NS/NW/Wabash Bridges over Mississippi River at Hannibal, MO

(Bridge Hunter, Bridge Hunter Tunnel, no Historic Bridges, Satellite)

Street View

Street View

Terry Schwartzwalder posted
Wabash Mississippi River bridge at Hannibal, MO.
[Note the bins for the Bunge elevator under the lift span.]

David Webster posted
Tim Chism: Hannibal
[The Mark Twain road bridge is in the background.]

 

David Webster posted

Andrew Lee Ward: Hannibal RR bridge

On the west side, it crosses the BNSF/CB&Q tracks then goes through a river bluff tunnel to curve south. Evidently this lift bridge was moved from Florence, AL in 1993 to replace the original 1871 swing span. It doesn't look like it has a very high lift. Since tugs used since 1993 don't have the high smokestacks of the old steamships, maybe the Mississippi River no longer needs a high clearance. Although some historic steamboats are still run as cruise ships. So maybe this is higher than it looks. It is a 406' span. Maybe the length of the span makes the towers look shorter. Once stat I miss from Bridge Hunter is vertical clearance.

From Bridge Hunter

The lift span in Florence, AL, from Bridge Hunter

Lisa Ruble posted
The Flying Eagle hits the train bridge.
[You can see the boat up against the span to the right of the swing span. I wonder if the water appears rather high.]

James Holzmeier shared Lisa's post
Hannibal, MO Wabash bridge looking north. The line in the foreground is the CB&Q K-Line running from St. Louis up to Keokuk.
Robert Andrews The swing span was replaced by a lift bridge in the 90's. Hannibal is also the home of the Wabash's only tunnel. A city park is on the bluff above the tunnel approach, diamond with the BNSF K-Line and the bridge approach. However, my last visit vegetation had taken over and all are hard to view from the "scenic lookout".

Lisa Ruble posted

View of open span of the Wabash railroad bridge from an excursion steamer, about 1905-10.

Mississippi River, Hannibal, Missouri (seen on the right) and Pike County Illinois.

Photo Credit: Anna Schnitzlein

Tim Shanahan shared

Lisa Ruble posted four photos with the comment: "The Wabash Railroad Station and the approach to the Wabash Railroad Bridge on the Pike County Illinois side of the Mississippi River at East Hannibal to Hannibal, Missouri."

[Some comments discuss the various road crossings here and included some old road maps.]

Richard Fiedler shared

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Joey Maurer Long commented on Lisa's post
I have a family story about that bridge (passed down generation to generation) so I am thrilled to see these images of the bridge I have heard about all my life...In the 1920's, when my grandpa was a little boy, his parents loaded up a rickety, make-shift truck with all their possessions, their three children, and the family dog and went to Rocky Ford Colorado to work in the sugar beet fields and factory. Life was unkind to them there and they decided to return to Illinois. So the truck was again loaded up - kids, dog and everything they owned - and they headed back east. At Hannibal, Pappy had to drive the truck over the train bridge. There was no other way over the river. Near the middle of the bridge, the truck broke down...and then they realized a train was on the way...you can imagine the fear (in fact, my granny did not recover from that fear for many months after). At the last minute, they were able to get the truck and all inside driven off the bridge just before the train came.
This is my grandpa on the truck that broke down on the bridge you pictured above.

Danny Cole posted five images with the comment: "The original Hannibal river bridge."

Richard Fiedler shared

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Frandy Putman commented on a post

Steve Monroe posted two images with the comment: "Missouri River- Hannibal Bridge"

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Robert Daly posted three photos with the comment: "More bridgework--the NS ex-Wabash bridge over the Mississippi at Hannibal, April 12 2013. The view through the woods shows the BNSF line from St Louis to Burlington crossing the NS. The NS enters a tunnel immediately after crossing the BNSF."

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I-72 is in the background.

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The last photo is looking down at the end of the bridge and the diamond from the trail. The Wabash crossed the CB&Q.

Satellite

And the following post taught me that he is looking down because the Wabash route goes into a tunnel.

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The tunnel is rather short because of a long cut.

Satellite plus Paint

Chip Walker posted two photos with the comment: "A couple of my photos of the ex-Wabash bridge over the Mississippi River at Hannibal, Missouri.  Photos taken in July, 2018."

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