LIRC = Louisville & Indiana Railroad
A postcard view of the 1870 bridge. This was long before the dam was built and the river is low.
My photos of the the Falls of the Ohio that are downstream of this bridge have been moved to McAline Dam.
My photos of the the Falls of the Ohio that are downstream of this bridge have been moved to McAline Dam.
"Construction began on August 1, 1867, and the first train to cross the new bridge occurred on February 18, 1870. At the time, it was the longest iron bridge in the United States at 5,294 feet in length with 27 spans total....At the time of its competition, the [1919] bridge featured the longest and heaviest simple riveted truss span in existence [at 645']." [B&T]
At a rest stop along I-65 on my way to Louisville, KY, I saw a sign that showed how to get to the interpretive center for the Fossils at Falls of the Ohio. So I found this bridge as a happy accident on my way to the interpretive center.
On the north end is the largest bridge abutment I remember seeing. In this case, I should have waited for a car to come by to give some scale to that structure. In Bridge Hunter, J.P. did take several photos of this structure including one with a backhoe for scale.
The current 1919 bridge evidently reused the cut-stone piers of the 1870 bridge because the first large through truss is over the old "Indiana Chute." Because of the large truss in the middle of the river, there used to be another "chute." The long spans were retained in 1919 because the dam had yet to be built. Obviously, neither of these shipping lanes are used today.
The third truss that we can barely see peaking out above the trees in the first photo is the lift bridge that spans the canal that used to be spanned by this swing bridge. The first canal to bypass the rapids here was built 1825-30. "It was 1.9 miles long, 64 feet wide and had a total lift of 26 feet with a three flight lock system." [Sign at Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center]
The gated dam that we see today was not built until the 1960s when the 1200'x110' lock was added. The short part of the L-shaped dam that was built in the 1920s had wicker gates and tows still used the Indiana/Indian Chute when the river was high. [DeBruler]
Here is another older photo showing a tow using the Indiana Chute.
I never noticed how massive the members in the approach spans are until I saw this photo.
JB Rail Photog caught a CSX inspection train on the lift span.
JB Rail Photog took 8 photos of a CSX train going geographically north.
JB Rail Photog aerial view
 |
| USACE photo of the day |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 10/22/2021 - CSX Q216-21 crosses the LIRC into Clarksville, IN, northbound with a single Gevo leading and another engine a DPU in the consist while a couple watches from the bench below. |
While studying the Louisville and Portland Canal, I came across these photos of this bridge.
 |
| USACE, p88 |
 |
| USACE, p136 |
 |
| USACE, p203 |
 |
| USACE, p212 |
A view of the river before the McAlpine Dam was built.
 |
| Joseph Schneid Flickr, public domain (source) https://digital.library.louisville.edu/concern/images/ulpa_cs_074521?locale=en Louisville Waterfront 1926 |
Even though the river is running high, it looks like boats should use the left channel instead of the right one. Or have they started construction on the upper control gates for the dam and the cofferdams have been overtopped?
 |
| Digitally Zoomed |
 |
| Henry Gulden posted Roger Green: This looks like the old Lou. & Portland canal. 14th St. Bridge? I've never seen this photo before. It's a gem! 📷🥸 |
 |
| Dennis DeBruler commented on Roger's comment That is a direct lift span, which is rare. I did not know that the 14th Street Bridge had one. It replaced the swing span when the canal was widened to 200' in 1921. https://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/.../TriumphAtTheFalls.pdf, pdf page 219 |
 |
| Dennis DeBruler commented on Roger's comment The 18th Street Bridge also had a direct lift span. pdf page 258 |
 |
| 20150508 1029, looking Southeast from the Ohio Scenic Byway |
 |
| Rock showing fossils by the sidewalk at the rest stop |
 |
| Photo from Bridge Hunter |
 |
| Photo from Bridge Hunter |
 |
| Is Anand shared Marco Delgado's post |
 |
| Mitch Carl posted 14th St. Railroad Bridge, Louisville, KY |
Tom's photo posted by Ron of the L&N engines also caught the lift and control towers. To my surprise, the control tower still exists.
 |
| Ron Flanary posted As I was looking through the L&NHS image files late last night (trying to find something else, of course), I noticed this shot and pulled it up for a closer inspection. This was taken at Louisville, KY on April 24, 1965 by Tom Smart. The original slide is part of the Dan Dover collection, and Dan was kind enough to share this one as well as a large number of other L&N shots with the L&NHS for scanning. This is a rather unusual occurrence. The every-other-day Chicago-Miami "South Wind" was normally powered by pooled Atlantic Coast Line or Pennsy E-units. The L&N only provided motive power in the case of an emergency (engine trouble, for example). The previous day, either the ACL or Pennsy units handling the northbound train had problems on the L&N portion between Montgomery and Louisville, so an E7-E6 duo replace them. Now, L&N Es 771-760 are back from the Windy City with the southbound "Wind." The train is curving off Pennsy's Ohio River lift bridge at Clagg Tower. Next stop: Union Station. L&N's mechanical wizards at South Louisville have probably fixed whatever was wrong with the Pennsy or ACL power, so the two L&N units will be swapped out during the station stop. Rick Smith posted More than one somebody nudged me to repost this pic I submitted in different group, since a tower is a tower, no matter how "Squatty" and dwarf it might appear next to some other structure. Clagg Tower, Louisville, Ky. L&N EMD E6 Nº771, leading E7 Nº760 with the Chicago-Miami "South Wind" through the Pennsy RR 14th St. Lift-Bridge near the Falls-of-the-Ohio. .L&N power was rather unusual for the "South Wind" north of Louisville, as the jointly operated run normally was powered by pooled Pennsy or Atlantic Coast Line E-units. L&N only provided motive power north of Louisville in the case of an emergency. Apr24,1965 ─ ©Tom Smart Rick Smith posted again I posted this over a year ago in another group. L&N EMD E6 Nº771 leads E7 Nº760 with the every-other-day Chicago-Miami "South Wind" through the Pennsy RR 14th St. Lift-Bridge near the Falls-of-the-Ohio and past Clagg Tower, Louisville, Ky. ─ Apr. 24,1965. This was L&N's simplified passenger locomotive "blue-bath" scheme that was adopted in 1958 to replace the aging and weathered Blue-and-Cream livery. Some E6 units managed to remain in this scheme at least close to the end of L&N passenger service, rather than get repainted in the more popular grey and yellow scheme that began in 1962 L&N power was rather unusual for the "South Wind" north of Louisville, as the jointly operated run normally was powered by pooled Atlantic Coast Line or Pennsy E-units. L&N only provided motive power north of Louisville in the case of an emergency (engine trouble or equipment scheduling protection, for example). [photo ─ ©Tom Smart] J.B. Rail Photog shared |
 |
| Javid Beykzadeh posted 14th Street Bridge in Louisville, KY. |
 | |
| J.B. Rail Photog posted The LIRC (L&I) Bridge spanning the Ohio River between Louisville, KY, and Southern Indiana. Here's Clagg Tower that controls the bridge's up and down movement. Javid Beykzadeh shared Dennis DeBruler: Thanks for providing the name of the tower. |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 11/22/2021 - The operator at Clagg Tower watches CSX X687-22 roll off the Conrail Bridge, as it once was called, but today is the Fourteenth Street Bridge southbound into Louisville, KY, on the LIRC as this train of all autoracks comes to town with empties to be used to haul out more automobiles. This is a shot I've been wanting forever. Today the operation of the lift bridge is down via a computer key press but the mechanical function of the bridge is still original. J.B. Rail Photog shared |
 |
| William Alden Flickr a1c050 (CC BY_SA) |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added CSX Y129-06 stops on the PRR lift bridge at 14th Street in Louisville, KY, as a crew member walks back to investigate some sort of issue on The Louisville & Indiana Railroad Company trackage. I didn't expect them to stop as I wanted this angle of them coming off the bridge. |
 |
| William Alden Flickr 88b083 (CC BY_SA) |
 |
| William Alden Flickr 88c030 (CC BY_SA) [William's comments describe the bridge.] |
 |
| William Alden Flickr 88c346 (CC BY_SA) [William's comments explains why a couple of boats are in a tow. And this view catches much of the rest of the bridge.] |
 |
| LC-DIG-highsm- 63902 Credit line: Photographs in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Carol M. Highsmith's photographs are in the public domain. |
 |
| David Gulden posted NORTHERN IN THE PORTLAND CANAL |
 |
| Mark Fox posted, cropped This should be easy, name the bridge.. Timothy Hudgins: I was going to say “The bridge you have to call every 3 minutes to make sure they are actually opening like they said they were, so that they can tell you they are running a train as you enter the forebay s/b”... but it seemed a bit long winded... so I’ll stick with L&I in Louisville |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 08/20/2021 - I ventured out on a mission to catch at least one train crossing the Louisville & Indiana Railroad line after coming off the vertical lift bridge at Clagg Tower in Louisville, KY. Here is CSX Q688-20 with a single CM44 7005 leading up front and there was a DPU in the middle with a 10,000 train in tow heading northbound. Rick Smith I could be dead wrong, but I believe this vertical-lift bridge is the only one in the state of Kentucky. I used to ride the "South Wind" across this thing, way-way back. Tennessee has two remaining, both for rail, after one was transported to Bridgeport AL some 40 yrs ago. Thanks for allowing public comments. J.B. Rail Photog shared J.B. Rail Photog shared J.B. Rail Photog shared |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 08/20/2021 - CSX Y129-20 with a GP40-2 along with a road slug and along with a GP38-3 crosses at Clagg Tower northbound on the Louisville & Indiana Railroad northbound. Their train goes to Nabb Branch where they interchange and drop at Watson. |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 09/06/2024 - CSX Y129 with a road slug and a GP40-2 goes over the Ohio River out of Louisville, KY, on the The Louisville & Indiana Railroad Company (LIRC) northbound towards the Nabb Branch where they drop and pick up and head back south in early afternoon. |
 |
| Mark Fox commented on Kevin's post |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog posted 01/22/2021 - CSX Q688-22 makes it way slowly across the massive LIRC Bridge from Louisville, KY, crossing into Clarksville, IN. Javid Beykzadeh shared |
 |
| Jim Griffith's third photo in a posting of six photos John Eagan Still a manned tower at the south end in Louisville where the L&I connects to the PAL and CSX [This photo framing is comparable to mine at the top. But the river was much higher when Jim visited this area than it was when I was there. More on the water levels later.] |
 |
| Jim Griffith's forth photo in a posting [I chose Jim's third photo because it almost exactly matches my photo at the top giving you an A/B comparison of the level of the lower pool. I include this photo because it shows the water is high enough to spill over the dam wall. Note the size of the debris backlog created by the dam wall. All five Tainter gates were probably wide open when Jim took this view.] |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added CSX M574-29 crosses the The Louisville & Indiana Railroad trackage from Louisville, KY, northbound. As you can tell this was double tracked at one time. Tim Shanahan shared J.B. Rail Photog shared J.B. Rail Photog shared |
The gated dam that we see today was not built until the 1960s when the 1200'x110' lock was added. The short part of the L-shaped dam that was built in the 1920s had wicker gates and tows still used the Indiana/Indian Chute when the river was high. [DeBruler]
 |
| Bill Stroud posted Towboat vs Pennsylvania RR Bridge (14th Street Bridge) Bill Stroud the bridge won.. [A crash between a barge and a stationary object (e.g. bridge) is an allision.] |
Here is another older photo showing a tow using the Indiana Chute.
 |
| USACE, p239 |
 |
| Bill Kalkman posted In this view from the shoreline of the Ohio River, below the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center, your looking at the Louisville & Indiana Railroad's crossing of the river from Clarksville to Louisville. 6:52PM on 5-23-18 in Clarksville, IN. |
 |
| Tom Bedwell posted There is a third RR indicated in this one. Justin Gillespie IC’s Central Station in Louisville. Tom Bedwell IC was a tenant in the Station, but it isn’t named for that RR. Think out in the water. Justin Gillespie The IC did own the station, of course that’s the PRR bridge. |
 |
| Tom Bedwell posted PRR train on the bridge over the Ohio River in Louisville. Taken from Louisville Central Station. Wish I had had a nice Nikon!!! |
 |
| Bill Neill shared JB Rial Photog added 07/08/2019 - LIRC brings run through NS 60P loaded potash train across the 14th Street Bridge into Clarksville, IN, with a trio of Canadian Pacific GEs. They went to their yard in Jeffersonville, IN, and took one engine off and took the train off the Nabb Branch to the Port of Jeffersonville to Consolidated Grain and Barge. Charles Buccola Potash is a potassium-rich salt that is mined from underground deposits formed from evaporated sea beds millions of years ago. Potassium is an essential element for all plant, animal and human life. The term "potash" refers to a group of potassium (K) bearing minerals and chemicals. Commonly used in fertilizer. |
 |
| Marc Dufour commented on Bill's share Looks like an interesting bridge… |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 02/03/2020 - CSX Q504-03 mixed freight heads northbound as it crosses the Fourteenth Street Bridge as seen from Clarksville, IN, after coming onto Louisville and Indiana Railroad trackage before getting onto the bridge back in Louisville, KY. According to Wikipedia this truss drawbridge was completed in 1870 and was originally operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The draw portion of the bridge is a vertical-lift span, built in about 1918 in place of a swing span. It's also known as the Ohio Falls Bridge, Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge, Conrail Railroad Bridge or Louisville and Indiana (L&I) Bridge. Steve Fry Is the draw portion still in use? How often is it opened? Chuck Wilson It stays open or raised for river barge traffic and lowers only when a train needs to pass. The control tower is occupied 24 hours a day. Robert Carter I believe the control comes from adjacent Clagg Tower, the last remaining interlocking tower in Kentucky. Javid Beykzadeh shared Craig Cloud Javid Beykzadeh L&I dispatch from there? Javid Beykzadeh Craig they do have a person in the tower but I'm not sure if they dispatch anyone there. Their main dispatcher is at their yard in Jeffersonville. J.B. Rail Photog posted |
.jpg) |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 03/17/2020 - Louisville & Indiana Railroad Company brings a 10,000 ton loaded run through potash train crossing the Ohio River into Jeffersonville, IN, with a colorful lashup of CP/BNSF/NS. This train was handed off to Norfolk Southern (NS train symbol 60P) in Chicago from Canadian Pacific (CP train symbol 680). It's then taken to the Port of Jeffersonville where this train is emptied into barges by Consolidated Grain & Barge. J.B. Rail Photog added Dennis DeBruler: You caught the river running high. Normally the base of the "wall" in the background under the bridge is exposed. |
 |
| R.B. Rail Photog added 03/06/2020 - CSX Q276-06 crossing the L&I Bridge out of Louisville, KY, into Clarksville, IN, headed northbound on the LIRC with a pair of 500 series YN2 AC4400s pulling 102 loaded autoracks (over 11,000 feet). This is not a shot that I can pull off this time of the day unless it's overcast like in this photo since I'm looking east. These are the types of shots that make me want to buy a drone. Mark Lovgren: Nice look and a great catch with two of the older painted units leading this train!! Dennis DeBruler: I noticed the river was running high. And then I noticed that this view shows that the gate is completely out of the water. R.B. Rail Photog posted |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 03/09/2021 - CSX Q576-08 with CSX 50 leading crosses the mighty Ohio River on the LIRC into Clarksville, IN, as they come out of Louisville, KY, northbound. Dan Gurley shared J.B. Rail Photog shared |
 |
| Dennis DeBruler commented on Dan's share The river is running heavy. The lower pool is almost as high as the upper pool. I see it was even higher a few days earlier. |
The river is continuing to run high during the spring of 2021. But the hydrologic chart shows it was at just 31'.
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 05/14/2021 - CSX Y129-14 with a slug set and 47 cars crosses the LIRC between Louisville, KY, and Clarksville, IN, northbound to go work at the Nabb Branch in Jeffersonville, IN. J.B. Rail Photog shared J.B. Rail Photog shared Jon Roberts: When the I-64 bridge from Louisville to New Albany was closed months and months for emergency repairs this bridge was used to shuttle people plus the old RR bridge a mile north was made into a pedestrian bridge. It finally forced the decades delayed I-265 bridge to be built. My father-in-law was an L&N RR cop at Strawberry Yards before being sent to Owensboro. J.B. Rail Photog shared |
J.B. also shows us what it looks like when the river is running low.
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 08/13/2021 - CSX Q688-13 crosses the mighty Ohio River across the 14th Street Bridge on the Louisville and Indiana Railroad line northbound into Clarksville, IN. This is my first time taking the drone up over here and definitely like the perspective better than from the ground here because of the elevation you can get from a drone. J.B. Rail Photog shared Don Traut: The bridge was there before the dam. If you look at the bridge there are a couple "channel" spans to allow steamboat passage back when they would run the falls of the Ohio when the water was high enough. Dennis DeBruler: Your previous shots that I have seen show the river running high. It is interesting to see what it looks like when it is running low. [According to a comment, the train is headed to the Avon Yard in Indianapolis.] J.B. Rail Photog shared Hal Johns: Clagg tower operator (former Conrail) on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River operated the lift bridge. Hal Johns: Btw - this was the longest bridge on all of Conrail. Great aerial photo. |
This photo from a similar angle shows how much the river level can vary.
.jpg) |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 06/01/2022 - An unusual duo leads CSX Q352-31 across the PRR 14th Street Bridge into Clarksville, IN, northbound. A CSX SD40-2 leading Union Pacific 2002 elephant style. UP 2002 was solo on X200-28 until Cincinnati and the single engine could not handle the CSX LCL Subdivision alone so they tacked on the SD40-2. Then the power was assigned to Q352-31 headed to Chicago. J.B. Rail Photog shared |
 |
| Dennis DeBruler commented on J.B.'s add This photo makes is easy to believe that steamboats used to go under the through truss before the dam was built. But the attached photo by William Alden shows that the river level can get very low. License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA) https://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_alden/7322929184/in/album-72157688040529472/ |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 08/13/2021 - Here is another view of the 14th Street bridge that CSX Q688-13 crossed northbound into Clarksville, IN, coming from Louisville, KY. As you can see this was double tracked at one time. I thought I'd share this view for those who might be interested. J.B. Rail Photog shared Another view showing the tracks. Mark Brinck: PRR, PC, Conrail, now L&I. Other end is the Vertical lift span over the lock. |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 11/22/2021 - An all EMD affair. Fresh Huntington SD70AC rebuild 4552 and ST70AH 8903 cross into Clarksville, IN, on CSX Q688-22 northbound on the LIRC. J.B. Rail Photog shared |
The river is lower and the grass is greener.
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added CSX M574-29 crossing the The Louisville & Indiana Railroad Company 14th Street Bridge into Clarksville, IN, northbound. CSX utilized trackage rights that extend between Louisville, KY, and Indianapolis, IN. A few years ago CSX helped the LIRC upgrade this line with new sidings and other capital expenditures. Nothing new here but it's been forever so! J.B. Rail Photog shared |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added 04/03/2018 - Here's one from the dark side archives. A northbound CSX mixed freight approaching Clagg Tower in Louisville, KY, which controls the lift bridge on the Louisville and Indiana Railroad that crosses an Ohio River canal used for barge and other river traffic. Originally this bridge was built by PRR and then Conrail. Today it's owned and operated by the Louisville and Indiana Railroad. I really like the grimminess of this photo with the engines notching up spitting out extra smoke out of the exhausts and a rusty bridge in the shadows. J.B. Rail Photog shared J.B. Rail Photog shared |
 |
| KevandSus Dickman The Pennsylvania or 14th St bridge spanning the Ohio river from Clarksville, In to Louisville, Ky. Built in the 1800's and still in use today. She is almost a mile long. Bruce B. Reynolds: The bridge was completely rebuilt in the 1916-1919 period, and the picture shows that structure. KevandSus Dickman: Bruce B. Reynolds I believe the piers are the originals but yes my picture is of the updated version. Joe Dockrill shared [I added the "p136" photo above as a comment.] |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog added |
He is flying that drone rather far over the river.
 |
| Satellite |
 |
| J.B. Rail Photog posted 10/06/2021 - CSX Q688-06 crossing the Ohio River across the 14th Street Bridge northbound with the Louisville skyline towering in the background as this one unit wonder 3194 leading this daily train that goes from the CSX Osborn Yard in Louisville, KY, to the CSX Avon Yard in Indianapolis, IN. Dennis DeBruler: That is also a fantastic view of the control works of the McAlpine Dam. |
This is obviously JB's favorite bridge.
J.B. Rail Photog posted four photos with the comment: "Some shots of the 14th Street Bridge owned by The Louisville & Indiana Railroad Company in Louisville, KY, including Clagg Tower. Original bridge was built in 1860s but current bridge 1917 and is still used to this day."
MP Rail Photography: This bridge is awesome. How much traffic does it see?
J.B. Rail Photog: MP Rail Photography at least 2-3 CSX northbounds a day and or more and a CSX southbound M687 as well as sometimes an occasional empty grain or loaded potash going up or back. In the evening LIRC runs a local, too. If you get there early enough you can catch the Y129 going north in the morning.
Jonathan Vincent: The bridge that's there now was not built in the 1880's. That was the original Pennsy bridge. The current bridge was opened in 1917.
Kristofor Gustenhoven: An interesting thing about the Louisville and Indiana railway is that the locomotives on the louisville and indiana are wearing an inspired pennsylvania railroad tuscan red paint scheme as a reminder when this railroad once operated on this trackage.
[Some comments discuss where the various railroads interchange traffic.]
R.B. Rail Photog shared
 |
| 1 |
 |
| 2 |
 |
| 3 |
 |
| 4 |
 |
| Johnathan Konopka posted This is the 14th Street Bridge, which connects Clarksville, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky. It is a vertical lift bridge that was built in 1870 and carries a rail line used by CSX and the L&I Railroad over the Ohio River. [The river is running high and creating a significant hydraulic jump at the pier.] |
 |
| Frank Keller Photography posted On Thursday I paid a visit to Louisville, KY to track down a few shots of the RJ Corman SD70Ms and while I accomplished that, thanks to some help from others, I also managed this shot of a CSX train crossing the Ohio River back into Indiana. In the background is downtown Louisville. 8.08.24 |
(new window) A nice drone overview, followed by a tripod shot of a CSX northbound train, then drone footage of that train, then a tripod shot of the DPU crossing the lift span and then back to a drone shot to follow the DPU across the bridge. At 4:28 you can see that there is little water in the Falls of Ohio. At 8:46 is a timelapse of the bridge going up. At 9:17, he covers the Kentucky & Indiana Bridge. At 24:52, he ends the video with drone footage of the bridge.
I wonder if a state DOT would allow traffic on a bridge that has barges against the piers.
 |
| Mar 8, 2024: Screenshot [The tow had ten barges. The other two are partially sunk at the lower gates of the McAlpine Dam.] |
LST 325 returning to Evansville, IN, in Sep 2024.
%20Video%20_%20Facebook.png)
JB Rail Photog caught a CSX auto train on the Indiana side. I wonder if the train is full of Ford vehicles made at the Louisville plant.
JB Rail Photog caught a CSX inspection train on the lift span.
JB Rail Photog took 8 photos of a CSX train going geographically north.
JB Rail Photog aerial view
No comments:
Post a Comment