CSX/B&O, 1882 Trail/NYC and Pipe Bridges over Tanners Creek near Aurora, IN

Trail/NYC: (Bridge Hunter; B&T; Satellite)

Built 1882 over Tanners Creek on the former Cincinnati and Southern Ohio River Railway, it became a part of the 'Big Four' rail line in 1915. [BridgeHunter]

These bridges are actually closer to Lawrenceburg than Aurora, but I used Aurora in the title because it has another nicely preserved truss bridge.

J.P. Jun 2009 Photo via BridgeHunter

1 of 4 photos posted by Bridges & tunnels with Sherman Cahal

A railroad bridge over Tanners Creek between Lawrenceburg and Aurora, Indiana was constructed by the Kellogg & Maurice Bridge Company for the Cincinnati & Southern Ohio River Railroad in 1882. Because much of the railroad was never completed along the Ohio River to New Albany, the line only saw limited traffic to a few local shippers in Aurora. It was eventually abandoned by Conrail in 1979.

Thankfully, the Pratt through truss bridge was not demolished. It was instead renovated in 1982 for a rail-to-trail conversion project.

Check out more photos of this bridge at http://bridgestunnels.com/.../tanners-creek-railroad-bridge/

In the background is the best view I've seen of the CSX/B&O bridge. Note that it still has cut stone piers.

1 of 12 photos in B&T

1943 Lawrenceburg Quad @ 1:24,000

B&T's blog has a slightly different history than does their Facebook post: "The bridge was repurposed for Indiana & Michigan Power in 1982 and in 2006 for the Aurora-Lawrenceburg Trail, a rail-to-trail between Lawrenceburg and Aurora." I&M's involvement explains what the pipe bridge is for. There used to be a power plant along the river and the pipes probably carried waste water to the settling ponds on the other side of the creek. I thought that maybe I&M used the Big Four bridge in 1982 to carry its pipes and then they built a bridge for the pipes in 2006 so that the Big Four bridge could be used for a trail. But the oldest usable satellite image in Google Earth, Apr 1993, shows the pipe bridge had already been built. Here is a view where the power plant was still receiving coal from barges. I found barges as recently as Jun 2014. The power plant was still standing in Apr 2017, but the buildings were gone by Mar 2018, and the smokestacks were gone by Oct 2018.

Google Earth, Mar 2005

1887,1989,2011 George Street and CSX/B&O Bridges over Hogan Creek in Aurora, IN

Street: (Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; B&T; Satellite)

Railroad: (Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

Street View of the street bridge

Street View, the railroad bridge is in the foreground and the street bridge is in the background.

1 of 3 photos posted by Bridges & Tunnels with Sherman Cahal

New photos have been added of the historic George Street Bridge in Aurora, Indiana. Once in a state of severe disrepair, the 135-year-old Whipple through truss was structurally rehabilitated and painted a bright red hue in 2010.

Check out more photos of the George Street Bridge at http://bridgestunnels.com/location/george-street-bridge/

Historic Bridges says the floor beams and deck were replaced.  It is interesting that they stuck with a metal grate for the deck. Many people hate driving over them.

Street View, Aug 2021
Bridges & Tunnels says the rehabilitation raised the weight limit from 6 to 36 tons. Yet the street view date is contemporary. Did they forget to take down the old weight limit sign for over a decade? Actually, they are probably trying to keep truck traffic off of the side street. US-50 is just a couple of blocks away.
The grain bins in the right background are for a CGB barge loading facility. It doesn't have any rail service so there must be enough local farming that trucks can supply the needed grain.

April 2025 Flood:

WLWT posted

Photos show major flooding in Aurora, Indiana.

Credit: Doug Gabbard

Don Sanders posted
Aurora, Indiana, nearly dead center on the Middle Ohio River between Pittsburgh and Cairo, Illinois, is getting her feet wet.

noaa

April 11: In another scene, he shows that US-50 is closed because it is covered by water.

44:34 video @ 24:05

The bridge is in the background and it looks like the deck is under water.

@ 27:21

@ 32:46

See Aurora, IN, for photos of the grain elevator in flood water.

1957 Lake Arlington Dam and Pumping Station

Lake: (Satellite)

Dam: (Satellite, it has a morning glory spillway)

Pumping Station: (Satellite)

There are buildings between Pioneer Parkway and the dam so one can catch just glimpses of the earth dam. Using the scale on Google Map, the dam is right at a mile long.

Street View

WalshGroup (source)
The $21 million capital improvement project will deliver tap water for more than 500,000 residents across North Texas. The updated facility contains pumping operations for the City of Arlington and Trinity River Authority of Texas. The project consisted of removing and installing new pumps, electrical gear, and instrumentation. The pump station consists of six vertical turbine pumps. Three of them that will serve for City of Arlington, and the other three will serve for Trinity River Authority. All pumps are capable of running at the same time during peak demand. Two, separate 60-inch pipes feed water to each providers' water treatment facility. Improvements also included the expanding the electrical building to house all the new electrical gear and a containment structure for a new copper sulfate tank. The 10' diameter tank is capable of holding about 7,050 gallons. The copper sulfate is injected into the 60" discharge pipe in the pump station and wet well to combat zebra mussels.
[I knew the Great Lakes got zebra mussels from the ballast of ocean going ships. I wonder how this land locked lake got them.]

I presume this shows four of the six vertical turbine pumps.

ArlingtonTX (I lost the link)

WaterDataForTexas

WaterDataForTexas
[Is this road the concrete crest of the emergency spillway?]
At 550' it holds 38,800 acre-feet and at 564' it holds 70,900. [rating-curve]

The dam is on Village Creek. The creek was dry on most of the images on Google Earth. Here is the most recent with some water going through the morning glory spillway. Note the spillway in the lower-left corner.

Google Earth, Nov 2018

And here is the wettest one I found.

Google Earth, Feb 2001

1902 UP/C&NW and BNSF/CB&Q Bridges across Kickapoo Creek near Peoria, IL

The bridges are listed from North to South with BNSF Bridge Hunter on the left and C&NW on the right.

(Bridge Hunter #6; Bridge Hunter #1; Satellite)

(Bridge Hunter #7; Bridge Hunter #2; Satellite)

(Bridge Hunter #8; Bridge Hunter #3; John Marvig UP #3; Satellite)

(Bridge Hunter #1; Bridge Hunter #4; John Marvig: BNSF #9 and UP #4; Satellite)

Both C&NW and CB&Q built routes west of Peoria through the Kickapoo Creek valley. They paralleled each other with CB&Q on the west side. The C&NW route was built in 1902 and their quadrangular lattice or Whipple trusses still stand. The CB&Q route was evidently built in 1911. Just the truss bridge on the south end still exists. The other bridges are now pony plate girder bridges. I'm documenting them in pairs since they are side by side. I document them from the south to the north since the southern bridges are the most interesting.

BNSF #1 and UP #4

 

Street View

Low-res copy from BridgeHunter-BNSF#1 of Lance Flickr Photo
Molitor Junction
Onto BNSF rails now, the detouring Iowa Interstate BICB led by the 513 rolls over Kickapoo Creek as it leaves the Peoria area enroute to Galesburg. the bridge on the left is the Union Pacific's ex-C&NW route from Nelson down to South Pekin and beyond.

Michael Broshears posted
August 83 probably by Molitor Jct.  as a BN empty passes by a CNW loads.

Howard Keil: The telegraph pole in the far side has fallen over. I think there is now a guardrail on the left bridge on the right side opposite the guard rail that's there. The left one was built in 1911.

David Jordan: Molitor Junction is right behind you at left.

This was the post that motivated the research of these bridges. At first, I thought it was the pair of trusses south of Peoria because of the "near Bartonville" phrase in the post's comment. But then I noticed that neither of those trusses are Whipple trusses. So now I think the posted photo is of this pair.

Alan Look posted
Near Bartonville - a set of twin steel beam railroad bridges. Very sure they are still in use. Believe they are both referred to as Kickapoo Creek Bridge #1 in Bridghunter and carry BNSF traffic. Image date: 5-12-2022
Dennis DeBruler

The quadrangular lattice truss bridge on the left is UP/C&NW, Bridge Hunter UP #4.

https://bridgehunter.com/il/peoria/bh54022/

Since the CB&Q route was built west of the C&NW route, you are looking South.

John Marvig photo via BridgeHunters. John also has web pages for these bridges documented at the top.
This photo emphasizes that there is a significant flood plain north of the river. A satellite image shows the flood plain is longer than the channel width.

Steve Smedley posted
A Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Eastbound train is shown crossing Kickapoo Creek at Molitor Junction in Peoria, Illinois. From left, M&STL, CB&Q and CNW. Sept 1963.
Jim Bartke photo/ collection of Steve Smedley
Marty Bernard shared

Howard Keil commented on Steve's post
Side view. Dogs are standing underneath where the m and STL bridge used to be

BNSF #8 and UP #3

These bridges accommodate a flood plain on the south side of the channel.

Steve Conro Apr 2016 photo via BridgeHunters

C&NWHS Photo via BridgeHunter-UP#3

BNSF #7 and UP #2

We can see  BSNF #6 to the left of the top of the UP #2 truss.

Street View

Low-res copy from BridgeHunter-UP#2 of Bill Pearsall Flickr Photo

BNSF 540 PIA Harmon

BNSF Dash 8's 540 and 555 lead the Peoria Local down the Kickapoo Creek basin towards the TZPR's East Peoria Yard.

 

I was really hoping for a side by side but that didn't work out to well. :-(

[UP#2 is framing a view of UP#1.]

BNSF #6 and UP #1

Steve Conro Apr 2016 Photo via BridgeHunters

This bridge not only has a relatively huge flood plain, it looks like it is filling up with a sandbar.

Steve Conro Apr 2016 Photo via BridgeHunter-BNSF#6

1939 KJRY/TP&W/PTC(RI) and 1915 TZPR/P&PU Bridges over Kickapoo Creek in Bartonville, IL

RI: (Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; John Marvig; Satellite, western bridge)

P&PU: (Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; John Marvig; RailPictures.Net; Satellite, eastern bridge)

KJRY = Keokuk Junction Railway

TP&W = Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway

PTC = Peoria Terminal Company, a subsidiary of Rock Island

TZPR = Tazewell & Peoria Railroad

P&PU = Peoria & Pekin Union Railway

P&PU is in the foreground.

Street View

Noah Haggerty posted
A set of Toledo, Peoria & Western locomotives head east towards Peoria, Illinois in either 1977 or 1978 seen from the on ramp towards Bloomington near Bartonville. It is led by GP30 #700 in its bicentennial paint. Trailing are two Precision National GP10's and both of the TP&W's C424's. John & Roger Kujawa Photo, Thomas Dyrek Collection.
[TP&W is on the right, and P&PU is on the left.]

David Jordan: Power and caboose is actually moving timetable east toward Peoria. Vantage point is Interstate 474, which opened between US 24 (SW Adams Street) and Rt. 29 in Creve Coeur on August 30, 1978. Extensions east to I-74 and west to I-74 and US 150 opened on December 20, 1979. The bridge in the background carried Chicago & North Western's St. Louis Subdivision.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Noah's post
I'm glad you grabbed a shot before the trees hid the UP/C&NW bridge. https://maps.app.goo.gl/wudXjWnnZcUK7BgcA

Rock Island  (It looks like the Illinois River was running high in 2015.)

June 2015 Photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter-RI

Rock Island  (In 2017 the river was more normal)

Apr 2017 Photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter-RI

Noah Haggerty posted
TP&W caboose 523 trails on the rear of an ATSF mixed freight in Bartonville, just across the Kickapoo Creek bridge. I believe this is January of 1984, soon after the TP&W was absorbed into the Santa Fe. John & Roger Kujawa Photo, Thomas Dyrek Collection.

I labeled the western bridge Rock Island because of topo maps. For example:

1949 Peoria West Quad @ 1:24,000

P&PU

June 2015 Photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter-PP&U

PP&U  This truss is pin connected.  John says this view is looking East, but I think it is looking North. The photo above is looking East from between the two bridges.

Apr 2017 Photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter-PP&U

1964 Coffeen Lake Dam Near East Fork Shoal Creek

(Satellite)

This dam was built to provide cooling water for the Coffeen mine-mouth power station.

Satellite

The dam was actively spilling water when this satellite made a pass over it.

Satellite

NationalDams

While looking at a topo map to find the name of the railroad that served the power station, I noticed that there are some canyons in this area. I was not aware that there was this type of topology in Illinois.

1947 Hillsboro Quad @ 1:62,500

This is a comparable area from a later map. (A sliver on the east side of this excerpt is the 1947 map because the newer map covers a smaller area.) It is the canyon of the McDavid Branch that is now filled with water. So this lake has a larger volume of water than I would have guessed. I thought that was important so that the increased volume of water would dilute the heat. But we will see shortly that the heat stays on the surface and doesn't get diluted.

1974 Coffeen Quad @ 1:24,000

The power company owns the dam, but the Illinois park system manages the recreational resources of the lake. The land between the two branches is restricted and the land not used by the power company is a wildlife reserve. [brochure]

I learned from the Kincaid Power Plant that the canal between the two branches of the river is used to discharge cooling water.

Satellite

According to a tour of the plant, this small building houses the intake pumps.

Satellite

The plant reuses its water because it can flow down the east branch and back up the west branch. Despite the 1200-acre lake having a large volume because it fills a canyon, the water can get too hot in the Summer. So in July 2000, a 73-acre cooling basin and 24 cooling towers were put in service. [ameren] And I noticed that a new spillway that was better designed to aerate the water was added.

Satellite