KCT 1917+2005 Double-Decker Highline Bridge over Kansas River in Kansas City, KS

(Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; John Marvig; see below for satellite)

KCT = Kansas City Terminal Railway. It includes not only the bridge but the complexity of approaches and junctions on either side.

The KCT was owned by:

Alton Railroad
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Chicago Great Western Railway
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railway
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
Kansas City Southern Railroad
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad
Missouri Pacific Railroad
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway
Union Pacific Railroad
Wabash Railroad

[John Marvig]

Ken Bryan posted
An empty coal train continues its westward journey as it passes through Santa Fe Junction Interlocking in Kansas City.

3D Satellite

Bird's Eye View

Street View

This bridge is a transition design because it has both pin and rivet plate connectons.
pin-connected bridge. And the eyebars exist after the 2005 rehabilitation. Like the ABS Bridge in Kansas City, this bridge has an unusual lift design. But the bridge was made movable not because of navigation, but because of floods. More on that below. Each level has two tracks. Originally, the upper viaduct was used for passenger trains and the lower viaduct carried freight trains. [Engineering News-record, Volume 77]


This Kansas City Terminal Railway (KCT) Bridge was brought to my attention by a copyrighted photo that includes an interlocking tower.
ATSF 946 East, a loaded "UCEX" Unit Coal is led across the KCT Kansas (Kaw) River bridge from Kansas City, KS into Kansas City, MO behind an ATSF C41-8W, an SP SD40M-2 and an SD45T-2R on August 25, 1994. The KCT-owned bridge carries double tracks on two separate levels and is one of, if not the busiest rail bridges in the Kansas City area, in use by every railroad passing through KC. This would be one of the last photos I took before moving away from the Midwest to Virginia for a new job in September, 1994. Photo © Glenn Anderson 2018
Dennis DeBrulerYou and 696 others joined RAILROAD BRIDGES, TRESTLES, TUNNELS AND CUTS within the last two weeks. What is the name of the tower? It is still standing in satellite images: https://www.google.com/.../@39.082469,-94.../data=!3m1!1e3
Glenn AndersonGlenn and 573 others joined RAILROAD BRIDGES, TRESTLES, TUNNELS AND CUTS within the last two weeks. Give them a warm welcome into your community! Dennis DeBruler, I think that is State Line Tower. The state line runs literally a few feet east of the tower. Here's the https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0825096,-94.6075911,134m/data=!3m1!1e3

John Marvig, 15th photo and Bridge Hunter

I've seen double-decker bridges before, but one of the decks would be used by a road. Both decks of this bridge have two tracks, and the bridge is used by every railroad that goes through Kansas City. It was built in 1917 and rehabilitated in 2005.

The rehabilitation made the bridge strong enough so that both tracks on the upper deck could be used at the same time and the speed limit raised from 10-15 mph to 40 mph. The vertical structures were added after the 1951 flood so that the three spans can be lifted when the Kansas River floods. [Bob Franke comment in Bridge Hunter]

I believe this bridge originally had a screw-jack lifting mechanism similar to Railroad Bridge 3 & 4. I vividly recall the installation of the hydraulic jacks in the early 60's. [Lift system was added in 1961 [wikimapia]]
Prior to the start of the 1993 flood, the hydraulics were in disrepair and evidently had not been tested for years. Rumor had it that it was cheaper for the railroad to pay the fine for not testing the mechanism than to disrupt traffic. There was a mad scramble to find parts and hydraulic fluid, and in the end, only 2 sections were lifted. For years, a large tree dangled from the span that didn't lift.
[Bill-KCKs comment in Bridge Hunter]

Different sources have different facts concerning the dates for the jack systems. "In order to provide for potential flood events, this alteration was to add a lift system that made it possible to raise the truss spans by 10.5 feet during floods. It is assumed that this system was added after the 1951 flood as a screw jack system, but in 1963 a hydraulic jack system was installed." [Historic Bridges]

Comment by Greg in Bridge Hunter

Historic Bridges explains that the new double-deck spans were built around earlier spans to reduce the interruption of train traffic.

Historic Bridges articles

Historic Bridges

A comment on a post
[Note the bridge in the background.]

The reason for the cranes is that the locomotives have tilted over. Can you imagine being in the engineers seat as those locomotives started tipping over? It's a good thing the locos tipped over here and not while they were in a truss of the bridge.

A comment on the same post

Screenshot, source1, source2
[Notice the white dust down by the wheels of the locos. They are already plowing ballast. There is an even better view starting at 1:14. You can see and hear the front wheel hit and throw something.]

Cleanup and repair video