Lost/TP&W Bridge over Illinois River at Peoria, IL

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite, the bridge is now gone)

John Stell posted
TP&W Illinois River bridge looking west in March 1982. John Stell slide.
John Stell posted
TP&W Illinois river bridge at East Peoria looking west towards Peoria. John Stell slide from February 1982.
Rick Braggs If that is the one next to steak 'n Shake it was hit by a barge in the winter of 1970 never rebuilt.
David JordanGroup Admin John Stell I thought most of the bridge was dismantled by the late 1970s?
John Stell I know this was Feb 1982 because I had a railfan visitor from Canada.

The other railroad bridge was the Illinois Traction Bridge.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

<update>

ILHAP now has more historical aerials, so I got a couple more of this bridge.

I include this one because it shows that the Illinois Traction bridge has been removed and that construction has started on the Murray Baker Bridge.

1957

I include this one because it has better contrast. Note the dolphins that have been added to protect the Franklin Street Bridge.

1969

Satellite plus Paint

The bridge on the left is a good view of the curved trestle on the east side of the TP&W bridge.

Judy Goby Oxtoby posted via Dennis DeBruler

Peoria—1870s—Early wagon bridge alongside railway bridge.

source: personal stereoview collection

</update>

D Scott Kramer posted
Here's a nice aerial view of Peoria, IL and East Peoria, IL looking toward the southwest. The lowest bridge in the photo is the Franklin Street Bridge followed by TP&W's bridge over the Illinois River. The Illinois Terminal / Illinois Traction System Bridge is also still in place just past the TP&W bridge (which places the photo pre-1950). Hope you all enjoy this view as much as I do - there's a lot to see!
Dean Cunningham: In the early 1970's a westerly pier of the TP&W Railroad bridge was destroyed by a barge traveling down the Illinois River. About one hour prior to the piers destruction I was inspecting it's pier cap that was loose and also the track alignment on the bridge. I had returned to the General Office when I got a call from the bridge tower operator that a barge had struck the pier I was inspecting and it was now in the river. It was a very cold day, not a good day to go swimming!!!!!

Larry Miller III shared Local History Collection : Peoria Public Library's photo
T.P. & W Bridge - 1922
McKinley Bridge in the background
Courtesy: Peoria Public Library
https://www.facebook.com/ppllocalhistory

Howard Keil shared Ken Christianson''s photo
train coming from Peoria side next to Franklin St. bridge

Haward Keil shared
TPW bridge Peoria 1970

Noah Haggerty posted
Remnants of the Toledo, Peoria & Western bridge over the Illinois River in Peoria, IL, seen during flooding in mid-March 1985. The bridge had been out of service since February 12, 1970, when a barge strike damaged it. Following, the TP&W began using trackage rights over the Peoria & Pekin Union bridge nearby. John & Roger Kujawa Photo, Thomas Dyrek Collection.
Noah Haggerty also posted with the same coment

Garrett Wisher: This viewed from the old Franklin St Bridge?

Howard Keil: Garrett Wisher YES

Rick Barnes: Old IT bridge piling in the picture also

Noah Haggerty posted again

Howard Keil: You'll notice that the swing span is already removed. It was still there in the later 70s. This is during a flood. You'll also see piers to the left that were for the Illinois Terminal Bridge.

llll

Howard Keil commented on Noah's post
another

Howard Keil commented on Noah's post
some steam

Howard Keil commented on Noah's post
another angle

Howard Keil commented on Noah's post
another flood

Larry Miller III posted
From this photo essay of the Peoria journal Star on the building of the Murray Baker Bridge.
http://www.pjstar.com/photo…/…/20180712/NEWS/712009997/PH/1…
[The piers of the Illinois Terminal McKinley Bridge still exist in this photo.]

Mike Raia posted
TP&W 80 Eastbound through Peoria, IL on 5-27-37. Paul Stringham photo-Raia collection
Larry Miller III: The Illinois Terminal interurban bridge to the left and the powerhouse in the background. I would guess that Paul Stringham was shooting the Franklin Street Bridge for this shot. Great photo!
Dean Cunningham: I was inspecting this bridge before a barge knocked it into the river in the 1970's. I will need to look up the date to know what winter day it was.
[Other comments indicated a barge knocked this bridge into the river on Feb 12, 1970.]

Larry Miller III shared two photos from Retro Peoria posting:

Peoria, IL 1940's. Wallace Station in background. Illinois Terminal McKinley and TP&W railroad bridges. Not sure which of the many railroads the steam locomotive belongs to. - John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library

[The comments indicate the engine is a TP&W 4-8-4.]
David JordanDavid is an administrator in this group. Vantage point is probably the TP&W offices in P&PU's Union Depot.
David Jordan In the first photo, you can see the tender and part of the engine just coming off the TP&W bridge.

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Marilyn Leyland Note little white Ritschel Coal Co. building in background, with coal piles

John Woodrow posted
Their was not any place or date on picture. (Wayne Bridges photo)
[According to the comments, it was destroyed by a barge on Feb 12, 1970. It remained standing until the Franklin Street Bridge was replaced by the Bob Michael Bridge.]

Third Photo in a 1947 TP&W Album

Photo from Dan Mickalonis album

Dean Cunningham posted three photos with the comment:

This is a day I will never forget. It was the winter of 1970 when the TP&W Illinois River Bridge was struck by a south bound river barge in Peoria, Illinois.
Early on this winter day Ben Bailey Field Engineer and I were inspecting and surveying a problem we were having with the pier cap that had separated from the pier that stood on the east side of the river channel. The bridge's truss span rested on this pier cap and the separation could cause the railroad track to go out of alignment. We saw no problem at the moment so we returned to TP&W Main Office.
Once back in the office we received word the bridge had fallen into the river. A river boat with barges had struck the very pier we were standing on during the inspection. It and a truss span had collapsed into the Illinois River.
These three photos were shared with me by Jack Franklin the Chief Engineer of the TP&W. A.W. Polich was Vice President of Operations at the time.
Was not a good day for the railroad, however Ben & I survived. We were not ready to go swimming that winter day. I have always said, the railroad is not the safest place to work.
Dean Cunningham - System Engineer TP&W 1970

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Photo from Dan Mickalonis album

Richard Mead posted

Carl Venzke posted
TP&W Illinois River Bridge - Eastbound train coming from Peoria side next to Franklin St. bridge - Ken Christianson photo - sorry no date

Peter Zimmerman posted
Original Toledo Peoria & Western Railway bridge over Illinois River, destroyed by a boat in the 1970's. Today the TP&W operates over the Tazewell & Peoria Railway to cross the river

Larry Miller III shared
Franklin St., TP&W and McKinley Bridges
circa 1925
Courtesy: Peoria Public Library
https://www.facebook.com/ppllocalhistory

Concerning the dog leg on the east end of the Franklin Street Bridge, Ron Johnson commented on a posting:

The story I heard was that construction was started on the Peoria side before the land on the EP side was secured. The owner of that land tried to hold out for more money but the land next to it was bought to complete the bridge. Hence the dogleg.

From that same posting, we learn that the barge allision happened on 2/12/1970.

From a share:
Dean Cunningham Chief Engineer TP&W Jack Franklin took these photo's. One hour before the bridge was struck by a barge I was standing on the pier that is shown collapsed and in the Illinois River Peoria, IL. I was TP&W System Engineer at the time and was inspecting the track alignment since the pier cap was separated from the pier. Field Engineer Ben Bailey was with me only he was on the river bank. We had returned to the TP&W Office when we heard of the incident!! It was my lucky day!!

Larry Miller III shared
Written on back: April 16, 1922, TP&W Bridge

Larry Miller III posted
Illinois River Bridge July 1968 - photographer unknown.
Tell-tales? Would they still be in use in 1968?
Dennis DeBruler: It looks like the river was running rather high.
Michael Matalis: Maybe, there was no benefit in taking them down until they had to.
Dennis DeBruler: Running boards were still required on boxcars in the 1960s. It wasn't air brakes that got rid of them, it was dynamic brakes. And, of course, the diesel revolution had to happen before dynamic brakes could happen.
Joseph Tuch Santucci: Many railroads did not have dynamic brakes on their diesel power. Personal injuries got rid of tuning board on boxcar roofs. Railroads began implementing rules about staying off car roofs by the late 1960’s.
Patrick Cooney: Neat to see the remains of the McKinley Bridge in the background.

I've added this "sheel metal" photo here because the comments document the industry that used to be close to this bridge.

Jeff Carlson posted

From my dad's 1981 trip to Peoria, he came away with this sweet shot of the TP&W 202, smoking it up like only an Alco can do. This was from a massive, two unit order of RS2s from 1949, and this was their only RS2 to receive the chop-nose.

Ken Carlson, photo
Harold J. Krewer Here is the Google Maps view of the area today:
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4...
Of course, ETTS...the 202 would today be on the lawn along Farm Creek roughly across the street from IHOP.

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Harold J. Krewer commented on Jeff's post
This is on the TP&W in East Peoria, on what had been their main line prior to the destruction of their Illinois River bridge by a barge in 1970.
You are west of East Peoria Yard and (at that time) the "Amshack" terminal for the Prairie Marksman, looking east.
In the background you can see the traffic lights for the intersection of Cam St. (parallel to TP&W on opposite side of tracks) with Main St./Caterpillar Trail. The P&PU connection is just east of that intersection. Just THIS side of the intersection is the location of the truss bridge with the curved main track over Farm Creek.
There was still quite a bit of industry along Camp St. west of the P&PU connection (almost to the old bridge) that required regular service.
Here is the first of two CLIC maps showing the area 202 is working in:

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Harold J. Krewer commented on Jeff's post
The second one, farther west. You can see the line across the main denoting end-of-track at river's edge:

Michigan Central's Niagara Falls Bridges over Niagara River

(3D Satellite) I think the bridge in the background is the arch bridge that replaced the suspension bridge.

Ross Gray -> Canada Southern Railway ( CASO / CSR )

William C Sweet commented:

Can't say for sure but that train on the bridge is probably New York Centrals train NY-4. It carried livestock and produce from the West coast forwarded to Chicago. NYC picked it up from there and carried it to New York via Chicago, Detroit, Southern Ontario, Niagara Falls, and Rochester where it rejoined the NYC 4 track mainline to New York City. A very hot train and it lasted into the Penn Central era. Dispatchers were told (off the record of course) to never put any other trains in front of it including passenger trains.

Ross Gray -> Canada Southern Railway ( CASO / CSR )

Peter Dudley commented:

This aerial view shows the recently-completed Michigan Central Railroad Steel Arch bridge in 1925, as the 42-year-old, functionally-obsolete cantilever bridge it replaced was being dismantled.

Grand Trunk Railway's 1897 Whirlpool Rapids Bridge stood further downstream from both bridges. The GT (later Canadian National Railway) bridge replaced the original, 1850s-vintage Suspension Bridge, on the same site. After the new arch bridge was completed underneath the old suspension span, the suspension cables were cut, and the remains of the previous bridge were removed.

Ross Gray -> Canada Southern Railway ( CASO / CSR )

I don't care for "urban explore" videos, so I shoved the slider through much of this video. This scene is worthy of note.

3:03 video @ 2:16

 

@ 2:27

Chewy Chewy Williamson posted two images with the comment:

Niagara Gorge Railway

Niagara Cantilever Bridge or Michigan Central Railway Cantilever Bridge

The Michigan Central Railway Bridge was the dream of financier and railway developer[iii] Cornelius Vanderbilt.[iv] Vanderbilt needed a rail link between Canada and the USA, but was not prepared to pay the high rental price which the owners of the Lower Arch Bridge (the first railway bridge across the gorge) were asking.

Mr. Vanderbilt owned the Michigan Central Railway and had controlling interest in the Canada Southern Railway. In lieu of paying rent, he decided to build a new bridge. Vanderbilt formed the Niagara River Bridge Company and received a charter to build a new bridge from both the Canadian and US authorities.

On April 9, 1883, the Niagara River Bridge Company signed a contract with the Central Bridge Works Company of Buffalo New York to build this bridge. The chief engineer was Charles C. Schneider. This first bridge of cantilever design at Niagara, was built across the Niagara Gorge by engineer Edmund Hayes, of the Central Bridge Works Company, at a site just south of the Lower Arch Bridge. (the Whirlpool Bridge)

Panoramic Photograph

Niagara Cantilever Bridge viewed from the south, with a steam locomotive pulling a train passing over it. Whirlpool Rapids Bridge is just behind it.

Date between 1905 and 1920

By Detroit Publishing Co - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID det.4a18788.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18386064

Could this steam locomotive been a locomotive doing work for the Canadian Southern Railway that used that bridge at that time period

Postcard showing the St. Thomas Railway Station and the yard as it existed behind the station, circa 1915.

By JV and Sons - http://www.canadasouthern.com/.../pc-mcrr-stthomas-yard.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43990361

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Andy Baugnet posted seven photos with the comment:

Whirlpool Rapids Railroad Bridge:
Built 1883 as Michigan Central Railway Cantilever Bridge over Niagara Falls. This 906’ long bridge has twin tracks and was built by Central Bridge Works of Buffalo, NY for Cornelius Vanderbilt who didn’t want to pay the high rent of the bridge to the south called the Lower Arch Bridge (and apparently had so many trains running that he wanted to have two pass each other on the bridge if needed). Towers are 132’ high and each cantilever is 325’ long and 25’ high. An impressive and dignified bridge to be sure. If you try and trespass, you'll be greeted by a 40' wall in the center that is solid plate steel from end to end. These are just a few of the 34 images from the project.

Tim Shanahan shared.
[I believe this is the arch bridge that replaced the cantilever bridge.]

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R.S. Douglas posted
The mothballed Michigan Central RR bridge over the Niagara River.
Taken from the Canadian side.

Elgin County Railway Museum posted five photos with the comment: "The first Michigan Central Railway bridge was built to avoid high rental fees from the Lower Arch Bridge. A contract was signed on April 9, 1883, with construction starting on April 15, under the supervision of engineer Charles C. Schneider. The bridge spanned 495 feet (151m) and stood 240 feet above the Niagara River, accommodating two trains simultaneously. It was completed on December 1, 1883, at a cost of $700,000. The cantilever bridge operated for over 40 years before being replaced by a stronger steel arch bridge to meet the demands of heavier modern trains. The bridge measured 906 feet in length."

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Tim Shanahan shared two photos posted by Christopher John Zyrlis with the comment: "The Michigan Central RR Bridge, spanning the Niagara River, about 1 1/2 miles north of Niagara Falls. Opened in 1925, this replaced the original cantilever bridge you see pictured below of 1883.  Placed out of service in 2001. Picture taken June 21, 2021 facing Ontario."

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Tim Baldwin posted
C&O CG41 crossing the Michigan Central bridge into Canada. Winter 1982-83.

Len Bachman posted two photos with the comment: "Recent photos of the Michigan Central Railway Bridge.  Construction on the bridge began in 1924, and the bridge opened in 1925. This bridge replaced the Niagara Cantilever Bridge that crossed in the same area from 1883 to 1925. The main traffic across the bridge were trains operated by the New York Central, Penn Central, Conrail, and Canadian Pacific Railway. It was also used briefly from October 1978 to January 31, 1979 by Amtrak's former Niagara Rainbow service which ran between New York City and Detroit via Niagara Falls and Windsor, Ontario. The bridge was abandoned in 2001 after a deal was reached between the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario and Canadian Pacific to stop service on the line that the bridge was part of because the line ran through the tourist district of the city and was considered a nuisance and safety issue."

Tim Shanahan shared

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Linda Button commented on Len's post
My father, Reg Button, had many photographs of this bridge in use. This one is from 1980.

Historic Photographs posted
Samuel John Dixon Crossing Niagara Falls Below the Great Cantilever Bridge. 1895
Mike Law: He did it successfully twice but tragically drowned in Wood Lake, Muskoka, later that year.
[I wonder what the hoop around the ankles is all about. So do some of the comments.]
Jim Myers shared

R.S. Douglas posted three photos with the comment: "The Michigan Central Railway Bridge from the U.S. side. It has not been used since 2001. The vines growing up the arch make it look like something from a post-apocalyptic movie."

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