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| Terry Spirek posted his Flickr photo Morning rush hour commuter train crosses over the old Des Plaines River bridge in Riverside IL.right before the BNSF. Replaced it. Dennis DeBruler It looks like you had to tromp through some woods to get this photo. https://www.google.com/.../@41.8239615,-87.../data=!3m1!1e3 You can see by the concrete on top of the stones that there probably used to be a truss bridge here. Judging from the exhaust, it is still accelerating from the Zoo/Hollywood stop. |
Sunday, November 24, 2019
CB&Q Bridge over Des Plaines River
(no Bridge Hunter; 3D Satellite)
Saturday, November 23, 2019
BNSF/AT&SF 1909 Bridge over Kansas River at Topeaka, KS
(Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; John Marvig; 3D Satellite)
More info on the flood is here.
Bridge Hunter indicates that two of the spans were replaced in 1952 and it was lengthened in 1968. It also supplies the span details:
The current configuration of the bridge, from south to north is as follows:
1-25' I-Beam Span (Added 1964)
1-75' Through Girder Span crossing River Road(Built 1909)
1-7 panel, pin connected Pratt Through Truss (Built 1909)
1-6 panel, riveted Baltimore Through Truss (Built 1952)
1-6 panel, pin connected Pratt Through Truss (Built Ca. 1940, Relocated Here 1968)
2-7 panel, pin connected Pratt Through Trusses (Built 1909)
1-6 panel, riveted Warren Through Truss (Built 1952, Added 1964)
The bridge rests on entirely concrete substructures, which have been modified since the original construction of the bridge.
I labeled piers #4 and #5 because they appear to be the ones that were lost and that dumped three locomotives into the river during the 1951 flood. The two spans and one of the locomotives is still in the river. This view also shows how high the water would have been to be lapping at the deck. I think the water is relatively high in this Jun, 2019, view because it appears the trees have some leaves in the water. I'm reminded that the Plains States did see a lot of flooding this year. The above Flickr photo does show a lower river level. I've read that sometimes the river is low enough that you can see the top of the fallen spans.
The 1909 bridge was built because the original bridge got wiped out by a flood in 1903. [John Marvig]
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| David F. Riker posted Santa Fe steam engines on bridge at Topeka, Ks., over the Kansas River, July, 1951, during the great Kansas flood....which I lived through at Chanute, Ks. Charles Smith I remember this very well..when the bridge fell locomotives went down..one is still there! Yea I survied the great Kaw valley flood of 1951. This was the line to St. Joe... Correction! Three engines fell # 1035, 3167,and 4076,...one has yet to be recovered. Charles Smith The Santa Fe had a white stripe painted high on one of the shop walls.. a marker of the great flood of 1903 when water crested at Topeka at 30.5 ft over flood stage. when the waters fell in 1951 they moved the marker up the Kansas river had crested at 37ft! Jonathan Forrest Stroup As someone with a geo background and have seen rivers exceed flood stage, I would not trust any bridge when the water is lapping at the deck. No idea what condition the pilings are in and what could have been washed into the bridge and collided earlier. |
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| Dylan Edwards Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) This area is in the planning stages of becoming Topeka's Riverfront Park. |
Span #1 - 6 Panel Warren Through Truss (Built 1968)Span #2/#3 - 7 Panel Pratt Through Trusses (Built 1909)Span #4 - 6 Panel Pratt Through Truss, Built Ca. 1902Span #5 - 6 Panel Baltimore Through Truss (Built 1952)Span #6 - 7 Panel Pratt Through Truss (Built 1909)Through Plate Girder Span (Built 1909)I-Beam Span (Built 1968)John Marvig has different information. This implies that the bridge was lengthened in 1964 and that one of the 1952 replacements was replaced again in 1968.
The current configuration of the bridge, from south to north is as follows:
1-25' I-Beam Span (Added 1964)
1-75' Through Girder Span crossing River Road(Built 1909)
1-7 panel, pin connected Pratt Through Truss (Built 1909)
1-6 panel, riveted Baltimore Through Truss (Built 1952)
1-6 panel, pin connected Pratt Through Truss (Built Ca. 1940, Relocated Here 1968)
2-7 panel, pin connected Pratt Through Trusses (Built 1909)
1-6 panel, riveted Warren Through Truss (Built 1952, Added 1964)
The bridge rests on entirely concrete substructures, which have been modified since the original construction of the bridge.
I labeled piers #4 and #5 because they appear to be the ones that were lost and that dumped three locomotives into the river during the 1951 flood. The two spans and one of the locomotives is still in the river. This view also shows how high the water would have been to be lapping at the deck. I think the water is relatively high in this Jun, 2019, view because it appears the trees have some leaves in the water. I'm reminded that the Plains States did see a lot of flooding this year. The above Flickr photo does show a lower river level. I've read that sometimes the river is low enough that you can see the top of the fallen spans.
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| Street View |
Friday, November 22, 2019
Fire/((Rosenbaum+C&O)/Calumet Elevator and Norris/Peavey) Grain Elevators on Calumet River
(Satellite, these silos were north of the slip and occupied the land that is now covered with petcoke in the saved image below)
In 1901, Rossenbaum was Calumet Elevator and Norris was Peavey Grain.
The first of five photos of the 1939 fire
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| John W. Barriger III Flickr Bob Lalich commented: Calumet Elevator, later Norris, later ADM - 102nd St. and Calumet River. This elevator replaced a bunch of older elevators that burned in 1939. Note C&WI RS-1 powering the train. Nick Fry shared Bob Lalich This elevator was demolished in the early 1980s. |
The grain elevator in the left background peaking out from under the iron ore bridge caught my eye.
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| The sixth photo on idaillinois |
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I saved the satellite image because the petcoke piles are now gone. The silos were in the lower-left corner of this excerpt.
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The Chicago Board of Underwriters of Chicago
Rod Sellers posted a Chicagology link describing a 1939 fire on 6/9/2019 in Southeast Chicago Historical Society
[Multiple elevators were consumed by this fire. The coroner's report ruled "Accidental, caused by spontaneous combustion." I believe accidental, but Chicagology agrees that was a dust explosion. “It was no use,” said Fire Commissioner Michael J. Corrigan. “The heat was so intense at the height of the fire that the water streams were turned Into steam before they even reached the walls.”]
Pat Judge Harvey My parents used to talk about the smell several months later when the grain began to ferment.
I recently found pictures of this fire in a family album.
Neal Ciciora Those grain elevators by Fallstaff and the ones along the river south of 95th street used to explode and have fires quite often. Usually nobody was hurt in them but sometimes there was a tragedy.
William Bork Didn’t grain elevators at 106th and the river burn also? Mid to late 60’s?
Gloria Scherer Lang William Bork yes it did. During a cold snap. I remember the firemen with ice on them from water spray. Don’t remember the year.
Craig Holmberg Louis Dreyfus (Rock Island) Was just south of 106th st and the river, became some of the Wisconsin Steel property. Marty Gatton also shared this link
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The most spectacular fire involving grain elevators occurred on May 11, 1939 on a slip near 102 nd and the Calumet River. An explosion occurred at the Rosenbaum Elevator A near Commercial Avenue and then spread to Elevators B and C progressing toward the river. The fire then jumped the 100 foot wide slip to the south and ignited the Norris elevators 1 and 2. By the time the fire ended 5 elevators were destroyed and 9 individuals were killed. 20 freight cars were also burned in the 4 million dollar blaze. The Chicago Fire Department had two fireboats at the scene which helped put the fire out relatively quickly. Crowds estimated at 25,000 watched firemen battle the blaze. Fires at the site continued to break out sporadically and the remains of the fire gave off a stench for several months. [SECHS Newsleter referenced by a Rod Sellers comment on a post]
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| Steve Redick posted From what I can tell this was a large format copy negative of a classic old photo...it shows to be from the Clarence Woodward collection and was shared with us through the courtesy of Bill Friedrich. you should be able to see some great detail..lotsa rigs drafting from the Calumet River.... Here is a link to some relevant info including some newsreel footage Steve Marty Gatton shared |
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| Michael Mora commented on Marty's share I recently stumbled upon some interesting vintage photos of Movietone newsreel cameramen filming this massive grain elevator fire. Here's one and link to rest . https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/.../searchterm/grain%20elevator |
This aerial photo was taken the year before the fire.
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| 1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
The following aerial photo excerpts are from the next frame on the film roll. The exposure is a little better.
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Nick Fry's share It appears these concrete silos existed in 1938 and that they were the only thing to survive the fire. The danger of wood grain elevators burning is exactly why the industry learned how to build concrete silos. I include 100th Street along the top and the Chicago Shipbuilding drydocks in the upper-right corner to help correlate this image with today's satellite images. https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../americanchicag... |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Nick Fry's share A closeup of the concrete silos. They do look like what I saw in a 1973 aerial photo. The silos were gone in a 1983 aerial. The 1939 fire explains why all of the other buildings look different. https://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/.../0bwq05006.jpg |
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| Chicagology Also Rod Sellers comment on a post For additional information about this and other local grain elevator fires see the article "Grain Elevators" from the July 2019 SECHS Newsletter in the files section of this page. Attached diagram illustrates how fire started in Rosenbaum A, burned east toward the Calumet River destroying Rosenbaum B and C then jumping over Slip No. 2 and burning Norris Elevators 1 and 2. |
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| Bob Lalich commented on Nick Fry's share Here is a Life magazine photo of the elevator taken in 1951. |
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| Dennis DeBruler replied to Bob's comment This photo shows the many tracks north of the elevator in this 1977 topo was used for storage. Are those iron ore cars? They look rather short. Bob Lalich Dennis DeBruler - the hoppers are coal for Rail To Water. |
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| eBook, p1748, 1920 (Chicago starts at page 1706, Result 3 of the query "calumet river rail to water" |
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| Michael Mora posted "Repairing a Lake Carrier after a collision," late June/ early July 1905 at dock of then Chicago Ship Building Company, 101st and Calumet River. Detroit Publishing Co. photo, from Maritime History of the Great Lakes, http://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/ [Bob Lalich identified the grain elevator in the background as one of the Rosenbaum elevators. Since this photo was taken in 1905, this would have been before the fire.] |
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| Page 49 |
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| Page 50 |
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| Page 51 |
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| Digitally Zoomed |
This one is where the fire started.
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| Michael Mora posted Circa 1895 photo of Calumet Elevator A, 102nd & Calumet River, Dock No. 3. Built 1894. And package freighter Seneca docked and loading grain for Buffalo (see comment by Fred Bultman below). Site of dust explosion at 8:50 am on May 11, 1939, followed by massive fire that spread and destroyed four other nearby grain elevators, too. From The Marine Record, Aug. 29, 1895, available on https://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/search Clarence Totleben: In the 1970's the only elevators left were the Pillsbury on about 103rd and of course the realto at general mills. |
Thursday, November 21, 2019
URR 1900 Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge and 1951,1978 Rankin Bridges at Rankin, PA
Hot Metal: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)
Rankin: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)
URR = Pennsylvania Union Railroad
URR = Pennsylvania Union Railroad
Efforts are underway to make this part of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail.
Out of Focus PGH posted six photos with the comment: "In the tracks of iron horses."
This bridge used to connect the USS Carrie Blast Furnaces on the north bank with the USS Homestead Works on the south bank.
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| Samantha Eva posted Ron Milko: Carrie |
I think I'm up to at least three hot metal bridges across the Monongahela River. These carried special bottle cars of molten iron ore from a blast furnace to a steel making facility that had, given the date, open hearth furnaces and later Basic Oxygen Process (BOP) converters. I think the Bessemer (Kelly) Process for making steel from iron was obsolete by 1900.
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Kordite Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)Rankin Hot Metal Bridge
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| One of four photos posted by Steel Valley History |
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| AltoonaWorks posted Tuesday Travels Pittsburgh isn't all that far away but was the final stop on fall vacation last year. Pictured here is the abandoned Carrie Furnace Hot Metal bridge at Homestead, PA. More photos of abandoned railroad remains at this link: https://www.flickr.com/.../albums/72157629156890238/page7 [Actually, this is the link for this photo. It is the first of nine photos of this bridge.] |
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| eBook, published prior to 1923 via Bridge Hunter |
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| Adam Piscitelli posted There were 7 hot metal bridges built in the world but only these 6 have been identified: 1. Rankin Hot Metal (Carrie) 2. Mon Con (J&L Eliza) 3. Port Perry Bessemer (Duquesne-ET Works) 4. Riverton-Duquesne National Tube (Duquesne-McKeesport) 5. Trumbull Steel (Warren OH). 6. Swedeland Bridge (Alan Wood Steel/Heckscer & Sons) If anyone knows where the 7th one is please chime in. |
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| JaQuay Edward Carter posted HOMESTEAD MAP, 1902 T.M. Fowler & James B. Moyer Focusing on the industry flanking both sides of the Monongahela River. On the right was the Homestead Steel Works (9) and on the left was Carrie Blast Furnaces, a "pig iron" production facility. The pure and refined "pig iron" was then added to other scrap metals at Homestead and formed into steel in the open hearths and rolling mills. The Homestead Steel Works were first constructed in 1881. Andrew Carnegie bought the 2 year old Homestead Steel Works in 1883, and integrated it into his Carnegie Steel Company. It was once the largest steel mill in the world and the most productive of the Mon Valley's many mills. There were three bridges spanning the Monongahela River in this view, including: (from bottom to top) 1. Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Bridge at Munhall (also known as the Pinkerton's Landing Bridge or P. McK. & Y. "Pemickey" Bridge). 2. Hot Metal Bridge, connecting Homestead Works with Carrie Furnaces. It was built around 1900, 5x stronger than a normal bridge, with fireproof brick and 2-inch steel plating along the sides. There were only 7 built in the world, with 2 in Pittsburgh remaining. The other connected Jones and Laughlin Steel Company's iron (Hazelwood) and steel (Southside) facilities. 3. The 1897 West Braddock Bridge, a narrow trolley bridge equipped with a wooden deck. It was later rebuilt and renamed, Rankin Bridge. (M) was the site of Munhall Methodist Episcopal Church on Ravine Street. The building was later home to a school. |
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| JaQuay Edward posted "THE MIGHTY MONONGAHELA" w/ views of CarrieBlastFurnaces National Historic Landmark (2006) & Hot Metal Bridge The ironmaking plant began operating in 1884, when the first blast furnace was brought to the site from Port Elizabeth, Ohio. A half dozen more furnaces would be added to facility by the turn of the 20th Century, including Nos. 6&7, pictured here. The pair of blast furnaces were constructed between 1906 and 1907, and in operation until 1978, following the steel crisis. There were only 7 Hot Metal Bridges built in the world, Pittsburgh has two. The other used to connect J&L's Pittsburgh Works (iron side) in Hazelwood with Southside Works (steel side). It was built 5 times stronger than a regular bridge, with fireproof brick and steel plating. Today, only a portion of the vast site remains. Carrie is among the last surviving Pre-WWII blast furnaces in the United States and the only extant iron plant remaining in Pittsburgh. As seen on Rivers of Steel's "Hardest Working River" Tour October 31, 2021 |
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| 1 At Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge.John Lampke When was this taken out of service? Noah Davidson John Lampke 1978, when the Carrie Furnace on the east end of the bridge shut down. Noah Davidson John Lampke It would’ve been amazing. The sights and the sounds would’ve been remarkable. I believe that iron plating on either side of the tracks was to prevent the cars from dumping their molten load into the Mon. |
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Dave Kuntz posted four photos with the comment: "Sometimes I marvel at how much infrastructure our ancestors left us, while we have the prosperity to abandon it. Here we see the Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge over the Monongahela River SE of Pittsburgh. Built in 1900 and including an abandoned diamond still in place, this is a gem that is best explored by drone."
Ted Gregory shared
Eric J.M. Salem shared
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| Richard J Imel commented on Dave's post here is a picture of that bridge i believe back in the glory days of railroading. I was going to make an N scale model of that bridge |
Dave Kuntz posted three photos with the comment: "Flashback to one of my most popular posts of all time, even though the day was windy and the lighting was bad: Sometimes I marvel at how much infrastructure our ancestors left us, while we have the prosperity to abandon it. Here we see the Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge over the Monongahela River SE of Pittsburgh. Built in 1900 and including an abandoned diamond still in place, this is a gem that is best explored by drone."
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Sherpes Haser posted four photos with the comment:
"Hot Metal Bridge", at Carrie Furnace, over the Monongahela river
Simon Tessier: Anyone know why it has this particular shape?
Roger Morris: Simon Tessier It's possible to get a leak in a hot metal car. If molten metal lands on water it will instantly explode. They don't want that.
Dennis Herriges: What did the railroad haul across this bridge? Was it hot slag from the steel mill ? Where was it hauled to?
Mike Charles: Dennis Herriges hot metal from blast furnaces at Carrie Furnace to the mills in homestead works. Slag from there would also cross the bridge on the way to Brown’s Dump (site of former Century III Mall, current walmart and strip mall in West Mifflin, PA. Also raw materials for the blast furnaces.
Paul Baran: The sides are on them incase there was a hot metal or Sinder spill or derailment. I made many trips over this bridge. There was an open side and the closed side. Open side was for hauling raw material into the plant and empties out.
Shane Rolin: These photos look like they're from the North side of the river. I just looked at Google maps and the entire north side trestle system is complete demolished and removed beyond the bridge abutment at the shore.
Sherpes Hasher: Shane Rolin correct. the photos are from 8 years ago [as of 2025] at least. It's too bad they removed that section
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| Ian Bowling commented on Sherpes post Took some photos of it a few years ago. Here’s one of them that I took. |
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| safe_image for Editorial: Carrie Furnace on the cusp of long-awaited breakthrough Part of a $9.2m stimulus fund will be used to restore this bridge as a trail and connect it to the Great Allegheny Passage between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, MD. |
Dave Kuntz posted four photos with the comment: "The Carrie Hot Metal Bridge is less attractive from the back and therefore much less photographed. The approaches have been removed but one track still remains. This bridge was once an integral part of America's steel industry and had hot ore cars travel across it. It may become a rail trail. Rankin, PA"
Tim Shanahan shared
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Rankin Bridges
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| Jackson-Township historical preservation posted The original Rankin Bridge over the Monongahela River in Allegheny County and the replacement bridge being built beside it around 1949-51. The comparison photo shows the new bridge after it had opened and the old bridge was demolished. (Photo from https://www.facebook.com/stuff.thatsgone/) Norman Milchalk: I remember when me and Mike walked out on the beams and watched them heat rivet's and pound them in. |
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| Jim Donehoo commented on the above post There was a roundabout on the Rankin side of the original bridge. The left side was for traffic from the bridge. The right side went to Talbot Avenue and the top two went to Kenmore Avenue and Braddock Avenue. |
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| James Valenti, Mar 2021 |
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| 2004 photo by Todd Wilson via BridgeHunter_rankin The 2,427' (740m) long bridge has a main span of 525' (160m). It is a cantilevered deck truss. |
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