BRC 55th Street Junction Tower: BRC vs. BRC+IHB

Old: (Satellite, according to the aerial photo below, the tower was in the southwest quadrant.)

The connecting track behind the tower didn't make sense for the southwest quadrant so I dug deeper and discovered a newer tower was in the northwest quadrant.

New: (Satellite)

Edward Kwiatkowski posted

The Belt Railway Of Chicago's 55th Street Junction tower near Chicago's Midway Airport. Chicago Illinois, April 1984. ( Gone,)

Edward Kwiatkowski photo.

Jim Kelling shared

Chicago Belt Railway at 55th Street on the South Side

Tim Shanahan shared

This BRC train is heading geographically North.

NorthAmericanInterlockings_Illinois
[Back in the signalling pipelines day.]

NorthAmericanInterlockings_Illinois

NorthAmericanInterlockings_Illinois
Dennis DeBruler commented on Jim's share
This is the new tower, and it was in the northwest quadrant of the crossing: https://maps.app.goo.gl/rSMN7YdiN5HWt4cc6. Diagram is from https://northamericaninterlockings.com/illinois_9.html.
Dennis DeBruler also commented on Tim's share

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Dec 4, 1951 @ 23,600; AR1SA0000020018

BRC had both a north/south and east/west route through this crossing. The IHB had an east/west route through the crossing.

1953/56 Berwyn and Englewood Quads @ 24,000

1789 Royal Springs Bridge in Georgetown, KY

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

2013 photo by James McCray via ArchivedBridgeHunter
Overview (Looking South/North Face of Bridge)

Tammy Collett [Google Maps did not provide a correct link], Aug 2019

George Dawson [Google Maps did not provide a correct link], Oct 2021

Linda Louie posted

Located in downtown Georgetown, this is Kentucky's oldest bridge, constructed in 1789—back when Kentucky was still officially part of Virginia until it gained statehood in June 1792. Built using a dry-stacking technique with no mortar, this historic structure stands as a remarkable example of early engineering.

Pict by : Kentucky travels

This must be the south face.

2013 photo by James McCray via BridgeHunter

The spring just south of the bridge is the water source for the town.

Satellite

1925,1985 Swinging Footbridge over, and Two Dams on, Kinnickinnic River in River Falls, WI

Bridge: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Junction Falls Dam: (Satellite, a more accurate pin)

Powell Falls Dam: (Satellite, a more accurate pin)

I added the label "energyHydro" because at one time there were five mills operating in the area. [rfmu]

c1934 Postcard via BridgeHunter
The span is 130' (40m).

TripAdvisor, 19 of 23 photos

.

250mw Junction Falls Dam

"Junction Falls consists of a concrete gravity dam, 140 feet [42.7m] long, with an uncontrolled overflow spillway and a crest length of 115 feet [35m]." The powerhouse has a 250kw generator. [rfmu]

TripAdvisor, 7 of 23 photos

River View, Sep 2017

.

125mw Powell Falls Dam

"Powell Falls consists of a concrete gravity dam, 110 feet [33.5m] long and 22 feet [6.7m] high, with an uncontrolled overflow spillway." The powerhouse has a 125kw generator. [rfmu]

Mason Singel, Oct 2022

The dam was damaged in late June 2020 because of a 7.75" (19.7cm) rainfall. Lake Louise was drained to inspect the dam. [kinnicc (whoops, I forgot to record the link)]

They must have found problems, because the lake is still drained.

Satellite

Both Dams

USACE, St. Paul District posted

NEWS: We are hosting a public meeting in River Falls, #Wisconsin, June 4, from 6:30 – 8 p.m., to obtain public input on a draft feasibility study for an environmental restoration project on the #KinnickinnicRiver in #RiverFalls.

USACE previously held a public meeting in August 2023 and welcomed comments on the project. The study and environmental assessment outline the project’s costs and benefits and determines whether it is in the federal government’s interest to pursue it.

There are currently two dams on the Kinnickinnic River in River Falls. The Kinnickinnic River is a class 1 trout stream and the river section near River Falls is highly degraded because of impoundments. The removal of the Junction Falls and Powell Falls dams present an opportunity to restore the river to its natural setting.

News release: https://ow.ly/koiO50VS5VR

1964 130mw Flaming Gorge Dam on Green River near Dutch John, UT

(Satellite)

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources posted

Heads up: From May 15-17 [2025], the Bureau of Reclamation will increase the water released from Flaming Gorge Dam, with a full spring release of 4,600 cubic feet per second. 🏞️ This will result in swifter currents and lower water temperatures. See more information about this update: bit.ly/3qqg0Br

The Green won't be the only river running high this weekend. Please be very cautious if you plan to fish a river or stream in the coming weeks. ⚠️💧

Here are some important safety tips for stream fishing:

🌊 Remember that water tends to be swifter than it looks. Always use caution before attempting to wade in a stream.

🌊 Bring a friend along when you are fishing or enjoying other recreational activities around water. There’s safety in numbers.

🌊 If you are unable to bring a friend, always tell someone where you are going and when you plan to return home.

FlamingGorgeCountry
"Completed in 1964, Flaming Gorge Dam was built to provide water storage and hydroelectric power. It rises 502 feet [153m] above the Green River."

Joseph Yoho [Google Maps is not giving me a correct link.], Apr 2025

Note the spillway in the upper-right corner. It just shoots the water over the side of the canyon wall. 

Ernest Kyed, Jul 2011

Each unit generates 50mw.

Curt Blanton, Sep 2016

The Francis Turbine is stored upside down.

Ernest Kyed, Jul 2011

The powerhouse has three units.

usbr
"Construction was authorized on April 11, 1956, and construction began in 1958 with road building, a diversion tunnel, and other preparatory work. The first unit went on the line September 27, 1963, and the third and final unit in February 1964. The Flaming Gorge Reservoir first filled in August 1974 at elevation 6,040 with 3,749,000 acre feet of live storage. The plant was automated in 1973 and 1974 and was then controlled by the Colorado River Storage Project Dispatch Center located in Montrose, Colorado. Selective withdrawal structures were installed on the turbine penstock intakes during the winters of 1977 and 1978 to provide temperature control of the water released down the Green River to improve fishery habitat. A temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit can be maintained from mid-June into October. On August 11, 1977, the Unit 2 turbine seized up when the lower seal ring failed. This incident lead to the replacement of seal rings on all three units. The newly designed and installed seal rings also failed and were again replaced on each unit. Generator uprates began in August 1990 and were completed in April 1992. The generators were uprated from 36,000 kW to 50,650 kW. Three unit transformers were replaced in 2002 and 2003."

William Sowie [Google Maps is not giving me a correct link.], May 2024

Roland Sartori, Oct 2024

Tinna Patten [Google Maps is not giving me a correct link.], Aug 2018

Busway/Pennsy/Panhandle and Corliss Tunnels in Pittsburgh, PA

Panhandle West Portal: (Satellite)

Panhandle East Portal: (Satellite)

Road: (Satellite)

It you see a photo of a tunnel portal and you can see the other end, then it is a portal of the road bridge because that tunnel is short, straight and wide. I focussed on the Panhandle tunnel.

HistoricPittsburgh, cropped
May 22, 1914
"Workers gather under Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad tracks during excavation of the Corliss Tunnel. The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, formed in 1890, is a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company."

HistoricPittsburgh
May 22, 1914
"Three workers watch the photographer as one man sits on a wagon labeled M. O'Herron Co. and two others stand on a steam shovel in this view of excavation on the sub-grade at the south end of the Corliss Tunnel."

pitt
May 22, 1914
"Freight trains sit at the slip of the railroad embankment at the south end of the tunnel on Corliss Street. Men can be seen repairing the tracks, while houses are visible on the hill in the background."

This tunnel was west of Corliss Yard.

1951/51 Pittsburgh West Quad @ 24,000 via Dennis DeBruler

1969 Coronado Bridge over San Diego Bay at San Diego, CA

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

ArchivedBridgeHunter

Aerial view of bridge

Photo taken from commercial jetliner. Looking north, Coronado Island is at lower left; Downtown San Diego is at upper left.

Photo taken by Roger Deschner in June 2015

License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)

Description: Huge bridge spanning San Diego Bay, linking Coronado to San Diego. Five lanes wide, with a moveable center barrier to provide for 3 lanes in the heavier direction of travel at different times of the day. Clearance under bridge required to be 200 feet [61m] by the U. S. Navy.

Built as a toll bridge, but became free in 2002. Toll booths remain, in case tolls are ever reinstated.

History: Opened August 3, 1969; seismic retrofit 1999; tolls removed 2002.

Design: Orthotropic deck on box girder

[ArchivedBridgeHunter]

The 3.4km (2.1 mile) long bridge has spans up to 660' (201m).

Boat View, Nov 2017

Street View, Aug 2015

The San Diego-Coronado Bridge is notable among the world's great bridges for the number and size of its concrete towers. There are 30 towers that at their highest point over the bay channel reach a height of 200 feet. They were designed with a curved cap to simulate the Spanish-style mission arches associated with the historical architecture of San Diego. The towers rest on 487 pre-stressed reinforced concrete piles, which measure 54 inches in diameter, with walls 5 inches thick. The piles were driven and jetted 100 feet down into the sand and clay bottom of the bay. The mud was then removed from the inside of the piles and they were filled with concrete. Clusters of up to 44 piles were used under some of the towers.

...

The shipping channels of the bay are spanned by a 1,880-foot, three-span box girder – the largest of its kind in the world. The bridge roadway is an orthotropic steel-plate design and serves as the top flange of the box girder. Its spans are the third longest of their kind in the nation. This design saves steel and provides a slender superstructure with a smooth exterior, with all braces and stiffeners being inside the box girder.

The steel superstructure was built and partially erected in the San Francisco Bay Area. The girders were barged down the coast and lifted into place by a large crane. The precast, prestressed concrete girders measure up to 165-feet-long. They were built in Long Beach and are among the longest of their kind in the U.S.

[Caltrans_facts via ArchivedBridgeHunter]

1:08 video @ 0:02

The Wayback Machine saved at least the index of construction photos. It is a shame that DOTs don't continue to support the URLs that they publish. Disk drives are cheap.

Caltrans via archive

Actually, some of the photo links do work.

Photo

Note the falsework to help build the navigation channel spans.

Photo

Photo

US-219 Bridge over Piney Creek Collapsed May 13, 2025, in Boynton, PA

(Satellite)

May 2025 Flood

I doubt if this is US-219, but it provides an example of the impact of the flood.

wjactv_response

Browsing the results of a Google search, a lot of towns in eastern Pennsylvania were impacted. "This is the worst they have seen it in 30 years." [wjactv_concerns]

The "talking head" PennDOT official in the this video said a "pillar" in the middle of the river collapsed. A PennDOT official should use the proper term of pier instead of pillar. The date on this report is May 20, 2025. The bridge was 102 years old.

wjactv_repairs

This shows the pier. I'm really impressed that they removed the pier, as well as the spans, in less than 7 days.

DailyAmerican

I don't understand how they are going to lower the right-hand end of the bridge. That is, the video ends just when it was going to get interesting. 

PA State Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar posted
U.S. 219 UPDATE: The bridge structure is in ahead of schedule. Check out the innovative installation in the video!

I kept watching the boom to see it boom up. I never caught it in action, but obviously it did slowly go up. In order to keep his end of the bridge level, the operator has a play out the cable at the correct rate as he moves the boom up. This was a smooth operator because I never saw the Bailey bridge deviate from being horizontal.

Above video at the end.

The plan is to build a second temporary bridge next to this one, and then build the permanent replacement.

CSX/C&O Tunnels between Despard and Lodgeville, WV

Abandoned Tunnel: (Satellite)

CSX West Portal: (Satellite)

CSX East Portal: (Satellite)

MP Rail Photography posted

A CSX manifest emerges from the Lodgeville Tunnel as it heads westbound on the Mountain Sub between Bridgeport and Clarksburg.

March 29, 2025

Despard, West Virginia

Power:

CSX 3227 - ES44AH

CSX 799 - ES44AH

CSX 7014 - CM44AC

CSX 589 - AC44CW

The above photo is of the west portal. This view is of the east portal.

Street View, Nov 2024

The tunnels are a little east of Despard. The northern tunnel is obviously abandoned.

The current tunnel is 2,708' (825m) long. [TheWashCycle]

1958/60 Clarksburg Quad @ 24,000