Ohio River Lock and Dam #52

Satellite

Lock and Dam #52 was a wicket dam that has evidently finally [2019] been retired by the Olmstead Dam. I include a copy of a satellite image because when the images are updated, the lock activity and the spill across the wicket gates will be gone. Google has a couple of pictures that I would have to tresspass to get: the side of the powerhouse and the wickets in the raised position. (Update: now that the dam has been removed, evidently Google has removed the dam location and its photos. Bummer!)

1:48 video of how the wickets were raised on dam #52   487 4' wickets

A 5:18 video on the history of #52 and #53

A 5:08 video about #52 and #53 explains why the temporary 1200' x 110' lock needed repairs

As predicted, the dam is now, 2019, under water. I'm surprised how much of the shore is also inundated. Or did the satellite catch the river during flood stage?

Satellite

Bird's Eye View

When this Bird's Eye View was taken, the river level was higher, the wickets were down, and barge traffic did not have to use the locks. In fact, the locks were underwater. Note that the water is up to the road that goes by the houses on the site.

While studying a satellite image for the Metropolis RR Bridge, I noticed that there were a lot of tows on both sides of the river. They looked like they were tied up to the shore. I then realized that they were all waiting to go through lock #52! This emphasizes how important it is to the river traffic to be able to skip using the lock.

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One of the murals on the seawall in Puducah, KY, is of the locks. Below I zoom into what looks like old and new versions of the maneuver boats that raise and lower the wicket gates.

Next to the mural was this plaque.

This is a downstream view I took during my March, 2015, visit. You can see the end of the powerhouse of which Google has a side view. I noticed that the Google picture must have been taken from a boat because the river is over 46-feet high in that photo. Like the powerhouse at the old Newburgh #47 Dam, I can't figure out where these powerhouses had their intakes and outlets.

Below are views looking across the river and downstream.

As is obvious, the pictures were taken from inside the car. The reason is because I'm inside a fence that is posted Authorized Personnel Only. But you are on a two lane road with no shoulders so I'm pretending that I'm in the fenced area to turn around and leave. I did get a little "lost" while I was turning around and the second picture was taken further from the fence then was necessary to turn around. First of all, notice that everything you see here would be under water when the Google picture was taken because the water is above the foot of the powerhouse on the right of the right-most picture. Secondly, notice that the locks no longer have gates. That means the Olmstead Dam must have been operational by March, 2015. (Later I learn this is wrong. Just because I can't see gates in the open position, doesn't mean they are not there.)

USACE has a photo of the wickets in the raised position during low river flow.

USACE

During a visit in July, 2015, men were leaving as I was doing my turn-around thing. One of them stopped to watch me. So I turned around and left without taking pictures inside the fence. I stopped where there were some parking spots upstream of the dam. But there was still a fence. I do wish chain-link fences were made with three-inch squares instead of two-inch squares so that a camera lens could fit through them. This is a poor-man's panorama of equipment that was parked upstream of the old locks.

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This is a downstream picture to put in perspective where my "parking niche" was with respect to the powerhouse. The asphalt just beyond the fence is where I turned around. You can see the powerhouse in the distance.

When I analyzed pictures of the I-24 bridge, I noticed there was some construction in the background up by Lock and Dam #52. I had planned on revisiting the dam on my way home, but I passed by after sunset and could not get any more pictures. So these are closeups from the bridge pictures.

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These photos indicate I was wrong about the lock and dam being retired. It appears the wickets are up and the tows are using the lock. (Update: It was not only used in 2015, it was a choke point on the Ohio River. Olmsted Dam finally made it obsolete in 2019. [NYtimes])

WPSD
Problems in 2017 including broken wickets.

mapio.net via Google

USACE-history and EastLiverpoolHistoricalSociety and marionky
How the 15-member crew raises the wickets for Dam #52

Sep 2025:

Southern Illinois Now posted

Exciting News for Southern Illinois!

The Massac-Metropolis Port District has acquired the former Lock and Dam 52 site — unlocking 46 acres and over 16,000 feet of riverfront for future development! This milestone further unlocks the region's potential to utilize the Ohio River, boosting jobs and infrastructure. 

The port district is conducting a multi-phase feasibility study to determine the site’s best use and long-term transportation plans as strategic economic development tools.

Congratulations to all who made it happen!📍

Read more in the Waterways Journal 

🔗 https://www.waterwaysjournal.net/.../massac-metropolis.../ [paycount]

Shane's Snapshots added 10 photos with the comment: "Pics dad took of Old Lock 52 which was located near Brookport, Illinois. Dad loved having lock delay here it took so long to make the lock back then. Olmstead took over Old Lock52 & 53."

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Dennis DeBruler: The best view I have seen of the wicket boat.

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Big Four's Wabash Cannon Ball Bridge over Wabash River near St. Francisville, IL

(Bridge Hunter, Historic Bridges, Street View; Satellite, 108 photos)

Dennis DeBruler

2008 Russ Nixon Photo  from Bridge Hunter comments

I learned from Facebook that a current road bridge over the Wabash River used to be a railroad bridge. But I won't use the Facebook picture because it looks like it was snarfed from Historic Bridges. This Google link includes several pictures of this bridge (you may have to turn on the "Explore" option). Also, Bridge Hunter and Historic Bridges each have a big picture collection for this bridge.

Tom Wood comments in Bridge Hunter:

As for its history: allegedly it was originally constructed by the King Bridge Company in Wilmington, Delaware in 1897, then bought by the railroad, dismantled, and rebuilt on its current site in 1906.

This would explain why some of the truss spans were built in 1897 and the deck plate girder spans were built in 1903 and 1904. Then more work was done in 1924 because the swing span and another span are from this year according to Historic Bridges.

Ethan Hill posted

I used to cross this bridge often when I was a kid. It was originally a railroad bridge that was then abandoned by the railroad sometime in the 70s. A farmer from Illinois that owned fields on both sides of the river bought it and turned it into a toll bridge due to him being tired of having to go all the way to the next town to cross. The full history is in this link, it's extremely interesting including the ghost story about it. 

https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=indiana/wabashcannonball/

 

Steve Hess commented on Ethan's post
Still use it to move grain across the river.

I'm including a June 6, 2009 Bridge Hunter comment by James Norwood because I also wondered about the bridge name given that the Wabash Railroad was much further north of here.

I am wondering why they call it the Wabash Cannonball Bridge? The rail line that crossed here was an old New York Central branch line. Only the Wabash Railroad had a train called that to my knowledge. It's bridge over the Wabash River is clear up in Attica, Indiana or another at Andrews, Indiana. No hate, I am just curious as to the story behind the name. Maybe something to do with the French, George Rogers Clark, and Vincennes history involving cannons and the river that was interesting to the farmer/owner and locals perhaps?

Interesting development is the State of Illinois is taking over control of the bridge according to a report in the "Daily Record" newspaper of Lawrence County, Illinois. Story can be found athttp://www.lawdailyrecord.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=56...

Some more photos of the bridge during it's Railroad days
can be found at http://indianarailroads.org/board/index.php?topic=2837.0
One pic even shows the swing span open.

There are paranormal legends involving crossing from Indiana to Illinois and seeing a "floating purple head", thus another nickname for the bridge. Info about that can be found by googling it. Take care, James

Indiana Haunts speculates the "Cannonball" name is because of the sound it makes when you drive across it because of the wood deck. And "Wabash" comes from the river, not the railroad.

It was built by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (Big Four). Since Big Four became part of the New York Central, this bridge was owned by Penn Central when it was abandoned. An owner of a grain drying service on the Indiana side of the river bought and repaired the right-of-way in 1970 so that he could serve the farms in Illinois as well as Indiana. (Bridge Hunter comment by Barbara Paxton, date is from Historic Bridges) Illinois took control of the bridge and evidently fixed it. (One cannot assume that Illinois will fix a bridge. Illinois has closed the New Harmony Wabash River Bridge rather than fix it. And other truss bridges were removed after completely new bridges were built.) Flash Earth shows that the four trusses of this bridge are still intact.

Looking at my 1928 Railroad Atlas, the Big Four route went from Evansville, IN across the Wabash River to Mt. Carmel, IL. There it joined the "Egyptian route" from Cairo, IL. The joint route then continued north to St. Francisville, IL and north to the Chicago area. At st. Francisville, a branch went across the Wabash using this bridge to Vincennes, IN, where it terminated. (Big Four had another route that went from Evansville to Terre Haute, but it passed through Washington, IN.) So within a rather short distance, the route from Evansville to Vincennes crosses the Wabash River twice! My 1976 RR Atlas shows the segment from St. Francisville to Vincennes is gone.

I just checked my list of bridges across the Wabash to verify that I missed this one. I need to do some work on that list.

Update:

vuTrailblazerNews (source), Photo by Maber Morris
Exploring Local Legends: The Wabash Cannonball Bridge

(new window) The state has bought and refurbished it so that you can drive across it for a dollar. So the middle of the video includes a drive over. Near the end of the drive, look at all of the driftwood piled on the shore left of the bridge. (Update: when I visited in 2016, there was no toll.)

Chuck Oswald (Update: this group is evidently gone, the links don't work)
-> Lookin at the WORLD thru a Windshield

Chuck evidently drives a semi-truck across this regularly. One comment says he did it 12 times in one day. Since this is a one-lane bridge, I learned that the protocol is to turn on your bright lights so that vehicles on the other side know it is occupied and that they should wait.

Joseph Bullard posted
From St. Francisville, IL to Indiana you can pay a dollar and drive on a section of the old Big Four Route. I decided it was a worthy detour when I was working out that way.   http://wthi.web.franklyinc.com/.../the-cannonball-bridge...

Richard Mead posted
Wabash St. Francisville bridge between Illinois and Indiana.

Jeff Gueisewite Inc. posted six photos with the comment: "A little work on the wabash cannonball bridge in St. Francisville."
Danny Seibert Can't believe no one made you mat the bridge.
Jeff Guisewite Inc. Machine was only 55k, it would have less psi than a loaded semi.
Danny Seibert Jeff oh that's a baby machine then...looked bigger than that.
Bill Lancaster Semi trucks cross it on a regular basis with 85,000.
Andrew Rauch Crossed it in a semi several years ago loaded with corn. Didnt like hearing the bridge making a pinging noise..
Don Wagoner shared
Mike G Crain NS should have taken notes on how and when to pull drift. Brunswick Missouri bridge would have still been there.

[I don't think a bigger excavator would have fit on the bridge.]

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[This shot show how high up on the pier the water level is.]

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[Another shot that catches a pier.]

John Sandfrey commented on Jeff's post

Jordan Sayge commented on the third photo posted by Jeff
[I wonder if the excavator did this or if the damage was already done.]

safe_image for post by Forgotten Railways, Roads, and Places for: Wabash Cannonball Bridge: a single-lane bridge pretty narrowCarlton Crasher I don't believe the first part is true. It was the Cairo to Vincennes Railroad. The first train crossed into Vincennes in December of 1872 found in the archives of the Western Sun Vincennes newspaper. You can Google the locomotive as well used.

Carlton Crasher commented on a posting:

Originally the bridge was built in the 1880s and moved in 1905 to the current location in St. Francisville. The rail line on rail maps was active as of 1872. So I wonder 30 years before that what bridge sat there possibly on the same piers.

Stephanie Winkler posted a B&W photo with the comment:

The Cannonball Bridge connects Saint Francesville IL to Vincennes IN. The railroad bridge was built in 1897 and was abandoned in 1965, but it shortly found new life as a one lane toll road for vehicles crossing the Wabash River. Locals sometimes refer to it as the Purple Head Bridge because of its haunted history. Stories vary from an unfortunate hanging mistake that resulted in decapitation, to supposed hangings conducted by the KKK, to a Native American shaman beheaded during the French and Indian War. Regardless of the origin of the ghost, many witnesses have claimed to spotted a floating purple head while crossing the bridge late at night. Those brave enough are encouraged by lore to visit at midnight, stop their car midway, and wait for the ghost to appear. Don't wait too long because this 1441 ft bridge is open to traffic from both directions and there are no traffic signals to prevent oncoming cars from entering while the bridge is occupied. Personally, I think the scariest part is driving across this rickety old thing!

Satolli Glassmeyer posted

Do  You  Have  What  It  Takes  To  Drive  Across  This  Haunted  Illinois  Bridge???

The  story  about  the  bridge  is  in  the  comments  below.

Satolli Glassmeyer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRmhKvZyhOc [I didn't watch it. I don't waste my time on ghosts.]

Kevin Deboy posted six images with the comment: "Cannon Ball bridge crossing the Wabash River connecting Indiana and Illinois. Near Vincennes Indiana."

Tim Shanahan shared

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Jul 9, 2024:

John Albert Christeson Jr. posted
St. Francisville Bridge over the Wabash River near Vincennes IN. This bridge is scheduled to be replaced within the next couple of years.

Roy Swonder posted
Railroad bridge converted to automobile use. Christmas day 2025. Wabash River, Southern Knox county. Never crossed by cannonball or purple head train.

Steve Shearer: Dr. Swonder (of Vincennes) and Louise Shearer (of St. Francisville) worked tirelessly to get this old Big Four Railroad bridge purchased over thirty years ago. After a half million dollars in repairs were made to the bridge the CIC (Community Improvement Corporation) handed over the bridge and right-of-way to the City of St. Francisville. The original RR Bridge was built in 1872. It was replaced with the present bridge in the first quarter of the Twentieth Century. It is an amazing structure to survive for a century.

Roy Swonder: Steve Shearer Dr. ED swonder, my father

Rob Lee Shannon: where is this? I can cross it?

Dennis DeBruler: Rob Lee Shannon https://maps.app.goo.gl/GKh8gomBsMkbtEd4A If no one is coming from the other direction.

Teresa Corrine Stewart Taft commented on Roy's post

John Albert Christeson Jr. posted three photos with the comment: "Wabash Cannonball Bridge.....St. Francisville Il."

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Adventures With Roger posted

Wabash Cannonball Bridge (Vincennes, Indiana)

This is a one lane, wooden plank bridge from Vincennes, Indiana to Saint Francisville, Illinois. To some it’s an exciting ride across a cool old bridge. To others it’s nothing less than panic inducing! 

In my case, I heard there’s talk about replacing it, so I gave it a go before it was gone.  My philosophy in life is that if you don’t take a few chances here and there, where do the cool stories come from? 

[There are several more photos in the comments and videos of people driving across.]

Lisa ruble shared with the comment "Wabash Cannonball Bridge."

Paul Webb shared

Central Indiana had a lot of rain in Aug  2026. It looks like where I stood to take photos of the bridge is under water.

Facebook Reel

(Facebooked1, Facebooked2, Facebooked3)

4 photos of crossing to Indiana

A video of a crossing

MUed Diesel Locomotives

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One of the many reasons why diesel locomotives beat out steam locomotives was that you could increase the horsepower available to pull a train by adding more locomotives to the train without having to add more crew members. Connecting the controls of the locomotives so that they were all controlled by the engineer in the lead unit allowed Multiple Unit power. Likewise, if a train was short, you could remove units and use them on other trains.

While taking pictures of the depot in Murfreesboro, TN, I noticed that there were three CSX engines parked along a public road, 2018, 2305, and 6942. I've been up close and personal with single units at museums and industries such as the CGB grain elevator in Only, IL. But the only time I have been close to MUed units was standing on a commuter platform as a freight train goes past. I've seen them from a distance in railroad yards, but I would have to trespass to get close to them. But here I could legally get close to multiple units that were standing still.

I took shots of each locomotive because they were all conventional cab (narrow front hood) units, which means they are older units. But the paint looks new. So I knew they must have an interesting history.

When I took the third picture, all of those MU cables caught my eye; so I took advantage of my close proximity to stationary units and took a close up.

When I got home, I used The Diesel Shop to research the locomotives. Unit 2018 is a GP38-3. It is part of an upgrade program during 2014 and 2015 to rebuild old GP38/GP38-2s to GP38-3s. It probably got a new prime mover (engine), new AC generator and motors, new control electronics, and new paint. Unit 2305 is a slug that was rebuilt from a GP35. It was originally C&O 3527, which was built May, 1964. I was surprised it was a slug since it still has a cab. But leaving the cab on might have simplified (i.e. cheapened) the rebuild. And it makes the mother/slug bidirectional, which would simplify operations. So instead of installing a new prime mover during the rebuild of 2305, they just added weights to it. Unit 6942 is the slug's mother, a GP40-2. So these cables are between a mother and its slug. That would explain why there are so many cables. In addition to the usual air brake lines and control cables, there are cables to deliver the power from the prime mover in the mother to the traction motors in the slug.

I zoomed in on the front of 2305 to get the connections with 2018. This would be the normal complement of MU connections.

Slugs are designed for low-speed operations where a lot of tractive effort is needed, but not much horsepower because of the low speeds. Typical applications are pushing cuts of cars over a hump or transfer trains between railroads on a belt-line route in a major metro area. I assume that CSX currently has a glut of power and that these units are being stored on this weedy siding. The derail on this siding that I documented near the end of the depot posting is more evidence that these units are in storage. One doesn't normally see such freshly painted units being unused.