CN Bridge over Anderson Creek at Fraser River near Boston Bar, BC

(Satellite)

Steven J. Brown posted

Twenty-three years ago today:

Rock Mountaineer Railtours on the Canadian National along the Fraser River at Boston Bar, British Columbia - July 22, 2002

Street View, Jul 2023

 Daniel Charbonneau Globe-Trotteur, May 2019

1910 CP Montrose Bridge over Welland River

(Satellite)

Street View, Jun 2023

R.S. Douglas posted five photos with the comment: "The Montrose swing bridge on the Welland River. It's the one that's visible from the QEW."

[ I got the above street view from the QEW.]

Peter Klevan: Four questions: Why the swing bridge at this location? Was there navigational traffic on the river at this point? I know the bridge is no longer operational but is the rail line still in use? Is the bridge similar in design to the one in nearby Welland?

Karen Limardi: Peter Klevan the first Welland Canal traversed this route from the Niagara River to Allanburg. I do not believe the rail line is still in use here. It's very similar to the swing bridge over the old Third Canal in back of GM in Thorold near the golf course.

Dougie Jay: Karen Limardi .. the rail line is still in use. The CP Montrose Yard (at the end of Drummond Road) is still active, the rail line goes to the Norton Plant in Chippawa. The former Michigan Central Line ends just south of Mount Carmel, that's where the trains go then switch onto the Chippawa line.

[Dougie provided several railfan photos of action on this line in the comments.]

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Cathy Conlon commented on Douglas' post, cropped
Just went under it yesterday!

1913 Saint-Laurent RR and 1934+1958+1963 Honoré (Honore) Mercier Bridges over St. Lawrence River at Kanahawake-Montreal, QC

Railroad: (Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Road: (Historic Bridges; Satellite)

There are two pairs of bridges.

First the pair over the South Shore Canal that ends at the St. Lambert Seaway Lock.

Obviously, the railroad bridge.

Street View, Nov 2020

Turning to my right, I see the road bridge.

Street View, Nov 2020

Viewing from the downstream side we get the railroad bridge in the background.

This is a Pennsylvania truss. [HistoricBridges_road]

Street View, Nov 2020

Then the pair over the river.

The railroad bridge.

Street View, Jun 2023

Southbound lanes. The northbound lanes are in the foreground, and the railroad bridge is in the background.

Street View, Jul 2016

The northbound lanes.

Street View, Sep 2024

There was a navigation channel on the south side of the river before the South Shore Canal was opened in 1958, thus all of the bridges have a through truss near the south bank.

Street View, Sep 2024

I could not get a good view of the lift bridge from the road bridge because a pedestrian fence was in the way. TI soon noticed that the fence was designed to discourage suicides.

Street View, Oct 2024

Richard Haydon posted
Train lift bridge at Kanahawake, Quebec. On the South Canal .

1932 construction of the Honoré Mercier Bridge

jacquescartierchamplain, Photo credit: BAnQ
"The bridge was opened to traffic on June 22, 1934, or 10 months before the scheduled completion date. It was originally 1361.25 m [4466'] long. Its main steel arch span was 121.87 m [400'] long, and it had 11 steel spans and 31 reinforced concrete spans."

This construction anticipated that a second bridge would be built across the river to provide 4 lanes of traffic.

jacquescartierchamplain
1958-59: "For the St. Lawrence Seaway construction project, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) started work to raise and extend the south section so that ships could pass underneath."

jacquescartierchamplain
1963: The second bridge was built downstream of the 1932 bridge. It is managed by the provincial government, whereas the 1932 bridge is a federal bridge.
"In the provincial bridge, the bridge engineers had to devise an innovative method to erect the bridge piers, given the thick layer of glacier marl over the rock, the river’s depth, and the speed of the current. Since the St. Lawrence River is so deep at this point, the engineers decided not to use cofferdams and instead chose pneumatic caissons, a method that had not been used in Montreal in 25 years."

Government management was changed on Oct 1, 1998.

jacquescartierchamplain

HistoricBridges_road
The original bridge before the Seaway was built.

HistoricBridges_road
Construction of the second navigation span.

"This impressive through truss bridge sits on the location of an earlier famous continuous truss bridge from 1887. The previous bridge was one of the earliest continuous truss bridges ever built. The bridge seen today contains two impressive through truss main spans, and a variety of deck truss spans, some of different span lengths. The bridge serves two tracks and was built as two parallel superstructures, with the second superstructure built in the same place as the previous single track bridge after its demolition, with traffic flowing over the first new superstructure while the second superstructure was built. Thus, railway traffic was not interrupted by construction." [HistoricBridges_rail]

HistoricBridges_rail
"Historical photo showing construction of the current bridge, with the previous bridge visible in the background."

HistoricBridges_rail
"Historical photo showing construction of the previous bridge."

HistoricBridges_rail
Historical photo showing previous bridge.
[So the railroad was the Canadian Pacific. The steamboat reminds me that this was the navigation channel until the Seaway was built.]

1908 CN SOC Bridge over Rainy Lake near Fort Frances, ON, Collapsed on Aug 14, 2024

(no Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

SOC = Strauss Overhead Counterweight

"No trains were involved in the incident and there are no reports of injuries, the company [CN] said." Not only are trains that take grain to Thunder Bay stopped, but also all boat traffic. [cbc]

Trains referenced Historic Bridges. But that is the wrong bridge. That is the bridge over Rainy River.

Craig Hensley Photography posted three photos with the comment: "A bridge collapsed today along CN’s Rainy subdivision in Fort Frances, ON. The cause for the collapse is still unknown, but it doesn’t appear that a train was involved in the incident. Investigations are on going and it looks like a real mess."

StormySky Rail Productions shared

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[The bridge has been automated, and it was on its way back up after a train passed over. It appears the counterweight broke off and fell backward. Without the counterweight to hold the span up, it slammed back down on its abutment and got bent by the impact.]

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Dennis DeBruler commented on Craig's post
Pushing street views to its limit: https://maps.app.goo.gl/SRPQo4Xt3eGPo2Kx6. It looks like it was a Strauss Overhead Counterweight design, and the entire counterweight structure fell over.

Rainy Lake Property Owners Association posted three photos with the comment: "CN Bridge '5 Mile Bridge' collapsed on the Canadian side of Sand Bay."

[Judging from some comments, this post is the source of these three photos. I'm surprised that Craig did not acknowledge this source.]

Nathan Holth: Does anyone have any photos of this bridge from before it collapsed? I am the author of https://HistoricBridges.org this bridge was unfamiliar to me but in these photos it appears to have been a rare bascule bridge of the Strauss overhead counterweight type, a bridge with heritage significance. A very tragic loss! Would be interested to see these photos in higher resolution too.

Kevin Christianson: Does anyone know the clearance under the stationary bridge that is near this site?

Jordan Christian: Kevin Christianson 9’6”

J.B. Rail Photog shared

Dennis DeBruler shared with the comment: "A CN Strauss Overhead Counterweight bridge collapsed on Aug 14, 2024."

Dennis DeBruler: Location: https://www.google.com/.../@48.6459388.../data=!3m1!1e3...

John Edminson: They find out why yet?

Dennis DeBruler: CN is releasing remarkably little information. The only info they provided was that no train was involved. When a news outfit asked a question, the response was no further comment. An eye witness said the bridge was automatically going back up because a train had just gone over it. So CN must have meant that a train did not hit the bridge. I could not determine if any government inspectors will be involved. If the reason is that CN laid off too many maintenance personnel during the PSR fad, what are the odds that we will ever find out why? 

https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2024/08/1908-cn-soc-bridge-over-rainy-lake-near.html

John Edminson: Dennis DeBruler if it's like bridges I work on the brakes that hold it up are cheap. I bet they failed and bridge came down on its own

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Dennis DeBruler commented on John's second comment
 If that was the case, wouldn't the counterweight structure still be standing? And the span would not fall so fast as to bend it when it hit the abutment? Some people in the area mentioned a loud bang when it failed. My speculation is a structural failure in the counterweight structure because of poor maintenance. Photo by "DanCarol Wurdeman" Facebook user.

Sylvia Hnatiuk Johnston commented on the above post
Someone was looking for a photo of the bridge. I took one several years ago. Happy to share.
[This is definitely a SOC design.]

Two photos provided in comments by DanCarol Wurdeman in reply to Nathan's comment.

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"It [CN] added that no trains were involved in the incident, and that the cause is under investigation. However, there are reports that the bridge collapsed shortly after a train crossed it and while the automated system was in the process of raising it to allow boats to pass below. Dougall Media reached out to CN for clarification, but the company said it would have no further comment for now." [nwonewswatch]

fftimes, paycount 3
"The blocked waterway is an access point for properties on the lake which lack road access. Boats and barges service these properties with supplies and propane. Al Boivin of Rainy Lake Boat Taxi is one of the service providers who operates on the lake. He posted a photo of the collapse on his social media feed, stating, “Well that’s the end of the 100 plus year old lift bridge.”"

fox21online, Photo from Rainy Lake Property Owners Assoc

1908 CN Ranier Bridge over Rainy River near International Falls, MN

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

A Bridge Hunter comment calls this the "busiest US Customs rail of port of entry in the US," and the Bridge Hunter description calls it "the third busiest international railroad crossing in the nation."

The 541' (165m) long bridge has a movable span of 134' (41m). [HistoricBridges]

Street View, Jun 2012

n140 via eBook via BridgeHunter

Jim Ramnes posted
A cloudy /drizzly morning but I went to Ranier to eat my Hardee's breakfast anyway. Lit up the drone expecting it to be an authorization zone. Surprisingly it was just an altitude zone so I grabbed a shot of a couple of waiting northbounds. Then I heard a horn from Canada, and flew to the bridge where I caught a stack train entering the US.

HistoricBridges

Apr 21, 2024: CPKC hauls a fire to the firefighters in London, ON

(Satellite)

Normally, the phrase "hot train" means a high priority train. In this case it meant that the contents of five gondola cars were on fire as the train kept moving. The contents were creosote-soaked old rail ties. There were multiple 911 calls from west-side residents as the train rolled through town with flames shooting in the air. I have not been able to determine how many cars were between the crew and the fire in terms of the crew realizing they had a big problem. Nor if the crew size was 1 or 2. Injuries and hazardous materials were not an issue. Damage to an office building (Street View) was a $10,000 issue. Obstructing traffic for 90 minutes was probably another issue.

safe_image for Calls for answers after train on fire rolls through downtown London, Ont.
The train eventually halted at Pall Mall Street and Waterloo Street in central London, Ont., where it took 28 firefighters to knock down the blaze. (Sean Davidson/CBC)

"At one point, 28 fire fighters with 10 trucks were battling the blaze, which took about 90 minutes to bring under control....Somewhere between Strathroy[, where the cars were picked up,] and London is where the fire began." It is being treated as arson. [trains]

1:30 video, Courtesy: London Fire Department

One of the questions being asked is why didn't they stop the train in their yard rather than in a residential district?

1:30 video, Courtesy: London Fire Department

London Fire Department Tweeted two photos with the comment: "Fire crews continue to dose smouldering wooden railway ties at  Adelaide Yard. Using @RosenbauerGroup  T-Rex Aerial Truck."

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