Industrial History

Friday, May 8, 2026

1838,1903,1922 I&M Canal Aqueduct and 1899,1919 IAIS/Rock Island & Lost/Superior St. Bridges over Fox River in Ottawa, IL

Aqueduct: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite)

Rock: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Superior: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite, the extended piers on the south side of the aqueduct carried the bridge.)

I&M Canal Overview

The railroad bridge is in the foreground and the aqueduct is behind it.

Street View, Aug 2025

Illinois and Michigan Canal Photo Tour posted
The 464 foot [141m] long Fox River aqueduct at Ottawa circa 1900 and in 2006.
Brad Small: Interurban tracks along south side in 1900 photo. [A plan for interurban tracks, which I don't think happened.]

"Originally built in 1838 to carry the I&M; Canal over the Fox River wooden trough of aqueduct replaced with steel trough 1922" [ArchivedBridgeHunter_aqueduct]

Because the tow path was obsolete in the 20th Century (mules had been replaced by engines), the towpath was replaced with an interurban bridge in 1903. Evidently, there was a plan to move the Chicago, Ottawa & Peoria from the Main Street Bridge to this new bridge to remove street running in Ottawa. But every map I have seen indicates that the plan was never executed.

This is the upstream side of the aqueduct. The steel girders are the north side of the trough that held the water.

20150809, 4092

The interurban bridge is now a trail bridge. It reused the piers that were built for the canal's towpath.

Out on that trail, I stuck my camera up against the chain-link fence to take this upstream photo. We see the wall of the aqueduct trough, the Rock Island Bridge and the US-6 Bridge. It looks like they had to paint over some graffiti. Did the slits allow flood water to spill into the Fox River?

HistoricBridges does not think these slits are original: "Also, there are crudely cut holes in the steel girders. The exact purpose of these holes is unclear, but they diminish the historic integrity of the bridge and are ugly looking."

And I leaned over the side of the trail to get this photo of the trough.

Another view of today's trail.

HAER ILL, 50-OTWA, 7--1
1. LOOKING NORTHEAST, SOUTH SIDE OF PLATE GIRDER BRIDGE WHICH CARRIED THE INTERURBAN LINE ACROSS THE FOX RIVER. NOTE THE STEEL-FRAME SUPPORTS FOR THE CATENARY. - Illinois Traction System, Fox River Bridge, Spanning Fox River, Ottawa, La Salle County, IL

Significance: In 1903 the Illinois Traction System constructed a bridge across the Fox River sharing the piers of the I&M Canal Fox River Aqueduct." [HAERil0648_data]

HAER ILL, 50-OTWA, 5--8
8. DETAIL OF UNDERSIDE OF RAIL AND CANAL, SOUTH SIDE OF WEST END - Illinois & Michigan Canal, Fox River Aqueduct, Ottawa, La Salle County, IL

"Significance: Part of the original timber frame aqueduct (built 1848) was incorporated into the bridge built by the Illinois Traction system in 1903; reconstruction of the original Fox River aqueduct was carried out in 1918 and 1919 as part of the improvements to the Rockdale-to-Peru section of the canal, the last operating stretch of the I&M." [HAERil0600_data]

This 1915 map shows the CO&P route was not changed to use the 1903 bridge. The interurban still curved south to use the Main Street Bridge.

1915/15 Ottawa Quad @ 62,500 via Dennis DeBruler

The empty piers on the south side carried a vehicle bridge. And the above topo map agrees that it was the Superior Street Bridge.

Street View, Jun 2023

This is old enough to show the Superior Street Bridge.

ca 1920, Lewis University Collection via BridgeHunter_superior

ArchivedBridgeHunter_rock provides a date of 1899 whereas BridgeHunter_rock has a date of 1919 for the Rock Island Bridge. I'm going with 1919 for today's bridge because the piers make it look like a truss bridge was replaced by a girder bridge.

2011 photo by Steve Conro via BridgeHunter_rock

These two maps are more evidence that the plan to move the CO&P from Main Street to the canal right-of-way did not happen. [Luke's comment on ArchivedBridgeHunter]

This map labels ithe interurban the "Illinois Valley Electric RR."

1906

This map labeled it "Electric RY."

1929

I don't see any evidence of a grade for the CO&P to use the 1903 bridge.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

I can see the trusses of the Superior Street Bridge

Digitally Zoomed

Roger Kujawa posted 13 photos of today's trail bridge with the comment: "Chicago, Ottawa and Peoria railroad bridge Ottawa, Illinois. The CO&P bridge over the Fox River is next to the Illinois and Michigan canal aqueduct over the Fox River. Not sure if those are the trolley wire supports or new steel."

Dennis DeBruler: Evidently, CO&P never finished their plan to use this bridge. They continued to use the Main Street Bridge to cross the Fox River. https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2026/05/183819031922-i-canal-aqueduct-and.html

Roger Kujawa shared

Thursday, May 7, 2026

1968 Eagle Creek Dam in Indianapolis, IN

(Satellite)

The dam was built in 1968 for flood control.

I included some pickup trucks for scale.

Street View, Nov 2015

Troy Shelby posted
Eagle Creek Dam

CommonwealthEngineers
"A 75-foot [23m] tall x 5,100 foot [1.5km] long earthen and concrete dam with six (6) 40′ [12m] x 31′ [9.4m] tainter [Parker] gates."

class900indy

EagleCreekPark describes some of the owners of the land now occupied by the reservoir.

1877 Whites Ridge Road Bridge over South Fork Tenmile Creek near Waynesburg, PA

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

I include the label "metalIron" because this bridge is made with wrought iron instead of steel.

Facebook Reel

"Built 1877 by the Massillon Bridge Co. Pinned Pratt variant that features double-intersecting counters, where Whipple trusses feature double-intersecting diagonals. The Wrought Iron Bridge Company version of this truss has been referred to as a Hammond Truss, but this is the only known example built by another firm." [BridgeHunter]

HistoricBridges
"Finally, the most significant feature of this bridge is its extremely rare truss configuration. The main diagonals follow the Pratt configuration, with the counters following the Whipple configuration. The design of this rare truss is illustrated in the diagram above. It is unknown how or why this truss configuration was attempted, or if it was given an official name. However, it may have been "stolen" from a patent that competitor Wrought Iron Bridge Company filed in 1876. The patent claimed several things, among them a Pratt truss configuration with counters spanning two panels. Whether Massillon Bridge Company really was trying to violate Wrought Iron Bridge Company's patent, or if they came up with this design independently and unknowingly is not known. However given that the two companies were highly prolific and were based in cities that are located adjacent to each other, it would be a rather curious coincidence. The bridge companies did compete against each other and patent violations and conflicts did occur. Making matters more suspicious is that The Whites Ridge Road Bridge and some other early Massillon pin-connected Whipple truss bridges display built up vertical members that are also strikingly similar to another Wrought Iron Bridge Company patent for a vertical member with a double-intersecting (Whipple) diagonal. Whether or not the Whites Ridge Road Bridge is an example of a patent violation or not remains speculation, but the fact remains that this bridge's unusual truss configuration is the same as what is seen in the Wrought Iron Bridge Company patent diagram and description. The Bertram Road Bridge in Iowa is the only example on HistoricBridges.org of Wrought Iron Bridge Company employing these patents, and also the only other documented example of a truss bridge following this hybrid truss configuration. Other examples may exist, but HistoricBridges.org has yet to find them. Be sure to check out the Bertram Road Bridge since links and drawings of the Wrought Iron Bridge Company patent are available on the page."

I found the name by finding the location. I found the location by finding the old roads on this topo map.

1904/43 Waynesburg Quad @ 62,500

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

L&N: Louisville & Nashville Overview

Blake Donnelly posted

West Florida Railroad Museum posted
1959 map highlighting L&N, Atlantic Coast, & Clinchfield Railroad lines

Daniel Cassidy: What's interesting about this map is that Atlantic Coast Line controlled this entire system. ACL had a controlling interest in Louisville & Nashville (and Monon) and Clinchfield. After the ACL merged Seaboard Air Line becoming Seaboard Coast Line the whole system became a part of "Family Lines".

Matthew Cole: Black and slightly less black. That’s not confusing at all. [In fact, they look the same on my monitors.]

Wesley Meiss shared

2026 US-20 Bridge over Cazenovia Creek in West Seneca, NY

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

See "1929,1968 US-20 Bridges" for the concrete arch bridge that this bridge is replacing and the plans for this bridge.

US-20 Overview

Street View, Jul 2022

The bridge replacement cost $48.5m. [governor]

Sep 1, 2025:

Bubba Dubs posted nine photos with the comment:

The northbound route 20 bridge over Cazenovia creek has been completed and they have begun demolishing the old 1929 bridge. Traffic going northbound begun moving on Thursday at 7am and southbound traffic commenced at 3pm that same day.
I got the drone up to document what I could of the almost 100 year old structure’s last days. Very interesting cement arches, you definitely don’t see that anymore!!!

Bubba Dubs posted 17 photos with the comment: "I went back again last night and flew with a little more precision and got under the bridge. Those arches are beautiful."