Trackside with Bridges - Forum edition.

[zugmann]

Since it seems nobody has the special decoder ring for the contests anymore, I'll just go ahead and start a sister topic here.  Don't think I have any shots that really fit the topic super-well enough (at least easily accessible, so I'll toss in this bridge shot from Bellows Falls, VT taken back in 2005.

Let's see some others.

[Murphy Siding]

    I think I like zugmann's  photo  best, of those submitted so far.  It has a real *bridge* look about it, combined with a real sort of *train* look as well.

[tree68]

While this one doesn't show any trains or track, there used to be two six foot guage tracks across it, and it still carries trains.

[CShaveRR]

Larry, that viaduct was part of this past spring's "pilgrimage".  Unfortunately, neither Pat nor I got a picture of it, but I recognize this angle, I think. 

Chicago has to be home to more railroad bridges per square mile than anyplace else on earth.  There's a lot of history there, too.  And new ones being built.

But if you want spectacular bridges, the place to float down would be the Ohio River valley, from Pittsburgh on down to Cairo.  I guess you could go up either stream from Pittsburgh for a way, too.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

The Chicago habit in the late 1890's-mid 1910's of eliminating grade crossings by elevating the tracks has led to a lot of bridges that were wider than they were long, especially where yards are involved.  I pass over a number of them on my rides to and from work everyday.

[zardoz]

Speaking of Chicago.... 

CPT from Cab by Jim53171, on Flickr

The cabcar is sitting on a bridge, a signal bridge is just overhead, and the CTA bridge is in the distance in front of Oglivie Transportation Center. Indeed, every track in the depot and the interlocking leads are actually on a huge bridge.

[Murphy Siding]

zardoz-  That's too darned perfect.  Are you sure it's not a model?

[blhanel]

The old Kate Shelley, circa 2005.

[CNW 6000]

Great topic Zug. I'll toss something in here when I get time tomorrow morning.

[CNW 6000]

Here we go...

I wanted to reattempt this shot but thats no longer possible.  The 1899 bridge in Oshkosh swings open as skies get dark.

[CopCarSS]

I'll submit this one of a fairly famous railroad bridge from my fair state:

Flickr Link

[CNW 6000]

Way cool Chris!

[selector]

This image is from a 2009 excursion pulled by the Royal Hudson 2860.  It had rained the previous day, and going up the 2% grade on the escarpment on the other side of the Fraser River, which this series of rail bridges cross, it has lost its footing.  In order to prevent more embarrassment the following day, the day on which a railfan buddy and my wife and I rode, a GP9 and an F-unit were added.

Note the varied bridge types.  Closest to the camera is a through girder, followed by a series of deck girders, some of which are cradled on the deck of a through Baltimore Pratt truss.  The far truss visible looks like a sub-divided Warren Truss, but its angled chords at the top make it a Pratt type.  Beyond the far truss is a swing bridge.   Part of this greater structure was damaged by a gravel barge that drifted into one of the piers.

[caldreamer]

My favorite is the Rockville Bridge over the Susquhanna River just north of Harrisburg, Pa.  It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1905 and is still triple track.  It is one of the biggest stone arch railroad bridges istill in use today

]

  

[Murphy Siding]

selector

This image is from a 2009 excursion pulled by the Royal Hudson 2860.  It had rained the previous day, and going up the 2% grade on the escarpment on the other side of the Fraser River, which this series of rail bridges cross, it has lost its footing.  In order to prevent more embarrassment the following day, the day on which a railfan buddy and my wife and I rode, a GP9 and an F-unit were added.

Note the varied bridge types.  Closest to the camera is a through girder, followed by a series of deck girders, some of which are cradled on the deck of a through Baltimore Pratt truss.  The far truss visible looks like a sub-divided Warren Truss, but its angled chords at the top make it a Pratt type.  Beyond the far truss is a swing bridge.   Part of this greater structure was damaged by a gravel barge that drifted into one of the piers.

      A couple of questions:

      It took 2 diesel units to add enough oomph to get up the hill to the bridge?

     Why the varied bridge types in one river crossing?  Where they having a closeout sale on bridge designs that day?

[selector]

Norris, I don't know the history of the bridge engineering-wise, and have not had much luck in my search.  The photo above was taken on the second of two days of running between New Westminster and White Rock.  The first day had been wetter, and the Hudson slipped quite a bit going up the escarpment on the far side of the river, going in the direction we see it moving.  The approach behind us is essentially level.

If you are interested, here is a youtube account of the chugg up the escarpment on the day on which I, my wife, and a railroad fan buddy were aboard.  Slide the time indicator in the horizontal bar to about the 90 second mark to keep it short and more interesting.

The grade is just over 2%

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOR0gG1P5Hw

 

[WSOR 3801]

Bridge over the Wisconsin River at Merrimac, WI. 

The approach, from an ex-CNW SD40-2.

[DSchmitt]

selector

 

Note the varied bridge types.  Closest to the camera is a through girder, followed by a series of deck girders, some of which are cradled on the deck of a through Baltimore Pratt truss.  The far truss visible looks like a sub-divided Warren Truss, but its angled chords at the top make it a Pratt type.  Beyond the far truss is a swing bridge.   Part of this greater structure was damaged by a gravel barge that drifted into one of the piers.

Is it the railroad bridge in these articles and photos?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Westminster_Bridge

http://www.nwheritage.org/phototour/riverlife/bridges_fraser.htm

http://www.southfraser.net/2008/06/rail-bridge_24.html

http://surrey.ca/culture-recreation/2468.aspx

 http://surrey.ca/culture-recreation/2465.aspx

http://surrey.ca/culture-recreation/2466.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7K8I4JrMMI

[matt56]

Abandoned C&NW bridge over the Big Rib River between Marathon and Wausau, WI.  This bridge was built in 1921 to replace a combination wooden trestle/steel through truss bridge that was built by the Milwaukee, Lakeshore and Western in 1891.  The C&NW bought this stretch of track between Wausau and Marshfield in 1893 and abandoned it in 1982.  The entire branch stretched beyond Wausau to Eland, and this was abandoned after the UP takeover in 1994.  Canadian National still switches industries in Wausau originally served by the C&NW.

All the track was ripped out between Marshfield and Wausau, but this bridge still stands today.  It is one of the few structures and one of only two of the many bridges on the line to have survived after abandonment.  Overgrowth has hidden much of the bridge, and the water level has decreased some over the years.  I took this picture while canoeing the river in May of 2010 and max depth of the river in this area was around 3 feet, and that was after a good rain.  However, this river has been known to get quite violent in the springtime after the snow and ice melts, and that is why the bridge is so far up.  Only about half of the bridge can bee seen here although you can see the max width of the river in this area.  A pier is hidden behind the branches on the extreme right of the photo and another span goes beyond that to the abutment.  The same goes for the left side, as another span is hidden by overgrowth on that side as well.  I plan to go get some more pictures some day and estimate the entire length of the bridge.