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cmh2315fl, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)
Kaministiquia River Swing Bridge (Thunder Bay, Ontario)
Historic combined railroad and highway swing bridge over the Kaministiquia River in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Also known as the James Street Swing Bridge. The bridge was built by the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) in 1909. It is now owned by the Canadian National Railway (CNR). The bridge was damaged in 2013 and has been closed to vehicular traffic since. [After a bunch of litigation, it opened again in 2019.]
The Kaministiquia River Swing Bridge is listed on the Ontario Heritage Bridge List. |
Looking West
Looking East
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padwrr
This 1908 bridge was built by the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP), and it is now owned by CN. The 530' long bridge is 30' high. It last opened in 2007 or 2008.
[This web page has several more images of the bridge.] |
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9:20 video about the swing bridge via padwrr @ 0:55
"Originally, when the bridge was first opened, it was operated by a hand crank." [4:20] |
The truss members use an interesting mix of lattice and plate fabrication techniques. And the members are connected with gussets instead of pins.
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1 of 7 photos posted by Connor Kilgour
[In the foreground is the 1905 James Whalen steam-driven museum tugboat.] |
Port Arthur, Duluth & Western Railway and more
posted seven images with the comment:
Feature Friday
Then and now photos of the former Grand Trunk Pacific, currently Canadian National Railway, swing bridge over the Kaministiquia River in Thunder Bay, ON. Constructed between 1907 and 1908, the bridge is 530 feet [162m] long and 30 feet [9m] high.
The historic images, a mix of photos and postcards, show the bridge as it was in 1909 (photos) and in the years that followed. The only swing bridge in the area, it was designed to permit navigation on the upper portions of the Kaministiquia, especially the critical turning basin. It allowed Grand Trunk Pacific, later the Canadian Government Railways and eventually Canadian National Railways, access to their terminal facilities and grain elevator located on the south side of the river.
The more modern photos were taken in April 2024. While the bridge has not opened for the better part of 18 years, it retains its original purpose, trains passing over as part of the Mission Spur of CN's Kashabowie Subdivision. Due to a 1906 agreement, it also carries vehicular traffic between Thunder Bay, Fort William First Nation and southern portions of the city.
LAC 3310223, 4805005
For more information on the bridge, please visit:
Dave Battistel
shared with the comment: "Some historic pictures of one of Thunder Bay's most iconic railway structures."
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