1914-1976 Lost/NP #4 Bridge over Salmon Bay in Seattle, WA

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Satellite, they filled in the trestle to make a dock.)

Cropped from a 1950 photo, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)

Kurt Einar Armbruster posted
Casey Jones! In 1956 retired Seattle theatrical promoter Carol Cornish and a group of friends thought it would be cool to take people on ‘old-time’ train rides with steam power. So they started Casey Jones Excursions and hit a home run. At first steam-hauled, the chartered Northern Pacific trains became a local institution with their leisurely rambles, often on freight-only branch lines. On Sunday, April 28, 1957, young Seattle railfan Bil Baker snaps Ten-wheeler 1372 heading the third Casey Jones train over the Salmon Bay drawbridge en route to Snoqualmie (a consarned diesel pushing on the rear). And in the second-to-last open-window, red-plush, heavyweight coach, Fred Armbruster, Kurt, Garnis, and Norman take it all in, their first and only trip behind steam locomotion—a day to remember!—Bill Baker photo, Pacific Northwest Railroad Archive

Peter Kim: This may be the first color photo I’ve seen of the NP drawbridge.

Kurt Einar Armbruster posted with the same comment

David Sprau: Thanks for posting. This was part of the original NP (Former Seattle Lake Shore and Eastern / Seattle International) main line from Seattle to Sumas, and I always felt it was neglected as far as photographic documentation goes. Just for the record the line started at Seattle Waterfront, later changed over to start at King St. station, ran via the tunnel to North Portal where it paralleled the GN double track to Interbay, then took off going behind GN roundhouse and onward to this bridge about a mile upstream from the GN bridge bearing same number (4). Then it continued thru U district to Kenmore, Bothell, Woodinville, Maltby, Snohomish, Hartford, Arlington, and Sedro Woolley until reaching Sumas. Totally different route than GN used to reach Canada border.

Evan Beck: This is an extremely rare photo of this bridge. For some reason, there's very few photos of it, especially in color. I believe it was dismantled in 1975? Up until recently, there was a small amount of the approach on the south side of the canal still in place, and was being used as a big carport where some vehicles were stored. Sadly, it was removed last year.

[Someone misidentified this as the Ballard Bridge and that caused quite a few comments about the counterweight problem on that bridge.]

Because of Evan's comment above, I saved a satellite image of the south approach.

Satellite

When I first looked at that photo, I thought it was the Ballard Bridge. But then I noticed the NP Monad on the counterweight. The Ballard Bridge was a GN bridge. So I dug deeper.

StreetSmartNaturalist
"A steel Strauss bascule bridge completed in 1914 as a “permanent and rapid acting type required by the war department,” it was taken down by dynamite on December 10, 1976."

MOHAI, ca. 1917

From the north, the GN came to Seattle along the west side while the NP came along the east side.

Unfortunately, the new USGS topo website identifies this as 1964 Seattle @ 62,500. Since the Lake Washington Ship Canal was completed in 1917, I knew this map was wrong. So I went back to the old software, and it identifies this as 1909 Seattle @ 62,500.

I was able to find some maps that correctly show the location of this bridge. When GN and NP merged in 1970 to form BN, these two routes became redundant. Obviously, BN choose to use the GN route.

1968 Shilshole Bay and North Seattle Quad @ 24,000

A history about NP and Seattle

NS/Pennsy Bridge over Olentangy River near Delaware, OH

(Satellite)

MP Rail Photography posted

NS 426, a train of coke loads, crosses over the Olentangy River in Delaware, Ohio.

April 14, 2024

Delaware, Ohio

Power:

NS 8169 - ES44AC

MP Rail Photography shared

Dennis DeBruler commented on the above share
This was a former Pennsy route. The Pennsy did cross the river in Delaware, OH, but a satellite image showed that it no longer had any tracks. (https://maps.app.goo.gl/1Hj8z5hmh9BptMvVA) Zooming out on a topo map shows that Pennsy had built a freight bypass around the town. That bypass not only keeps it out of the flood plain, it avoids the grades of going down to the river and backup from the river. Your photo does a good job of catching the embankment that was necessary to help cross the river. (I see that the Big Four also had a freight cutoff east of town.)
1924 Delaware Quad @ 24,000

A higher resolution copy of the topo map

1972 M/V STEWART J. CORT was the first footer on the Great Lakes

A footer is a Great Lakes freighter whose length is 1000' (305m) or more. Because that is too long to fit in the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway, they have to be built on the Great Lakes. Or at least finished on the Lakes. The first one, Stewart J. Cort had the bow and stern built in Pascagoula, MS, and joined together as Stubby. The other 12 footers were built on the Great Lakes.

Russ Plumb posted
Forty-nine years ago today [6/13/2019], Stubby (Hull 1173) departed the Welland Canal and headed for Erie, PA. Once there, Stubby was cut in half and joined to either end of an 815 foot body section under construction in the shipyard. In 1972, the new vessel joined the Bethlehem Transportation Company fleet and entered service as the first 1000 footer on the Great Lakes -- the Stewart J. Cort (Lake Carriers Bulletin, June-July 1970).
John Lyle There were a few Canadian Lakers built the same way. They were built in Scottish ship yards (bow and stern only. Sailed across the Atlantic then the bow and stern were separated and the cargo section inserted.
Darryl Harper Sections were also added to the sides of the bow and stern to match the width of the center section, to expand from Seaway max of 78 feet to approx 100 feet.( cant recall exact width).
David G. Small I knew the chief engineer, he said every time they picked up a pilot his first question was what is this thing. [When going up the St. Lawrence Seaway.]

"The Cort is the only 1000-footer with pilot house forward. All crew accommodations are also forward. Her self-unloading system’s shuttle boom is contained within the after cabin structure." [interlake]

"The construction length was 182 ft. x 75 ft. wide." The final dimensions are "1000 ft. x 106 ft. x 45 ft." [Freehan, Robert. "Stewart J. Cort." Clio: Your Guide to History. February 26, 2023. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://theclio.com/entry/164545] 

Stubby's width above of 75' must be wrong because it is 106' wide.

I knew it was an old Laker because it has a superstructure on the bow. It was the only Footer built with her pilot house forward. The rest of the 1000-footers were built in shipyards on the Great Lakes.

Interlake

Destination Duluth posted

The First and Last (and Longest)...

By Schauer Photo Images

Stewart J. Cort (the first 1000-footer in 1972) takes a delay at the Port of Duluth while the Paul R. Tregurtha (the last built in 1981 and longest footer at 1,013.5 feet) glides past with coal loaded at Midwest Energy for DTE St. Clair, Michigan. Duluth, MN - April 3, 2023 

She has a regular route carrying iron ore between Superior, WI, and Burns Harbor, IN. When I accessed MarineTraffic, it had recently docked at Burns Harbor. She has a stern self-unloader instead of the more typical boom self-unloader. This makes it easier to load and faster to unload, but it limits the docks that can accommodate her. But if she unloads only at Burns Harbor, that is not a big deal.

MarineTraffic
[A popup on that page indicates that its speed range is 5.18-12.70 knots.]

National Museum of the Great Lakes posted three photos with the comment:

This #ThrowbackThursday we take a look at July 3, 1972, and the launching of the Lakes' first 1,000 footer! This massive vessel was built in three sections. The forward and stern were assembled in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and later floated to Erie, Pennsylvania where the 815-foot mid-section was waiting to be attached. Bethlehem Steel launched the CORT making it the vessel first in its own class. 

👉 DID YOU KNOW: There are now thirteen 1,000 footers to date, all of which are still in operation today.

[The comments have contemporary photos and a video.]

Great Lakes Shipping History shared

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Anne Boyd Earle: "Stubby"!

Paul Erspamer commented on Great Lakes Shipping History's share
CORT taking shape in Erie, 1972.
Kevin Skow: Cort is on the right, Presque Isle is in the the middle of the photo.

Apr 26, 2024:

Interlake Steamship Company posted
Our M/V Stewart J. Cort is back in the water again as the dry dock is flooded at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding this evening.
Mychel Mazza: What does M/V stand for????? Interlake Steamship Company: Mychel Mazza motor vessel! [As opposed to SS, which means steamship. (other prefixes)] James Torgeson shared
The former Bethlehem Steel Great Lakes flagship and the first 1000' lake freighter, the Stewart J. Cort, is floated from a drydock [in Sturgeon Bay] after needed work and USCG inspection. She's now owned by MassMutual, but sails for the Interlake Steamship Company. (Note that the wide angle lens used for the photograph has distorted the ship's proportions!) Shaun Connelly: I see that ship all the time at Cliffs burns harbor. James Torgeson: Shaun Connelly That's her only destination, and the one she was built to serve!

A 4:10 video of a 7-day ride on the Cort     A 14:28 video

A video of Stewart J. Cort at the Soo Bridges (source)  1970, BoatNerd.

A time-lapse video of the M/V Stewart J. Cort going to the BNSF dock in Superior WI.

It has its own Facebook group, but it is private.

Pathway and Peace Pedestrian Bridges over Bow River in Calgary, AB

Pathway: (Satellite)

Peace: (Satellite, 9,837 photos)

While looking for the "Pathway" bridge in this post, I noticed that this town has a lot of pedestrian bridges over the Bow River! The Peace Bridge struck me as extra special.

Tanweer Malik posted three photos with the comment: "An interesting and good-looking double-deck bridge over Bow River in Calgary. The upper deck carries Light Rail Transit. The lower deck is for pedestrians. The lower deck passes through a large hole in each pier where it rests on bearings. But the lower deck is also supported by tension hangers connected to the upper deck."

Kyle Ack: This is a very unique bridge, basically an upside down structural system. main structural component of the span is a hollow cast box girder that is at the same elevation as the trackbed and rests between the inbound and outbound tracks. This is unconventional and was done to reduce the overall elevation change as the trackbed crosses the river

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Maybe this is unusual for concrete girder bridges, but it is very common for steel girder bridges.

Tanweer Malik commented on Kyle's comment
I found this online. The diagram explains the deck system.

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Peace Bridge

 Asset Reconnaissance International, Jul 2021

Tanweer Malik posted five photos with the comment: "Peace Bridge - a landmark pedestrian bridge over the Bow River in Calgary. A plaque for this bridge describes the steel structure as a "sculptural, mathematically derived form". Then it quotes the designer Santiago Calatrava about the geometry (last photo)."

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CTA Tower #12 at Van Buren and Wabash (Southeast corner of the Loop) in Chicago, IL

(Satellite)

This view is looking North.

CTA Flickr, taken in 1942, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) 

Electroliner at Tower 12

Today [Jan 21, 2013] marks the 50th anniversary of the end of service on the Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, an interurban railroad known best as the "North Shore Line." The North Shore ran passenger service, entirely with electric cars, at its greatest extent, from downtown Chicago, IL to Milwaukee, WI via the 'L' system (through an agreement that allowed them to use our tracks in the city) and its own tracks, connecting dozens of cities and towns along the way. The earliest incarnations of this railroad's service began in the 1890s and continued through January 21, 1963.

You could literally board a train at Adams/Wabash and ride all the way to downtown Milwaukee, on an electrically powered car the entire way—grabbing a beverage and an "Electro-Burger" for the trip!

To commemorate the date, here's a picture of a North Shore train on the 'L'. Here you can see one of their distinctive "Electroliner" trains—two special trains billed as "America's First All-Electric Luxury Trains"—making a turn from Van Buren to head south onto Wabash on the Loop 'L'. Both Electroliners have been preserved and one of them can be seen (and sometimes ridden) at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL (along with lots of 'L' cars from over many decades).

For more on the history of the North Shore Line, see this Wikipedia article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_North_Shore_and_Milwaukee_Railroad

The junction was closed the weekend of Sep 30, 2012, to rebuild the trackwork. 2 CTA photos via chicago-l:

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Neither photo above catches the tower because I think they were taken from the tower. Here is a street view of the contemporary tower that was built when the Orange Line was built.

Street View, Jul 2021

The subways removed the "L" trains from the loop except for the Evanston Express during rush hours. After the North Shore Line abandoned service on Jan 21,, 1963, only the Evanston Express was using the junction and there was no need to staff a tower. But after the Dan Ryan, Orange and Pink Lines were built, there were enough trains added to the loop that the tower is now staffed. [chicago-l]

I researched Tower 12 because of this post.

J.J. Sedelmaier posted

May 24, 1953 

Tribune photo

Charles Kronenwetter: What was the cause of the oops?

Scott Greig: Charles Kronenwetter combination of things...a yard motorman at Roosevelt Road had left a brake valve back in the train cut in after using a "cheater" brake handle, that left it in slow release, and the motorman did not make a brake test leaving Roosevelt Road. He approached Harrison Curve at speed, made an application, didn't slow down...the rest is history.

Rex Nelson shared

Michael E. Bond: The single track to the left led to the Congress St terminal which was the original terminal for the South Side L prior to the completion of the Loop in 1897. A few L trains continued to use the Congress St terminal until 1949 when CTA revised L routed. The North Shore Line used the Congress St Terminal for baggage and express from 1949 until the demise of the line in 1963.

Those are North Shore trains in the photo. In 1953, only the North Shore ran on the reverse curves at Harrison. Prior to 1949, North Shore trains were stored on the center track south of Roosevelt Rd. After 1949, when CTA stopped using the Congress St terminal, North Shore trains could be stored on any of the tracks south of Roosevelt Road and north of 17th St junction with the State St subway incline.

A few North Shore trains made a complete circuit around the Loop Outer Track before going to Roosevelt Road. This was for the convenience of shoppers going to Marshall Field's which could be accessed directly from the L on Wabash.

Andrew Roth shared

Jon Roma: Note that in 1953, only the North Shore used the part of the "L" between the south portal of the State St. Subway and Tower 12, so only North Shore trains would have been affected. As the article notes, southbound NSL trains could simply circle the Loop and return northbound, minus the Roosevelt Road stop.

Back when the accident occurred, the "L" did sharp reverse curves to get from alley-running to street running. This topo map is wrong because it doesn't show the still existing original South Side L tracks to their Congress Street Terminal.

1953 Englewood Quad @ 24,000

Jon Roma commented on Andrew's share
From the Chicago Tribune, May 25, 1953.

Jon Roma commented on Andrew's share
From the Chicago Tribune, May 25, 1953.

Ed Bossert/State Street Bridge over I&M Canal in Lemont, IL

(Satellite)

MWRD posted
A view looking southwest at the I&M Canal and a bridge at State Street in Lemont, Illinois, on April 16, 1917.

Billiam Nikson: I think that's the old version of the low bridge by the big lemont road bridge that accesses canal bank road..

Take it 4x daily...

Dennis DeBruler commented on Billiam's comment

So this would be the view today, https://maps.app.goo.gl/BvkqyMxwrAf95gcn7

 https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6746127,-88.0026239,84m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu

The replacement bridge looks like a concrete girder bridge.

Street View, Aug 2023

Apr 21, 2024: CPKC hauls a fire to the firefighters in London, ON

(Satellite)

Normally, the phrase "hot train" means a high priority train. In this case it meant that the contents of five gondola cars were on fire as the train kept moving. The contents were creosote-soaked old rail ties. There were multiple 911 calls from west-side residents as the train rolled through town with flames shooting in the air. I have not been able to determine how many cars were between the crew and the fire in terms of the crew realizing they had a big problem. Nor if the crew size was 1 or 2. Injuries and hazardous materials were not an issue. Damage to an office building (Street View) was a $10,000 issue. Obstructing traffic for 90 minutes was probably another issue.

safe_image for Calls for answers after train on fire rolls through downtown London, Ont.
The train eventually halted at Pall Mall Street and Waterloo Street in central London, Ont., where it took 28 firefighters to knock down the blaze. (Sean Davidson/CBC)

"At one point, 28 fire fighters with 10 trucks were battling the blaze, which took about 90 minutes to bring under control....Somewhere between Strathroy[, where the cars were picked up,] and London is where the fire began." It is being treated as arson. [trains]

1:30 video, Courtesy: London Fire Department

One of the questions being asked is why didn't they stop the train in their yard rather than in a residential district?

1:30 video, Courtesy: London Fire Department

London Fire Department Tweeted two photos with the comment: "Fire crews continue to dose smouldering wooden railway ties at  Adelaide Yard. Using @RosenbauerGroup  T-Rex Aerial Truck."

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