Trail/NS/Pennsy Bridge over Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, PA

(Bridge Hunter, 3D Satellite)

It also crosses Manayunk Canal, which went around Flat Rock Dam.

Robert Wanner posted
OK, it's a SEPTA ex-RDG Blueliner special train. But it's crossing the Scuylkill River into Manayunk on the former Pennsylvania Railroad bridge. Now a walk and bike trail void of railroad tracks, at one time it was what may be considered the Gateway to the Schuylkill Valley for the PRR as it made it's way Westward from the Bala and 52nd Street areas. Up and over the hill by the huge cemetery. Slide taken in 1985 or 86 by Robert Wanner.

Greg Murray commented on Robert's posting
The PRR ran 4910 and 4913 over that bridge in 1950 taking a trainload of Boy Scouts to a Jamboree at Valley Forge. Photo from Don Ball’s PRR in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

Street View

Library Co. of Philadelphia
View looks southeast towards Manayunk from Green Lane, with the Green Lane automobile bridge in foreground and Pencoyd Viaduct behind, ca. 1930.

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Cleveland's "High Road" Bridges

1878  Superior Viaduct:
   (Bridge Hunter; Satellite, note that the streetcar tracks still exist in part of it)
1917+1965+1997  Detroit-Superior High Level Bridge:
   (Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; 3D Satellite, 174+ photos)

Photo from ClevelandHistorical, Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections
A view of the viaduct shortly after it opened in 1878.

The following photo raised the question of why does a stone viaduct just end? The short answer is that the swing span was removed after the Superior Viaduct was replaced by the Detroit-Superior High Level Bridge. As you can image, the rest of this page is the long answer.

Robert Pempsell posted

The first high-level bridge across the Cuyahoga Valley was started in March 1875 and opened in Dec. 1878. Because it had a swing span, road traffic would still be stopped by some river traffic. But there would be far fewer stoppages than suffered by the low-level bridges. Plus it saved braking your buggy or wagon while going down into the valley and then the horse having to pull it back out of the valley on the other side. [ClevelandHistorical]

Photo from ClevelandHistorical, Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections
In this photograph from 1912, the center span of the Superior Viaduct has opened to a let a ship pass underneath.
[Note the abundance of streetcars and the scarcity of cars in 1912. I found one car and a couple of trucks.]

Photo from ClevelandHistorical, Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
The swinging, center span of the Superior Avenue Viaduct, circa 1900.

In 1917 a higher level bridge was built so that no river traffic would impact the traffic on the bridge. The approaches are reinforced concrete arches and the 590' main span over the river is, obviously, a steel arch. The upper level was designed for four lanes of traffic and the lower level held six streetcar tracks. The streetcar deck was abandoned in 1955. The swing span was removed from the Superior Viaduct in 1923.

Photo from HAER OHIO,18-CLEV,22--28 (CT) from oh0124

Please see the links at the top for more information about the 1917 bridge.

This "hold Ctrl and move the mouse" Google View shows that several of the old stone arches still exist on the western side. It also shows the bridge that replaced it in the background.

Google Maps

It is interesting that the smaller arches under the upper deck of the eastern approach of the 1917 bridge don't appear in the above view. I captured this street view to confirm that the missing inter-deck arches are because I was pushing Google's 3D algorithm really hard to get a view of the stone arches.

Street View

Some of the arches of the 1878 bridge were removed in 1938.

Image courtesy of Cleveland State Library Special Collections
An arch is soon to be torn down in this 1938 photograph. Several of the viaduct's arches still stand on the west side of the river.

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WLE/B&O 1905 Benwood Bridge over the Ohio River at Bellaire, OH

(Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; see below for satellite)

WLE = Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway

Evidently it is called Benwood instead of Bellaire because B&O had their yard on the Benwood, WV side. Also, the state line is on the Ohio side of the river, so most of the truss work is in West Virginia.

Note the "ramps" on the upstream side of the piers to breakup ice flows.

Photo from HAER WVA,26-BEN,1--1 from wv0122

I saved a copy of the satellite images because of the nice shadows. I labeled these notes with bridgeArch as well as bridgeTruss because of the 1871 stone arch approach on the Bellaire, OH side. You can get a close look at sandstone arches without getting your feet wet. The route that used this approach has been abandoned.

Satellite

Satellite

Street View

Street View

C Hanchey,  License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

Carl Venzke posted
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Benwood Bridge, Benwood, Marshall County, WV
Historic American Engineering Record c1968
John Slowikowski Also made Hollywood famous in the movie Unstoppable

The trusses we see today are from a reconstruction completed in 1905.

Plate XII

The reconstruction started in 1893 by replacing spans 14 and 15 with wrought iron trusses. Work continued in 1900 using "soft open-hearth steel."

I learned while studying the RR bridge at Metropolis, IL that the river men wanted a 700' navigation channel. The War Department wanted that width here, which would have required a 730' truss. The War Department would probably have agreed to the span of 589.48' that was obtainable by removing pier 11 and lengthening piers 10 and 12 per Fig 1. That option would have cost $253,500 (1905 dollars) more than using the existing masonry.

Fig 1

To achieve a 700' wide channel, a lot of pier work would have to be done in addition to the 730' truss adding $563,000 (1905 dollars) to the cost.

Fig 2

Since

• neither the War Department nor the shipping interests would help with the extra cost
• the railroad was already running heavier locomotives and freight cars on both sides of the river and their investment in the other spans was currently being wasted
• a July 14, 1862 Act of Congress approved the current pier locations

the railroad built trusses using the existing piers.

I wonder if this 300' navigation channel is now the skinniest on the Ohio River. The locks on the river have the standard width of 110'. It would seem that two-way traffic is still possible even with a narrow primary channel because the adjacent span was charted to be at least 220' wide. 

They were allowed to use falsework under Span 12, but not under Span 11. So they built Span 11 as a cantilever span. Span 12 was designed to handle the stresses of being a dead-load shore arm for Span 11 during construction as well as a live-load simple truss after construction. After the falsework was constructed under Span 12, the old span was removed and the live-load was carried by the falsework. This kept vibrations out of Span 12 and the west half of Span 11 during construction. Span 10 was not strong enough to function as a shore arm. So they built an additional truss on the outside of Span 10 to function as the shore arm. The weight of Span 12 was more than enough to offset the weight of half of Span 11. But the temporary shore arm truss around Span 10 too light, so they added counterweights to the Pier 9 end of the temporary truss.

The top cord of the old Span 11 truss was used to hold a 40-ton traveler. Before the traveler lifted members from a barge below, they would lock it down in a strong position on the old truss. Even so, they had to add temporary wooden braces to ensure that strains in the old truss members did not exceed 16,000 lb. per sq. in. I added red rectangles to the construction figure below to highlight the tie bars that were added between the top cords of the trusses so that the shore arms could hold up their halves of Span 11 until the halves were joined in the center. The new Span 11 was built around the old span so that only a dead load was supported during construction.

Plate XIV plus Paint

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New I-75 Bridge over Mississippi River at Molene/Bettendorf

(original I-74 bridges, Webcam, satellite is below)

The $1.2 billion dollar project not only includes the new bridge, it includes a lot of road work on both sides of the river. Quite a few buildings were torn down, including a depot, in Bettendorf, IA for a new road alignment. A bed containing about 450,000 mussels had to be moved before the piers could be built.

Screenshot from Presentation on  Materials

Satellite

I'm using Bing instead of Google because Google is not showing any activity yet.

This crane photo is what let me know that construction had started on the replacement bridge and that it was time to reasearch the new bridge again.

Matt Saddoris commented on a posting, cropped
Ben Stalvey Micheles MLC 300?
Matt Saddoris Maxim Moline, Illinois

Map from Materials

Before they built the dam a couple of miles downstream from here, this stretch of the river must have been a rapids. That means the river scoured the bottom down to bedrock. So they are buildings piers keyed into the bedrock that can withstand the lateral forces of a true arch. Since it is a true arch rather than a tied arch, they don't have the option of building the arch near a shore and floating it into place like they did, for example, the Eggner Ferry Bridge. To keep the navigation channel open, they are using back stays to build the arches with 35' to 65' steel segments.

ShoolPresentation from Materials, p15

Beginning this fall or early winter [2018], crews will begin lifting the 35- to 65-foot steel segments into place. Currently, the steel segments are being fabricated at a plant in Gary, Ind., after which they will be trucked to the Quad-Cities, said Danielle Alvarez, the I-74 project manager with the Iowa Department of Transportation....Cable stays will be used to hold the segments into place, while the rest of the segments are raised and fitted together. There will actually be two arches in each direction on the new bridge, angling inward to form a pair of basket handles....Alvarez said the tied-arch design at Talbot Memorial Bridge (Centennial) between Davenport and Rock Island is more of typical of Mississippi River crossings, but the relatively shallow water depth and rock elevations under I-74 allowed for the new bridge to be a true-arch design. The cost of the steel fabrication, as well as putting the segments into place, is $17 million for both spans, according to the Iowa DOT. [ArchIsNextStep]

I have not been able to find construction photos of the arch construction.

The "Y" part of the piers looked like they could be precast "trophies" similar to the ones used for the new Pensacola Bay Bridge. But these photos shows they built the piers in place.

ShoolPresentation from Materials, p22

ShoolPresentation from Materials, p22

Roads & Bridges

Brad Gareston posted
Who says 650’s can’t float?
Lynn Johnson My friend in Galveston Texas built this barge. Heck of a setup!
[A comment indicates there are 20 booms in the air on this project.]

Brad commented on his posting
New bridge in the Quad City area. I’ll ask for me- said they moved her in from NJ.

(new window) (source)

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CSX/(RF&P+ACL)

(no Bridge Hunter?; no Historic Bridges; Satellite, 24 photos)

Mark Hinsdale posted
Amtrak Train #81, the southbound "Silver Star" soars over the shallow James River at Richmond VA, the day after Thanksgiving in November, 1983. Ownership between the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad to the north, and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to the south, was divided at a point called "Pier 5" in the middle of this graceful concrete arch bridge, constructed by the two companies in 1919.

Anne Rhodes, Apr 2018

Street View

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Amtrak/PRR 1888 Bridge over Conestoga Creek in Lancaster, PA

(Bridge Hunter; HAER; 3D Satellite) Historic Bridges has a lot of bridges in Lancaster County, but not this one.

This is one of  the first multiple-arch bridges designed by William H. Brown, the Chief Engineer of the Pennsy Railroad. The Rockville Bridge is a good example of one of his later designs.

This side looks "rough" because the bridge was built for just two tracks with the intention of adding two more tracks. So the stones are staggered so that the anticipated new construction could key in with the existing structure.

Photo from HAER PA,36-LANC,10--3 from pa3740
Perspective view of downstream elevation, looking due east. - Pennsylvania Railroad, Conestoga Creek Viaduct, Spanning Conestoga River, South of City Water Works, Lancaster, Lancaster County, PA

William Brown used stone instead of iron because of a suggestion by Pittsburgh Division Superintendent Robert Pitcairn. Only two tracks were built at the time because they decided to use "Gallitzin stone," a sandstone from the Allegheny Mountains, for better durability. To offset the increased transportation costs of that stone, they reduced the width to two tracks.  [HAER-data]

Photo from HAER PA,36-LANC,10--1 from pa3740
Upstream elevation, looking south. - Pennsylvania Railroad, Conestoga Creek Viaduct, Spanning Conestoga River, South of City Water Works, Lancaster, Lancaster County, PA

The original bridge was built as part of the Pennsylvania canal system by the state-owned Columbia & Philadelphia Railroad. The 1829 bridge consisted of eleven wooden Town lattice trusses on stone piers for a total length of 1,412'. The PRR acquired the troubled canal system in 1857. In 1863 they "filled the approaches, reducing the viaduct's length to 349', and replaced the spans with a series of iron Whipple trusses." They must have needed a stronger bridge to carry Civil War supply trains because one seldom sees railroad upgrades done during the Civil War because the North would be spending railroad construction resources repairing tracks damaged down south by the Confederates. In 1886, the PRR began another round of main-line improvements. Foundations were laid for four tracks, but the width was never increased. The four-track main line from Philadelphia to Harrisburg was completed in 1900, but two of the stone bridges, Lancaster and Coatesville, had just two tracks. "Perhaps the PRR was then already planning a low-grade freight bypass, constructed from 1902 to 1905, which reduced traffic on the main line." [HAER-data]

Gregory D. Pawelski posted three photos with the comment: "Pennsylvania Railroad Conestoga River Bridge in Lancaster, Pa. - Then, Then and Now."

1
Pennsylvania Railroad Conestoga River Bridge in Lancaster, Pa. circa 1870-1880. (William T. Purviance Photo New York Public Library)
Robert Wanner Wasn't built to support heavier Main Line trains, soon replaced.

2
Pennsylvania Railroad Conestoga River Bridge in Lancaster, Pa. circa 1900. (Fred J. Moll Collection)
Robert Wanner Adequate construction that is still there in 2018.

3
Pennsylvania Railroad Conestoga River Bridge in Lancaster, Pa. in July 2011. (Google Image Capture)

Harold Castleman commented on Gregory's post
Here's GG-1 No. 4877 leading an excursion over the Conestoga River circa 1980.

The north side was finished with a weather-resistant facing. But the south side was intended to be inside a four-track bridge and thus protected from the weather. Since it was not protected, in 1930, Belmont Iron Works added bracing to tie the spandrel walls together. [HAER-data]

MichaelFroio, comments in source talk about Cambria Iron Works
In a beautiful image by William H. Rau we see the Conestoga River bridge, one of Brown's first stone bridges. Utilizing the figure and boat as a device for scale in the foreground Rau is looking south, as noted by the finished facade of the bridge. To the left out of view is the Lancaster Water Works which still survives today. Photograph collection American Premier Underwriters, Inc

Ray Brunner posted
PRR main line bridge over the Conestoga Creek, Lancaster Pennsylvania. Photo by A. J. Brunner c1940

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CFE/CSX/Conrail/Pennsy/PFW&C 1858 Bridge in Hobart, IN

(Bridge Hunter; Street View; 3D Satellite)

CFE = Chicago, Fort Wayne & Eastern Railroad
PFW&C = Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway

Ken Durkel posted two images with the comment:

When news came that the historic Pennsy stone arch bridge in Hobart, Indiana was slated to be replaced this year, I set out to get as many pictures of trains heading across the bridge as I could. Not easy when at most there are three trains a day, and more often than not in the dark. Some days no trains passed.But I did manage to get some of the last handful of trains passing over the 160 year old bridge. Built in 1858 for the P.F.W.&C. this bridge predated the Civil War. Though in recent decades the trains have been few, and for 8 years no trains crossed, for many decades 50-60 trains or more crossed here every day. The first picture is a postcard taken I would guess at least 100 years ago showing a westbound crossing the bridge. The second pic, taken on March 31, 2018, shows 10R crossing the historic bridge in its final months. The last train has since crossed this bridge and it will be replaced soon

Dennis DeBruler Looking at a satellite image, it appears that they have already removed a lot of trees to gain access. https://www.google.com/.../@41.53626,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3
Ken Durkel Yes, they cleared the area in March. Was a lot of overgrowth after one track was removed and the pole line was gone in the 1980s.

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2

This is a reminder that back in the 1850s, stone arch bridges were popular. The UP/C&NW/G&CU still has another example. They were popular because the main alternative back then was wood truss bridges. American could not even make their own iron rails in the 1850s, let alone truss members for bridges. Obviously, stone lasts a lot longer than wood does.

Ken Durkel posted
CF&E 06 heads west in Hobart, Indiana and across the 160 year old Pennsy stone arch bridge. Built in 1858 for the Pittsburgh Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad, this bridge for decades saw at least 50-60 trains a day pass overhead. For the last 35 years the trains have trickled across as the former Pennsylvania Railroad Ft. Wayne Line is now only a shadow of its former self.
The last train passed over this bridge in October, 2018 and it is currently being replaced.
Taken on May 09, 2018.

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CSX/Big Four Avon 1907 Bridge over White Lick Creek

(Bridge Hunter, Historic Bridges, 3D Satellite)

Built 1907 for the Big Four Railroad, rehabilitated in 1998 [Bridge Hunter]

Robert Holton posted

A supposedly haunted rail bridge in Avon, Indiana where the wails of track workers entombed in the cement works can be heard above the roar of trains overhead.

One of the most reported stories is that an Irish construction worker slipped and fell in a vat of wet cement inside the framework of one of the piers and drowned. Since he was already dead, the railroad company didn't want to waste money to retrieve the body, they left it in the pier and the workers carried on with construction. People now say that at night, you can hear his hammer pounding from when he was trying to get out of the concrete. [Bridge Hunter]

This bridge is one of two concrete arch bridges along this stretch of railroad line. The bridge has spalled severely, which has diminished its architectural details. It likely remains structurally intact however due to how heavily overbuilt these bridges were. With a 1906 construction date, this bridge is an early surviving example of a concrete arch bridge. [Historic Bridges] 

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I-255+US-50 Jefferson Barracks Bridge over Mississippi River near St. Louis

(Bridge Hunter, 3D Satellite)

I don't normally do yet another steel tied-arch bridge, but when you get a view as unique as this, I went for it. This is "reverse railfan." Specifically, it is a photo from a train instead of a train. And at the bottom is some photos of the cantilever truss that it replaced.

William A. Shaffer posted
The Jefferson Barracks Bridge at St. Louis, MO
(Shot through the window of Amtrak #22 en route to St. Louis)
(Photo by William A. Shaffer)

By Service Depicted: Other ServiceCamera Operator: SSGT PAUL GRIFFIN - ID:DFST9500065, Public Domain, Link
Roads and farmland in St. Louis area are hard hit by floodwaters. Location: SAINT LOUIS, ILLINOIS (IL) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA)
1993

Westbound bridge built 1984; eastbound bridge built 1990, The navigation channel span is 910'.

Missouri State Archives from Flickr

The eastbound span of the Jefferson Barracks (I-255) bridge was opened in December 1990, not 1986. It was opened right around the time that Iben Browning predicted that there would be a major earthquake on the New Madrid Fault. It took some time to complete the eastbound span, as there were money and construction issues. They also dropped one of the horizontal steel members from the arch into the Mississippi River while it was being hoisted, and some time was lost while they retrieved it. I remember that there was a lot of talk at the time about how that earthquake (if it happened) might affect the new bridge. I do have some pictures of the old bridge alongside the new one while it was being build back in the early and mid-80's. The old Jefferson Barracks bridge was completed in 1944 as a war-time measure to allow the Illinois side better access to the western part of the St. Louis area. At that time, there were no bridges on the Mississippi River between the Chester (IL) bridge and the MacArthur Bridge in St. Louis and only a ferry at Davis Street in south St. Louis that crossed over to East Carondelet in Illinois. There was also a railroad ferry that operated between the Carondelet section of south St. Louis and the railyard at Dupo, Illinois that I believe stopped operation sometime in the 1950's. The old Jefferson Barracks was a toll bridge until 1959, when the bonds were paid off. It closed for good when the new bridge opened in 1984 and was eventually demolished. I remember there was a proposal to dismantle it and ship it to South American to be rebuilt somewhere (I never did hear what country was involved)there, but that obviously never came about. [Bridge Hunter comment by Al Bertram]

Some photos of the previous bridge from the Bridge Hunter comments.

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