IshmaelThe MacArthur still carries railroad traffic but the upper deck, for motor vehicles, has been closed for many years.
Based on satellite images, they are removing the upper deck.
The McKinley Bridge IT approach span on the Missouri side survives as a pedestrian walkway, with catenary masts intact.
zugmann The road access bridge for Three Mile Island Nuclear south of Harrisburg, PA also carries a spur line there. Tracks are buried in the pavement, street running style.
gardendance's recent post about his recent sailboat trip on that thread reminded me about the Ben Franklin Bridge between Philadelphia, PA and Camden, NJ - a suspension bridge with the PATCO lines on the outboard sides. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin_Bridge
Out of service for about 25 years - and demolished several years ago - was the B&O's double-deck bridge over the Allegheny River at Foxburg, PA. It was a truss bridge with trains on the top, cars and buggies on the lower level. That line also had a switchback a little further east. See:
http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=truss/foxburg/
http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/files/2010/10/P1010058.jpg
- Paul North.
Scariest combined bridge ? At Vicksburg a few weeks before I-20 bridge over Mississippi river opened was on it when an IC ( ? ) train crossed. My driver and every one else stopped because of shaking and swaying. Immediately after I-20 opened the toll bridge was closed. When heard a few years ago that the RR bridge at Vicksburg almost collapsed due to underscoring thought of that experience..
Note seem to remember 2 lane widths were each a maximum of 9 ft.'
Overmod As a 'half' an answer -- the Hanrahan Bridge across the Mississippi at Memphis had car lanes that were taken out of service -- but are being restored as part of a bike and foot trail project.
As a 'half' an answer -- the Hanrahan Bridge across the Mississippi at Memphis had car lanes that were taken out of service -- but are being restored as part of a bike and foot trail project.
Pickin' 'Nits" !
The Bridge Mentioned " Hanrahan" Bridge is actually the Harahan Bridge, built around about 1914/16 at Memphis over the Mississippi River... [ It was named after a Mr. James Harahan, a President of the I.C. Railroad killed an accident while it was under construction.} It was jointly owned by political entities on both sides of the river: Crittenden Cnty, Ark, and Memphis, Tn. I carried Missouri Pacific RR, and had two roadways, both one lane roads outboard on either side of it( rails in the center of the bridge structure.
Interestingly, in 2012/2013 there was to be a project to rebuild the former roadways back into a walking/bicycle paths on the old existing roadways. This bridge carries the traffic for the Union Pacific RR into Memphis to terminate at the former MPRR Sargent Yard.
Also over the Mississippi, at Memphis; The "Frisco" Bridge [ originally built for the KC&M RR ( originally built about 1980( ?) and opened about 1892 or 3 was a double tracked railroad span with a wooden decking for wagon traffic. In the Eastern abutment was a 'strong room' for protection of the toll moneys collected from foot and wagon traffic. The remnants of that room still exist in the Eastern Bridge abutment. Currently it carries the BNSF over the Mississippi.
The Huey P Long. Bridge at New Orleans still carries traffic of the Canadian National ( nee: ICRR) over the Mississippi River, on two tracks, while the automobile traffic is carried outboard of the railroad tracks, It can be a scary experience driving over this bridge, while a train is climbing over it ,as well.
The River Crossing for Hwy 190 at Baton Rouge is also a rail- highway bridge. Two railroad tracks in the center of the span and roadways outboard.
I always understood that the Huey P. Long Bridge was used by the SP and the T&P (now BNSF and UP), especially since I rode over it on the Louisiana Eagle and the Sunset Limited. I was unaware that the IC used it also; does the CN have switching service on the west side of the Mississippi there?
It is quite interesting to traverse the bridge when riding a train, particularly as it curves back and forth.
Johnny
The Huey P. Long Bridge (near New Orleans, there is also one near Baton Rouge) is owned by New Orleans Public Belt, so it's quite possible any of CSX, NS, UP, BNSF and CN could operate trains there, usually involving the ex-SP Avondale yard.
Deggesty I always understood that the Huey P. Long Bridge was used by the SP and the T&P (now BNSF and UP), especially since I rode over it on the Louisiana Eagle and the Sunset Limited. I was unaware that the IC used it also; does the CN have switching service on the west side of the Mississippi there? It is quite interesting to traverse the bridge when riding a train, particularly as it curves back and forth.
Johnny:
Admittedly, it has been many years since I was in NOLA, and traveled across the "High Rise' [ H.P.L. Bridge]. I had crossed it on a number of occasions, while driving OTR Trucks. Having been on that bridge crawling in traffic and having a train cross was a mind boggling experience :( viberations, motion, etc.).
The NO Public Belt Railroad, as I understand it, is an ownership composite of all the rail lines, and political entities in the area there. I think you are correct that SP was a major force in the group that owned and planned for its construction( in 1930's). I can recall seeing power on the bridge from ( back then) SP, and IC also on the longer trains. The Belt's on power, I only saw with much smaller consists, and only a couple of times.. I would rely on someone who lives there locally to correct me. I visited there pretty regularly in the 1970s/1980s as I had family that lived in Jefferson.
samfp1943Pickin' 'Nits" !
Yeah, slip of the finger with that bridge name! Particularly ironic as I've corrected people on the spelling before... ;-}
Are you sure those Harahan roadways were built single-lane? My sources indicate they were 14' width; the as-built double-lane roadways on the Huey P. Long bridge (built in the '30s when cars were substantially wider than in 1917) were only 4' wider...
Frisco bridge was started 1888, finished in '92. But it's single track, and the girder understructure doesn't show any signs that double track was ever actually used, even at much lighter train weight. You may be confused because the bridge was built wide enough to allow two-way vehicular traffic on the deck when a train was not present... making it look as if at one time it were double-track.
tree68 Didn't (or doesn't) the Fort Madison bridge over the Mississippi carry both?
Didn't (or doesn't) the Fort Madison bridge over the Mississippi carry both?
Minor correction, NOPB is owned directly by the City of New Orleans and interchanges with all of the Class One roads serving New Orleans.
samfp1943 It was named after a Mr. James Harahan, a President of the I.C. Railroad killed an accident while it was under construction.
It was named after a Mr. James Harahan, a President of the I.C. Railroad killed an accident while it was under construction.
http://www.kinmundyhistoricalsociety.org/Photo%20Archives/Trains/Trains.htm
1912 Railway Age Gazette article
http://books.google.com/books?id=YAUjAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA142&dq=%22instant+death+of+j+t+harahan%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KC60U6mxGpKSqgaXp4CoBQ&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22instant%20death%20of%20j%20t%20harahan%22&f=true
Casey Jones' connection
http://www.watervalley.net/users/caseyjones/kinmundy.htm
wanswheel samfp1943 It was named after a Mr. James Harahan, a President of the I.C. Railroad killed an accident while it was under construction. Accident photo, 1912 Railway Age Gazette article, Casey Jones' connection http://www.kinmundyhistoricalsociety.org/album/images/200%20-%2016%20Train%20Wreck_jpg.jpg
Accident photo, 1912 Railway Age Gazette article, Casey Jones' connection
http://www.kinmundyhistoricalsociety.org/album/images/200%20-%2016%20Train%20Wreck_jpg.jpg
Image cannot be hot linked. It looks like the Presidents private car was rear ended by a following train.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
CSSHEGEWISCH Minor correction, NOPB is owned directly by the City of New Orleans and interchanges with all of the Class One roads serving New Orleans.
Agree. (http://www.nopb.com/)
The Huey P. Long bridge, as sampf said, was pretty scary, but it has recently been expanded from two narrow lanes each way to three wide lanes with shoulders. I haven't driven it since the upgrade.
The O.K. Allen bridge in Baton Rouge is basically a smaller version of the Huey P. It's not nearly as tall and has a single track as well as Hwy 190.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
BaltACD samfp1943 It was named after a Mr. James Harahan, a President of the I.C. Railroad killed an accident while it was under construction. Image cannot be hot linked. It looks like the Presidents private car was rear ended by a following train.
I believe you can download a PDF of the New York Times coverage of the accident here.
It says Harahan and several others were in an office car that was telescoped by a following train {train names are in the article). Their train had made a mandatory water stop (due to inclement weather conditions) and had been delayed by a freight making a similar stop in front of them. Flagman apparently went out the prescribed distance, but the following train's crew couldn't get stopped in time. They tried; only half the office car was physically telescoped, and the people riding in the front were not injured beyond bruises and being shaken up.
Note the mentioned similarity with the accident that killed the Southern's Spencer in 1906.
On the Reading & Blue Mountain, north of Jim Thorpe, PA, the line crosses the Lehigh River on what was originally a double track bridge. The line is now single track, and the other side of the bridge has been converted to a bike path.
While not a bridge, cars and trains share a mile-long tunnel which is the only land access to Whittier, Alaska. Stoplights block vehicular traffic when a train is using it.
The Smithfield Street Bridge in Pittsburgh, PA (http://pghbridges.com/pittsburghW/0584-4476/smithfield.htm) carried Pittsburgh Railways tracks and, at various times, 2 or 3 lanes of auto traffic. It could actually be considered two parallel bridges that shared one set of trusses.
I just examined it closely with Google Earth (40°26'6.04"N 80° 0'7.16"W) and it no longer has the Pittsburgh Railways (now PAT) tracks.
If you check Google Earth with Rail turned on (why wouldn't you have Rail turned on?), you'll see the tunnel to South Hills Junction due south of the Smithfield Street Bridge. Streetcars once came out of that tunnel to immediately cross Carson Street and then the Smithfield Street Bridge. It was always a thrill to ride a trolley down the 6% grade in the tunnel and hope you stopped before crossing Carson Street. I have heard that a trolley didn't stop on one occasion but I don't know any details.
ChuckAllen, TX
The steel bridge in Portland Oregon as mentioned before is probably the most used. It is a lift bridge that is double track UP or Portland terminal. It is above the Willamette river. The track has very little freeboard so the track portion is lifted frequently independent of the roadway above. The roadway with the track can be lifted as well when big ships go through. ( estimate 60 ft or more. Only observed the road lifted once during the Portland Rose festival when ships of US navy and other countries dock just up river of bridge.
As well the tracks of the Portland light rail are on the roadway level. So both heavy rail, light rail, and autos all on very busy bridge.
Since Nov. 6, (2008) however, the bridge has been subject to an 8-ton weightlimit, which affects about 10 percent of bridge traffic, BNSFspokesman Steven Forsberg said.That weight limit and the fact that the bridge will sooner or later nolonger be fit to carry vehicle traffic, has caused Fort Madisonpolitical and business leaders to once again begin talking about theprospect of replacing the bridge.
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Misc/misc.transport.road/2009-01/msg01330.html
I was on a bridge in Rome NY recently that also had tracks.
http://binged.it/1RGGSDQ
Old M Street Bridge Sacramento CA Sacramento Northern Railway
http://usercontent2.hubimg.com/899631_f260.jpg
http://bridgehunter.com/ca/sacramento/m-street/ Note Description in this article is for the Tower Bridge which replaced it.
Tower Bridge
http://bridgehunter.com/ca/yolo/220021/
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/67NKDqoC_Bw/maxresdefault.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67NKDqoC_Bw
Track removed 1963
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
cx500 There are still a handful in Canada. Nipawin (Saskatchewan), Thunder Bay (Ontario) and the Victoria Bridge in Montreal come immediately to mind and I am sure there will be a few others. There used to be many more, but either the road authority built a new bridge more suitable for modern traffic needs, or in some cases the railway was abandoned leaving the road in sole possession. The most common bridge style at a shared crossing was that of a truss bridge, rather than plate girders or timber trestle. But there were exceptions. They came in four basic styles. The simplest was where the road and rail shared the same deck and road traffic was halted when a train was operated. In others, the road deck was above the rail deck, and a third was the opposite, where the rail deck was on top. The fourth placed the road decks on the outside of trusses. John
There are still a handful in Canada. Nipawin (Saskatchewan), Thunder Bay (Ontario) and the Victoria Bridge in Montreal come immediately to mind and I am sure there will be a few others. There used to be many more, but either the road authority built a new bridge more suitable for modern traffic needs, or in some cases the railway was abandoned leaving the road in sole possession. The most common bridge style at a shared crossing was that of a truss bridge, rather than plate girders or timber trestle. But there were exceptions.
They came in four basic styles. The simplest was where the road and rail shared the same deck and road traffic was halted when a train was operated. In others, the road deck was above the rail deck, and a third was the opposite, where the rail deck was on top. The fourth placed the road decks on the outside of trusses.
John
Besides Thunder Bay, the only bridge in Western Canada I can think of with a shared road/rail deck still in use is on CN (ex-BC Rail) just south of Fort Nelson, BC. One track, one lane deck but only 4-6 trains a week.
Others of any type include:
-the aforementioned Crooked Bridge in Nipawin (separate decks), now used infrequently by a shortline, road deck still open.
-the High Level Bridge in Edmonton (separate decks), originally it carried trains and streetcars on the top deck, vehicles and pedestrians underneath. CP quit running trains about 1990, and now only historic streetcars use the upper deck. Road deck still open.
-the Low Level Bridge in Edmonton (shared deck). Originally carried CN (ex-Canadian Northern, nee Edmonton, Yukon & Pacific), rails ripped up in 1952.
-CN east of Prince George, BC. A spur once ran across the Fraser River beside the roadway on a single bridge, track is now abandoned. Farther east the mainline crosses the Fraser and until about 5 years ago shared the deck with a roadway, but a new road bridge was built a short distance downstream.
-CN at Prince George (separate decks), highway now crosses on a different bridge.
-CN at Fort Saskatchewan, AB (separate decks). Bridge now demolished, only piers remain.
-Northern Alberta at Peace River, AB (shared deck). Railroad still in use (CN), highway has its own bridge. This was the site of the runaway caboose story in a recent Classic Trains issue.
I am sure there were more in Western Canada, when built most major railway bridges would have carried local traffic even if they didn't have a purpose-built road deck, as they were usually the first bridge built in the area. Most have since lost one use, and some have been abandoned altogether.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
The former Springfield Terminal bridge carrying NH 11 between Charlestown NH and Springfield VT still has some overhead wire brackets over the westbound lane. Rails are still there under the westbound lane. The Railroad owned the bridge until 2001, collecting a 15 cent toll. The state of New Hampshire owns it now, made it free in 2005. Last rail traffic in 1986, wires came down in 1956.
The old K & I bridge in Louisville KY originally had tracks and auto lanes but with the construction of newer bridges, it now only carries trains. Used to carry Southern, Monon, & B&O. B&O looped under and then did a 270 degree turn onto the bridge. Thats been removed. Now just NS and CSX.
I Street Bridge Sacramento CA
http://bridgehunter.com/ca/yolo/22C0153/
Paul_D_North_Jr Do bridges that carry only Light Rail Vehicles / streetcars count, too ? Either way, the "Steel Bridge" in Portland' Oregon qualifies ! See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Bridge "Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic (on the Pacific Highway West No. 1W, former Oregon Route 99W) and light rail (MAX), making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world." (emphasis added - PDN) - Paul North.
Do bridges that carry only Light Rail Vehicles / streetcars count, too ? Either way, the "Steel Bridge" in Portland' Oregon qualifies ! See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Bridge
"Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic (on the Pacific Highway West No. 1W, former Oregon Route 99W) and light rail (MAX), making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world." (emphasis added - PDN)
In addition to the Steel Bridge, Portland's new Tillicum Crossing bridge has rails shared by MAX Light Rail and Portland Streetcars, Plus two lanes reserved for Tri-Met Busses and for emergency vehicles (fire engines, ambulances, etc.). Not autos, perhaps, but still equipped with rubber tires.
BTW...the Carleton Bridge in Bath, Maine still carries the remains of the US1 road deck, even though the highway has used a new bridge since 2000
Over the I-15 Freeway north of Victorville, CA a number of miles, in the Mojave Desert, is a duel train and vehicle bridge.
While this contributor has seen a train or two that used the bridge, he has never seen a vehicle traverse it. Of course, this is a very sparse area, and unless a person had an ATC or dirt bike, or was an adventurous railfan that was knowledgeable enough to know about the site, it is unlikely that a visitor would every see a motor vehicle cross the bridge.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
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