You can still see the cuts through the granite hills on each side. Each cut is about a mile long. The piers also remain.
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| Francis Otterbein posted A train passes over the Dale Creek Bridge on the Union Pacific Railway in Sherman, Wyoming, 1885 by William Henry Jackson (American, 1843-1942) (silver print) [Higher resolution images are available here.] Jeffrey Stoveken The stay cables on either side are what scares me. [They show up in front of the bushes in the lower left.] Billy Pine Trains were restricted to 5mph if I recall properly Tyler DreisowTyler and 827 others joined RAILROAD BRIDGES, TRESTLES, TUNNELS AND CUTS within the last two weeks. Give them a warm welcome into your community! After three attempts of putting a bridge in that same place they relocated the tracks to where MT1&2 are today. That location is still known by UP as Dale. The wind is very bad up on top of Sherman Hill with gusts up to 80 mph. I know from personal experience that the weather can be wild up there. Being on the continental divide it stirs up a whole new weather system. It's pretty crazy, downhill west in Laramie will be nice, sunshine not a lick of bad times. Get up there and it'll be foggy, raining, snowing, blowing... you name it. Winter is the worst time to be up there. Daniel Herkes That crossing was unnecessary. It was only built because of the scheming consulting engineer Silas Seymour who added complexity to the original route for political gain. Dip into Maury Klein's "Union Pacific" for the details. Seymour was added to the team of civil engineers due to his political connection, but meddled continuously with a more direct and cheaper route. His route was full of strategic incubus like Dale Creek. Grenville Dodge hated him. [Some of the comments discuss the second locomotive, a camel back. Camel backs were designed for tight quarters like yards. Why one would be out on the UP mainline is a real puzzle for me.] |
A different exposure:
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| Jeff Lewis posted Dale Creek Crossing, at 650-foot (200 m) was the longest bridge on the Union Pacific Railroad at the time of its completion, reaching 150 feet (46 m) above Dale Creek, two miles (3.2 km) west of Sherman, Wyoming. Originally built of wood, the trestle swayed in the wind as the first train crossed on April 23, 1868. The original bridge was replaced in 1876 by an iron bridge. Engineers installed guy wires on both the wooden bridge and its iron replacement in an attempt to stabilize the structures. Frankly, the iron bridge did not look like an improvement over the original. Michael Stamey: Wow, that bridge looks to spindly to hold both those locomotives. Jeff Lewis: Right? It was nicknamed the spider web. Vintage Photo Lover posted Dale Creek Bridge, a iron bridge in Sherman, Wyoming, USA. A dangerous crossing that required trains to slow down to 4 mph. 1885. Eric Cosner: According to Wikipedia this was actually the second bridge. The first one was entirely wood and swayed when trains crossed it. The metal one had a couple revisions but was totally dismantled in 1901 in favor of another route. Armin Gollannek: Wyoming State Archives April 9, 2012 · PhinDeli Town Buford, WY · Just past Sherman was the Dale Creek Bridge, which was constructed in 1867 by the Union Pacific Railroad as a quicker alternative to tunneling through the hard Sherman granite. The bridge was built 3 times, originally of engineered wooden beams, later of spidery steel trusses and again using thick steel girders. At the time of its original construction, it was the highest bridge in the world, towering 127 feet and spanning 707 feet. The winds in the canyon and the weight of the trains made for a harrowing passage, as the tressel swayed back and forth in the wind, despite its guy wires planted in solid bedrock. Watchmen stationed at the bridge would often stop trains from crossing during strong winds, but even during calm weather the slow, 4 mile per hour travel across the swaying bridge alarmed passengers and crew alike. In 1901, the railroad relocated the tracks farther south and constructed the Hermosa Tunnel. The bridge was disassembled and only the stone footings remain, now on private property. (WSA Sub Neg 9788, 12236, 12584, replacing the "spider steel" with plate steel, Dale Creek Bridge, 1885. The new part of the bridge is on the right) See less — at Dale Creek Crossing. Ken Heitzenrater shared with the comment: "Iron or Iron and cable......" Historical Hive posted Dale Creek Bridge, a iron bridge in Sherman, Wyoming, USA. A dangerous crossing that required trains to slow down to 4 mph. 1885. Steve Balog: How long was it in use? Kile D Morgan: Steve Balog 1885 to 1901. It was actually built that way because of high winds. The metal one before it had wind related issues. There was never an incident on this bridge. The first wooden bridge there, burned when a cinder from a locomotive landed on it. History pictures posted The Dale Creek Bridge, constructed in 1885, is an iconic iron bridge located in Sherman, Wyoming, USA. Spanning a deep gorge, it serves as a critical link for the Union Pacific Railroad, connecting various regions and facilitating the transport of goods and passengers. However, its design posed significant challenges, necessitating trains to drastically reduce their speed to just 4 mph when crossing. This requirement was primarily due to the bridge's height above the creek and its vulnerability to the harsh weather conditions typical of the area. The bridge's precarious nature was a constant source of concern for train engineers and passengers. High winds often created hazardous conditions, leading to fears about the stability of the structure during crossings. These safety issues made the Dale Creek Bridge a notorious segment of the railroad journey, where anxiety and caution were paramount. Engineers had to be particularly attentive, ensuring that trains navigated the bridge carefully to avoid potential accidents. Despite its risks, the Dale Creek Bridge played a vital role in the expansion of the railroad network and the economic development of the region. Its historical significance is underscored by its representation of the engineering challenges faced during the late 19th century. Today, it stands as a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of those who built it, while also serving as a reminder of the evolution of rail transport and infrastructure in the United States. Don Wetmore: There were also very sharp curves at the ends of the bridge that required slow speeds. |
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| Jeanie Schlump commented on the post by Vintage Photo Lover |
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| Douglas Rollison commented on the post by History pictures Here's the original wooden one. It actually swayed more than the thinner iron one that replaced it. |
At 650 feet, it was the longest bridge on the UP and stood 150 feet above Dale Creek. It had a speed limit of 4 mph. It "was dismantled in 1901, when the Union Pacific completed construction of a new alignment over Sherman Hill as part of a massive reconstruction/improvement project which shortened the Overland Route by 30.47 miles (49 km)." [Wikipedia]
...based on this photo.
WyomingTailes has more photos.
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| Cheyenne Depot Museum posted Image from the book, Souvenir and views of Union Pacific, "the Overland Route," the world's pictorial line, published in 1899. The Dale Creek Bridge is described as . . . one of the most remarkable sights of the overland trip. |
I can't believe the UP mainline was using something that spindly into the 20th century. Steam locomotives started getting big by then.
This colorization was...
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As frail as the iron bridge looks, the wood trestle that was built during 1864-1869 is what caused them to add guy wires to the trestle.
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| By Andrew J. Russell - Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library [1], Public Domain, Link |
A different exposure:
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| Cheyenne Depot Museum posted Dale Creek Bridge under construction from Harper's Weekly, 1868. |
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| By Williams, Henry T. or unknown artist [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons [This strikes me as bizarre looking because there is no diagonal bracing between the bents. The diagonal lines we see are the guy wires.] |
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| William Henry Jackson [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
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