The "Old Vicksburg" part of the title is that this bridge carried road traffic until the road bridge was built.
A video showing that there must be an incredible lateral current at this bridge. The tow aims for the west side span and then gets shoved over to the main span. Furthermore, it has to go through the main span on an angle to fight the lateral current. No wonder the main spans are so long.
The ferry service before 1930.
William Brown posted two photos from WaterView Casino and Hotel with the comment: "A pair of over and unders in Vicksburg, Mississippi this morning. UP Atlanta bound Priority Z Train on the KCS headed to a NS handoff at Meridian, Mississippi. The second a KCS Mixed Freight. Both Barges headed to New Orleans, Louisiana." (Why does proximity to water make gambling OK?)
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| John A. Weeks III |
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| Thomas Johnston posted Found this photo in some of my grandparents photos. I think it may have come from a deck of photos that he purchased when he was at Great Lakes training center in WW2 training in the navy. Glen Olbermann Didn know the IC had a bridge crossing the Mississippi River there. Dennis DeBruler I agree. My sources call it a KCS bridge. A 1928 RR Atlas labels the railroad as Yazoo. Mike Bartels IC spun off the Meridian-Shreveport line to MidSouth Rail in 1986. KCS acquired MidSouth in 1994 and sold a 30 percent interest in this route to Norfolk Southern in 2006 to help finance improvements to what is now called the Meridian Speedway. The bridge was opened in 1930, replacing ferries. A new parallel highway bridge opened in 1973, although the rail bridge wasn't closed to motor vehicles until 1998. Dennis DeBruler If NS helped improve it for the Meridian Speedway, I wonder how slow the trains went before the improvements. Or was it a matter of increasing the clearances for double-stack containers? https://youtu.be/EefXs_tCOjY |
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| One of several photos posted by Quapaw Canoe Company - Vicksburg Outpost posted MMZero2021 just came by Vicksburg. They only lack 437 miles to break the Guinness Book of Records (18 days 4 hours 51 minutes). They currently have paddled roughly 1,900 miles in 15 days. If they reach mile marker zero AHP before Monday 12:51pm CST…. They will have broken the record. You can track them here: https://share.garmin.com/MMZero... Keep in mind… there is another 4 person canoe team called Mississippi Speed Record that started May 4th and will try to finish before May 22 to beat the record too! Their Garmin Tracker is here: https://share.garmin.com/Mississippispeedrecord |
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| Frank J Flörianz Jr. The newer I-20 highway bridge (left), and the old narrow combination rail/highway bridge (old U.S. 80) across the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, MS. This line was the former 313-mile Illinois Central east-west line from Meridian, MS to Shreveport, Louisiana. The IC divested itself of this line in the early-80's to the newly formed Midsouth Rail Corporation. - 1993 - my photo Tommy Nickolson: Still use it every day. Its a 10 mph bridge and gets hit pretty often by barges. |
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| Randall Hampton posted Everybody has seen the old combined RR / highway bridge over the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, but it's not so well known that the track goes directly into a tunnel on the Mississippi (east) side. |
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| Randall Hampton commented on another one of his posts [The old toll both.] |
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| Danny Johnson posted An Eastbound KCS General Merchandise Train exits the Mississippi River Bridge at Vicksburg, Mississippi on the morning of December 15, 2021. I wasn't able to get a Train Symbol, but I suspect it was M-SHNS (Manifest - Shreveport to Meridian - NS) or possibly M-SZJA (Manifest - Sanchez, Mexico to Jackson, Mississippi). J.B. Rail Photog shared |
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| Danny Johnson posted On December 14, 2021, KCS Train I-ZLAAT (Expedited Intermodal - Los Angeles to Atlanta) behind BNSF 6395, BNSF 6386 and UP 2700 crosses the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Mississippi with some nice drop under light courtesy of a thick cloud bank providing an ominous looking, but rain free canopy. This train started life as UP Train I-ZLCAI and will become NS Train 226 when it reaches Meridian, Mississippi, about 140 miles to the east. J.B. Rail Photog shared |
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| Curtis J. Walters posted Several times when I make my cross- country drive from Texas to Pennsylvania to visit my family, I'll cross the Mississippi River into Vicksburg MS and several times I've never seen a train. One time, I was eastbound on I-20 and approaching the river from Louisiana and saw an eastbound manifest and I knew the perfect spot to get a photo. This photo is about 30 years old. The first two units are KCS and the third is MidSouth Railroad. The KCS bought the MidSouth in 1993 and upgraded the line and now it's part of the Meridian Speedway!!! |
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| Jonas Lee Thompson posted A DAY IN VICKSBURG |
The ferry service before 1930.
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| ~lamadiso 1930's Vicksburg Ferry under the Misc. category |
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| Bob Martin Photo "view from upstream from about mid-river" from Bridge Hunter, cropped |
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Their Facebook page indicates that Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply, Inc. is located in Vicksburg. But these trusses are not the cantilever trusses that I associate with the railroad and road bridges at Vicksburg. Then I noticed that the west side of the bridges are plain truss spans. Even though they are plain, this photo shows those trusses can accommodate tows that are six barges wide. I count seven barges long so this tow has 42 barges, which is fairly typical for the lower Mississippi River.
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| Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply, Inc. posted MV Marty Baskerville! |
Here is a tow using the navigation channel.
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| Layne Logue posted M/V Kay A. Eckstein |
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| Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply, Inc. posted MV Carol McManus! |
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| Quapaw Canoe Company posted [This is one of a few photos, each describes the company of the boat in the photo.] Paddlewheel AMERICA American Cruise Lines https://www.americancruiselines.com/.../authentic.../america Launched in 2016, America is one of the finest paddlewheeler ever built, introducing features never before seen on the Mississippi. America embodies a casual ambiance and relaxed atmosphere while providing panoramic views of the passing scenery. With only 185 guests, fellow guests will quickly become new friends. Inaugurated in 2016 Rooms 98 Guest Capacity 185 Common Areas 6 Their top of the line room is: Owner Suite w/ Balcony (OSB) Each Owner’s Suite on America offers the finest accommodations on the Mississippi River with unsurpassed views of the passing scenery. A spectacular up to 445 sq. ft. of space is your private sanctuary to spread out and make yourself at home. Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors lead to an expansive private balcony offering private panoramic views throughout the room. Every modern amenity is at your fingertips, along with a spacious seating area, desk, and full-size bathroom |
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| Quapaw Canoe Company posted [This is one of a few photos, each describes the company of the boat in the photo.] M/V PATRIOT Enterprise Marine Services LLC ("EMS") is the marine subsidiary of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. located in Houston, Texas. At EMS we focus on the core responsibilities of Health and Safety, Environmental Protection and Quality. EMS operates a fleet of US Coast Guard compliant hazardous liquid and liquefied gas inland tank barges and towing vessels on the Intracoastal Waterway as well as the Mississippi River system and its tributaries. Enterprise Marine https://marine.enterpriseproducts.com |
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| 1 of several photos posted by Cathy Sandage Thomas Views from my hotel balcony in Vicksburg today… Fort Loudoun Lock shared |
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| Screenshot [A comment noted that the river is running low.] |
3 drone photos and the comments have more photos of the bridge
This is an example of a picture is worth a lot of words. I have read a lot about the Mississippi River being low this Fall (2023), but this gives us a better feel for what is happening.
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| How Great Thou Art posted The Mississippi River in Vicksburg, MS, on 22 October 2023. Ron Bishop shared |
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| Jen-Jeff Wesc posted Southbound Vicksburg Mike Bick: This is DEFINITELY N/B. [After reading all of the comments, the tow was headed southbound but hit a sandbar and flipped around so that it is now pointed northbound. That explains why there are three helper towboats out there. They are trying to get him off the sandbar and pointed in the correct direction. I wonder how much Hurricane Helene will alleviate the low water levels on the Mississippi River in Sep 2024.] |
Eric Hirsimaki posted three photos with the comment: "Some memories on the IC at Vicksburg . It was sheet luck to get a river tow under the bridge when the daily eastbound arrived in town. To go further east a train had to climb the hill past the passenger depot which was being dismantled. was the only railroad. The engine terminal and yard were always busy but the hordes of geeps were a bit boring."
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| 2 Stephanie Tom White Are those Fords ??? The station wagon on top kind of looks like a Ford. Where would they have been coming from ??? |
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| 3 Larry Davis: RIP track and car shop. I worked here 1965-1970. Footbridge and all these facilities are now gone. |
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