New: (Historic Bridges; 3D Satellite)
As the NYC/LS&MS went west from Cleveland, it went away from Lake Erie. Thus it has to cross both the East Rocky River and the Rocky River. But the NKP went towards Lake Erie so it has to cross just the Rocky River near its mouth.
You can see the pier in the middle that is from the previous bridge.
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| 3D Satellite |
The previous bridge:
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| Postcard via BridgeHunter-old |
The stone piers on each side were reused. This is the west pier.
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| Street View |
Another view from a public street.
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| Street View |
Steve Liegl posted three photos with the comment: "Here's an East bound commuter train crossing the 120 yr old Nickel Plate RR Viaduct across the Rocky River Valley into Lakewood, OH, just 4 yrs before the service ends in 1963. And below are recent photos taken from Sloane Subway at the east end of the bridge. *Note the city of Rocky River's landmark Westlake Hotel on the west end!"
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| IRM Strahorn Library posted Nickel Plate Road eastbound Train #10, St. Louis to Cleveland The Blue Dart, at Rocky River, Ohio April, 1958. Its westbound counterpart, train #9 from Cleveland to St. Louis, was named the Blue Arrow. Richard L. Weiss Collection. The Strahorn Library houses thousands of books, tens of thousands of periodicals and more than a hundred thousand photographs, all centering on the subject of trains and railroading and all held to support research and scholarship into the railroad history of the United States. The Strahorn Library is at 118 E. Washington Street in Marengo, Illinois. It is normally open from 10AM to 2:30PM on Wednesdays and visitors are welcome. For those unable to visit, we can provide access to our collections via telephone (815-568-1060), e-mail (strahorn@irm.org), or online catalog (librarycat.org/lib/IRMStrahornLibrary). All materials are available for non-commercial purposes, and according to the “fair use” provision of the U.S. Copyright Law which permits use of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. |
Big Boy 2026:
Ken Busch posted with the comment:
Titan on the TrestleThe total weight of the Union Pacific Big Boy fully loaded is right around 600 tons.When the current steel trestle was built in 1907 it was over-engineered to withstand massive forces. Even though the Big Boy is a 600-ton behemoth, its weight is distributed across many axlesRocky River trestle6.8.2026Please view full screen
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| Joe Krall commented on Ken's post Apparently, she made an unscheduled stop in Bay Village.. 4 homes between ours and the RR tracks.. but we saw it in New Berlin at speed.. which was really cool.. close enough to get steamed.. which was also 'cool' and not hot.. |
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| Brian Caswell posted Big Boy 4014 The largest operating steam locomotive in the world heads East on the USA 250 celebration tour. Here they cross over the Rocky River in Rocky, Ohio along Lake Erie's shoreline / June 2026 Some specs on Big Boy : Length: 132 ft (overall locomotive and tender) Height: 16 ft Total Weight: ~1.2 million lbs. 7,000 HP Boiler Pressure: 300 psi Water Capacity: 25,000 gallons Fuel: Converted from coal to No. 5 fuel oil Jason D. Smith: I'm doing a series on Big Boy visiting the bridges during its journey across America's heartland. May I share this piece on my column The Bridgehunter's Chronicles? Nice shot! Where was this bridge and photo located? Dennis DeBruler: Jason D. Smith Lakewood, OH: https://maps.app.goo.gl/F8uUBKSXsfdoH71NA. It looks like a drone photo looking towards Lake Erie. Craig Hensley Photography shared |
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| Ken Busch posted Trestle above the Timber A closer look at the Union Pacific's Big Boy No. 4014 as it passes over a high trestle spanning the Rocky River while on its national tour to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday. 6.8.2026 |
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| Facebook Reel |
So far, this has been the most popular bridge in terms of photos posted.
Owen Varga posted six photos with the comment: 'I had the privilege to shoot the Big Boy crossing over from Rocky River to Lakewood, OH yesterday afternoon. What a site to see! Just like the total solar eclipse in 2024, this event brought all kinds of people together to form a community! Even though I knew it wouldn’t stop, I decided on this location about a month ago purely based on the setting. My priority was drone photos this time but when it crosses back through on the 13th of next month I will be back with my regular camera!'
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| Tom Smith commneted on Owen's post Did the same |
During the return trip.
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| Facebook Reel |
Dennis, If you zoom out on a map, the Nickel Plate had a passenger/freight station on the west side of the bridge, south side of the tracks in Rocky River, Ohio. There is still a siding there and sometimes NS trucks park on the gravel.
ReplyDeleteI should add, the depot is still there and a little more west is the siding. Been awhile since I walked around the area.
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