This is one of two concrete arch bridges over the Little Wabash River in Effingham County. The other is a 1910 CSX/Pennsy/Vandalia closed-spandrel arch bridge.
 |
| Effingham County Courthouse Museum Effingham IL posted
Today's picture takes us to the railroad bridge over the Little Wabash River between Mason and Watson.
This bridge was built in 1902. It is an open-spandrel arch bridge built by Illinois Steel Company of Chicago, Illinois. The length of the largest span is 60 feet and the bridge is a total of 125 feet long.
When this bridge was built the company also used local labor to build it. I received the picture from a lady whose grandfather helped to build this bridge. He was born and raised in Effingham County.
If you look closely you can see men sitting on the top span of the bridge. It's amazing to me the to see the beautiful spandrels that they were able to build that are still standing today. This was originally built for the Illinois Central Railroad.
The next time you drive down Route 37, slow down and take a look at the bridge. You can best see it in the winter when the leaves are off of the trees.
I'm not overly fond of heights so I'm always impressed with those who can work on bridges such as this one. I couldn't do it. Kudos to those who can.
|
 |
| Postcard via Bridge Hunter [Before trees grew in the river between IL-37 and the bridge.] |
 |
| Photo via Bridge Hunter, License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA) Photo taken by Burrell P. Spieth from RAILROADS Illustrated magazine |
No comments:
Post a Comment