltimore trusses, led to the decline of the Whipple truss."
The Pennsylvania and Baltimore trusses were developed and used by those railroads of the same name.
Notably, this one doesn't appear on any of the several indexes of historic or significant bridges that I checked quickly tonight - more's the shame. Glad at least some photos of it exist.
- Paul North.
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Hey Bill:Thanks for the excellent report and photo.
While I am not from Dixon, my job has taken me there numerous times. Have you ever eaten at Fern's Diner downtown. I considered that at one time the best breakfast in Illinois...and I have eaten many.
Ed
Sounds similar to what happened in nearby Galt, IL a few years ago.
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/36659.aspx?PageIndex=1
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
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