I don't normally do plain old overpasses, but the stone arch overpass is worth noting. And bridge replacements are always of interest.
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| Street View, west side |
The east side shows that the original arch was built with cut stone. As much as I like stone arches, I have to agree with a department of transportation that 11' 2" is too low. And it appears they are also going to widen the road.
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| Street View, east side |
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| Jim Sinclair posted a video A bittersweet event happened today (August 26, 2020) on the KBSR when the final two trains passed over the historic cut stone arch viaduct at Newman Road in West Lafayette, IN, which is located just a short distance northwest of the Purdue Airport. This viaduct was built by the Lafayette, Muncie & Bloomington Railroad, who completed their line from Lafayette to Templeton during the first week of November 1871. It is not known if this viaduct was original construction, or if it was later built when some realignment work was done to reduce the grade and eliminate some sharp curves as the route ascended northwest out of the Wabash River valley. Either way, it's old and very historic. If everything proceeds as planned, this viaduct will be dismantled and replaced by a new 110' plate girder bridge early Saturday morning (August 29). I will post pictures of the new bridge, and if the weather allows, I will be taking more photos/videos of the dismantling and construction work. Before I left this afternoon, a track contractor had already removed the rails and hardware over the viaduct. By now, I'm sure excavation of the old viaduct is well under way. Crews will be working until 10:00 PM tonight. The plan is to have the new bridge in service by Monday, August 31. Needless to say, there will be no trains in or out of West Lafayette until the new bridge is completed. My hope is to shoot video of the first movement on Monday. In this video, we see the final eastbound (or southbound if you prefer) heading into West Lafayette at 11:34 AM EDT with 50 loads of grain. It is led by 705-706 with 701-702 bringing up the rear. |
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| Jim Sinclair posted a video The contractor was hard at work Wednesday [Aug 26, 2020] night hauling away the almost 150-years-old roadbed from around the KBSR cut stone arch viaduct at Newman Road in West Lafayette, IN. They were still working when I left at 10:15 PM EDT. I'm *guessing* by tomorrow afternoon, the viaduct will be gone. Replaced by what? |
This caption explains why the east side was stone and the west side was concrete.
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| Jim Sinclair posted a video Some video of what I found this morning at Newman Road in West Lafayette, IN. They were still bustin' up concrete and hauling away the remains of the old viaduct. The viaduct was half stone and half concrete. It was originally built with cut stone for a single track railroad, but when the Lake Erie & Western built a second main track in 1906, the viaduct needed to be widened. Instead of using more cut stone, they opted for poured concrete. For sure, both passed the harsh and rigid test of time. Notice the crew in the upper left working feverishly to set the new precast bridge abutment. The contractor is working hard to meet their promise to the KBSR that the new bridge will be finished, and ready for service on Monday, August 31. [We can see the replacement span on the side ready to be moved into position. I wonder how long Newman Road itself has been closed.] |
Jim Sinclair posted two photos with the comment:
The new KBSR bridge over Newman Road in West Lafayette, IN was safely and successfully slid from its building spot to its permanent spot about two hours ago. They started before sunrise but didn't start the sliding process until 8:00 AM or so.
More minor work still needs to be completed, and I understand the track will be relaid/reconnected and tamped tomorrow. Barring hell or high water, the line should be ready for traffic on Monday!
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Jim Sinclair posted two photos with the comment: "Here's two track views of the new KBSR bridge at Newman Road in West Lafayette (looking south). The track will be laid, lined and surfaced tomorrow on Sunday, August 30. The first train should be able to run on Monday, August 31. It is my hope to shoot and share videos of those first two moves on Monday."
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Jim Sinclair posted three photos with the comment: "On this beautiful Sunday, work progresses (right on schedule!) on the new KBSR bridge over Newman Road in West Lafayette, IN. After church, I stopped by just in time to see the track contractor pulling new rail across the bridge. I'm anxious to see and video the very first train movements tomorrow!"
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| Jim Sinclair posted Sunday evening (August 30) I returned to the new KBSR bridge over Newman Road in West Lafayette, IN, and found the track laid, ballasted and being tamped. All that needed to be completed was lay the center guard rails, which the crew was working on when I left. It's a great-looking job! |
Kyle Krinninger posted two photos with the comment: "It's always sad to see history go, but here's what the new bridge in West Lafayette looks like."
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A video of the first KBSR southbound on August 31, 2020, at 12:20pm. It had two locomotives pulling and two pushing 50 grain hoppers.
A video of the first KBSR northbound on August31, 2020, at 1:15pm. This also had 2+2 even though they were moving just 22 empty grain hoppers.
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