See Historic Bridges presentation, p24-33 for construction photos and the predecessor swing bridge.
Some sources simply call this the Michigan Central Bridge. But most call it the Conrail Bridge.
CRSA is Conrail Shared Assets Operation. I know there is a lot of CRSA track in the New York area. This is the first time I have seen it in the Midwest. It means that the route is so important that NS and CSX agreed to share it when they split up Conrail. But Bridge Hunter labels this bridge as NS.
This time they opened it all the way.
Fortunately, Andrew waited for the bridge to open and these are the five photos he took of the freighter going through the bridge. I changed the order to put them in chronological order.
Craig Hensley continues to find new angles of the bridge.
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| Peter Dudley shared "J-3a No. 5411 at the River Rouge (MI) drawbridge on May 13, 1952, heading the CLEVELAND MERCURY toward Toledo (OH). Photo by the late Ernest L. Novak." (slightly-edited, with a glaring mistake in the caption left intact). Actually, the train was headed NORTH (from Toledo, toward Detroit). The location of the 1921 bascule bridge's pivot point (on the NORTH shore of the Rouge River) tells the tale. |
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| C Hanchey Flickr via Bridge Hunter, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) |
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| One of seven photos posted by Andrew Dean Detroit Rt. Honorable Paul J. Martin unloading on the Rouge River, Detroit, Michigan. 12/9/2021 Dennis DeBruler It was unloading at St. Marys Cement. |
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| Craig Hensley Photography posted The Conrail Bridge in the middle of lifting for a G tug making their way out to the Detroit River. River Rouge, MI - August 2024 |
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| Peter Dudley shared David Parker's photo A southbound Conrail business train, led by ex - Erie Lackawanna E-8A No. 4022, crosses the 1921-vintage, former - New York Central River Rouge Bascule Bridge in Detroit, heading toward Toledo and Cleveland on April 27, 1983 (David Parker photograph) Nolan Skipper LaFramboise II Peerless Cement in the background. Later known as St. Mary's Cement, I think |
David saw a cab unit, I see a Strauss bascule bridge. And I'm glad Nolan noted that the silos are for cement. If it was just another locomotive photo, I would have passed it up. But I'm noticing the pattern that I can't pass up a movable railroad bridge photo.
Bing (below) has a much better 3D photo than Google does in this case. Both the bridge and the silos still exist.
When Michigan Central and Lake Shore and Michigan Southern built these tracks, they were bitter competitors. In fact, that competition was the cause of the "crossing war" in Chicago. According to the SPV Map, after NYC bought them both, MC+B&O tracks were used for southbound traffic and the LS&MS+B&O tracks were used for northbound traffic.
Bing (below) has a much better 3D photo than Google does in this case. Both the bridge and the silos still exist.
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| Birds-Eye View |
When Michigan Central and Lake Shore and Michigan Southern built these tracks, they were bitter competitors. In fact, that competition was the cause of the "crossing war" in Chicago. According to the SPV Map, after NYC bought them both, MC+B&O tracks were used for southbound traffic and the LS&MS+B&O tracks were used for northbound traffic.
When someone asked if this was the former Wabash Bridge, Peter responded:
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| Peter commented on his posting This bridge was built for Michigan Central Railroad (M.C.R.R.) in 1921. It replaced an older swing bridge on the same site. It's currently operated as part of Conrail Shared Assets // Detroit. The former - Wabash bascule bridge (currently owned and operated by Norfolk Southern Railway) is located farther upstream, near the Fisher Freeway (I-75) Rouge River Bridge, west of Forman Park. That bridge replaced a swing bridge, which crossed the Rouge just downstream from the future freeway bridge site. A siding, running east toward Delray (paralleling the northbound I-75 lanes), still defines the original (1881) Wabash mainline right-of-way. |
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| Tim Shanahan shared a Joseph Cermak share of Mtnblimberjoe Rail Photography post A CN SD60 leads auto train A401 as it makes its way through Detroit, Michigan over Conrail Shared Assets, crossing over the Rouge River on the Detroit Line's lift bridge. In the background, the Sea Eagle II tug holds a cement barge in place as it unloads. ====Info==== 4/4/2021 CRCX Detroit Line Detroit, MI CN A401 (Battle Creek, MI to Lang Yard - Toledo, OH) CN 5407 SD60 Ex. GMTX 9035, EMDX 9035, OWY 9035 Blt. 1986 CN 5711 SD75I Blt. 1996 |
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| Craig Hensley Photography post Norfolk Southern Corp intermodal train 21N crossing the Conrail bascule bridge that spans the River rouge. The structure of this bridge is incredibly fascinating to me, especially how the cement counter weight is shaped to allow rail traffic through. From what've gathered, this bridge is operated remotely from Mount Laurel, NJ. Tech: DJI Mavic Air 2s Symbol:NS 21N (Livernois Yard - Detroit, MI (CSAO) to Rickenbacker Yard - Columbus, OH Engine/s: NS #9778 (GE C40-9W) NS #1101 (EMD SD70ACe) Date: 5/10/21 650p Location: River Rouge Conrail bridge, Detroit. Michigan Craig Hensley Photography shared Joe Dockrill shared Roger Riblett shared Craig Hensley Photography shared Nick Giordano: Nice photo. But, why would a railroad bridge in Michigan be operated from New Jersey? Craig Hensley Photography Author  Great question, I'm not sure entirely the reasoning for it, but I found that it was requested by the owner/operator of the bridge. The article can be found here: https://www.federalregister.gov/.../drawbridge-operation... |
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| 1 of 9 photos posted by Andrew Dean Detroit First time I’ve seen the John G. Munson on the Rouge River. Glad I could catch this classic coming in to unload yesterday! [Sep 15, 2022] |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Tim's share The silos that were next to the tracks have evidently been removed in the last few years. |
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| Craig Hensley Photography posted Open Sesame The conrail bridge was open, and well I had to get a shot of this rare occurrence. The drone looking down perspective can be so cool sometimes. Tech: DJI Mavic Air 2s Date: 8/5/21 Location: Detroit, Michigan Craig Hensley Photography If anyone is interested in prints: https://craighensleyphotography.smugmug.com/.../i-hkr.../buy |
This time they opened it all the way.
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| Craig Hensley Photography posted Open for Inspection The Conrail Bridge in River Rouge was open for a brief period of time and I think its neat to grab a sattelite view once in a while in those rare instances that I can catch it open. It's crazy how narrow that gap seems from 300 feet up! River Rouge, MI - September 2023 |
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| Satellite The removal of the control tower must have been rather recent because it still shows up in a satellite image. |
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| Andrew Dean Detroit posted CSL Assiniboine unloading at St. Mary’s in Detroit. Rouge River 10-1-2021 |
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| Andrew Dean Detroit posted Oberstar Lighting up the Rouge river to a green glow. |
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| Craig Hensley Photography posted Industrial Detroit I went down to the Rouge to get a picture of the M/V John J Boland, which you can see unloading in the top left side of the frame. I wasn't sure exactly where the ship was, so threw the drone up on a scouting mission, and boom CN going south on the NS bridge. Symbol: CN ??? Tech: DJI Mavic Air 2s Date: 12/17/21 Location: Detroit, Michigan |
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| 3D Satellite |
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| 1 of 6 photos posted by Andrew Dean Detroit Been awhile since I have spotted the Saginaw on the Rouge River. She was looking good in the morning light, just after unloading. 6/6/2022 Detroit, Michigan |
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| Screenshot @ 1:08 The Iver Bright in the turning basin, and heading out of the Rouge River, Tugs Wisconsin and Wyoming assisting. Detroit Michigan 8/14/2021 [This video starts with the ship being turned upstream in the turning basin. Comments discuss when are tugs used on the Rouge River. The answer is captain's experience rather than the existence of bow thrusters because Scott Wake posted three photos of ships using tugs even though they all had bow thrusters.10 photos of that trip] |
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| 1 of 2 photos posted by Craig Hensley Photography Conrail Trenton 3 - River Rouge, MI - November 2022 Conrail/NS 5011 (GP38-2) takes a small cut of 9 cars from River Rouge yard over the Conrail bridge to St Mary's cement. The river was as calm as could be and when I heard them radio to dispatch on their plans I knew exactly where I wanted to put the drone. It was a beautiful morning to be out and about, with a bit of warmer weather and sunshine. |
3 of 10 photos posted by Andrew Dean Detroit with the comment: "A series of tight squeezes. Lee A Tregurtha traverses out of the Rouge River. Lee is the longest ship to pass through the Rouge, it’s amazing to see the ship slip down between another ship in such tight quarters."
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| Andrew Dean Detroit posted Kaye E. Barker waiting for Conrail Bridge to let up as the first bit of morning sun rises up on the Rouge River in Detroit. Tom Rothe: Awesome picture! What amazes me is maneuvering a 1000 ft vessel through the narrow river channels. The captains are superb. Your drone captions show the extant how precise the skill is needed, your drone gets kudos. Dennis DeBruler: Tom Rothe The Kaye E. Barker is "just" 767'. But it is still amazing that they can thread those needles. http://www.interlake-steamship.com/our-fleet/m-v-kaye-e.-barker/ Dennis DeBruler: Tom Rothe In another post, https://www.facebook.com/AndrewDeanDetroit/...WjG3BfkLWl, Andrew explains that Lee A Tregurtha is the longest freighter that navigates the rouge River. It is 826'. http://www.interlake-steamship.com/our-fleet/m-v-lee-a.-tregurtha/ Andrew Russell shared Karen Douglas: That seems unusual to me.....Not having the bridge staffed 24/7. Am I wrong? Andrew Russell: Karen Douglas the bridge is remotely activated. They were forced to wait for a nearby train. |
Fortunately, Andrew waited for the bridge to open and these are the five photos he took of the freighter going through the bridge. I changed the order to put them in chronological order.
5 of 12 photos Andrew Dean Detroit posted with the comment: "It was a beautiful and calm Sunday morning on the Rouge River. Kaye E. Barker just finished unloading at Cliffs and was exiting the Rouge River. Conrail Bridge took some time to clear, while waiting she drifted into a bit of a rough angle, but amazingly they passed close and successfully. It’s always amazing how the captain and crew can maneuver such a big ship around a small river!"
David Olson: Was the Conrail bridge just slow to open or was there a train crossing?
Arni Foss: David Olson they left 8 cars on the block we had to wait for an engine.
Andrew Russell shared
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| d Arni Foss: 12 feet to be exact. That's what the third mate said Dennis DeBruler: This photo is a good demonstration of the importance of bow thrusters for lakers. You can see the propwash from the thruster as the freighter creates more clearance. |
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| e Dennis DeBruler: And the propwash indicates the bow thruster is still pushing. I presume from the exhaust plume that it is using a good fraction of its 8,000 horsepower to get the freighter through this bridge. http://www.interlake-steamship.com/.../m-v-kaye-e.-barker/ |
Craig Hensley continues to find new angles of the bridge.
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| Craig Hensley Photography posted Over The Bridge CN Q116 rolls south over the Conrail Bridge on on a picturesque evening in April. A pair of SD75I's on the head end with a string full of empty racks inbound from Chicago, IL. CN Q116 - River Rouge, MI - April 2023 Full res image and prints: |
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| Andrew Severson posted Madison R. (58), Ann Marie (54) clearing the Conrail bridge. 6/17/23. Jim Park: Are those Dean Marine boats? Andrew Severson: Jim Park yes |
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| Andrew Dean Detroit posted Lets play bridge Dennis DeBruler: This boomer doesn't know how to find the rules for the game. Are we supposed to keep the identity and location of the bridge a secret? If so, please delete this comment. Conrail Shared Assets Bridge, former NYC and B&O. https://www.google.com/maps/@42.2832012,-83.1383136,307a,35y,90h,39.36t/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-US&entry=ttu |
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| Ron Piskor posted Heritage Unit crossing old NYC drawbridge in Detroit Michigan. Dennis DeBruler: I recognized the silos in the background: |
The video from the above photo shoot.
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| 4:00 video @ 1:18 |
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| Facebook reel [A timelapse video of it going up and down.] |
A 2017 Flickr photo that includes the G-Style (tight triangular color lights) Signal Heads and the bridge control tower.
A 1982 Flickr photo that includes the interlock tower. (source)
Peter DudleyPeter and 1 other manage the membership, moderators, settings, and posts for Detroit - Area Railroad History. Southbound Conrail (CR) No. 3287 crosses the Rouge River, Detroit MI, September 1982. The two Diesel-electric units were running south to River Rouge Yard with light power for a southbound train.
The tower (left) controls the 1921 bascule bridge over the channel, used by Great Lakes bulk freighters accessing Ford Motor Company's River Rouge Complex in Dearborn (KR-64 slide, shot by Charlie Whipp).
The current bridge replaced an earlier swing bridge on the same site.
Jim Jorgensen The bridge was hit this past week by a tug boat [commented May 25, 2018]
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