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NCRy - Farwell Bridge

Alameda County, California

Photos 

Niles Canyon Railway train on Farwell Bridge

The pin connected truss dates from 1896 and the stone pier from 1866.

Photo taken by Alan Frank in 2000

Enlarge

BH Photo #143386

Map 

Street View 

Description 

Pratt pin connected through truss with Warren pony truss approach and deck plate truss approach. Both approach trusses on East end of span.

View Uglybridges.com report

Facts 

Overview
Pratt through truss bridge over Alameda Creek (also CA 84) on Niles Canyon Railroad (NCRy)
Location
Alameda County, California
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built in 1865-66 as part of the original transcontinental railroad by the Western Pacific RR as part of the line form Sacramento to San Francisco. The WPRR was engulfed by the Central Pacific RR in 1867 and eventually folded into the Southern Pacif .
Builders
- American Bridge Co. of New York (Toledo, Ohio plant. Approach trestles, 1905)
- Edgemoor Bridge Works of Wilmington, Delaware (Truss, 1896)
- Virginia Bridge & Iron Co. of Roanoke, Virginia (Approach trestles, 1932) [also known as Virginia Bridge Co.]
Railroads
- Central Pacific Railway (CPRR)
- Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy)
- Southern Pacific Railroad (SP)
- Western Pacific Railroad (1862 to 1870) (WP)
Design
The original wooden covered Howe truss was replaced by the current pin connected Pratt truss in 1896. Approach trestles replaced by American Bridge, Toledo OH, 1905,and Virginia Bridge & Iron, Roanoke VA, 1932
Piers built by Western Pacific Railroad in 1865-66
Truss by Edge Moor Bridge Works, Edge Moor, MD, 1896
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 97.5 ft.
Total length: 448.0 ft.
Deck width: 14.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 22.0 ft.
Recognition
Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Approximate latitude, longitude
+37.59763, -121.94714   (decimal degrees)
37°35'51" N, 121°56'50" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
10/592942/4161693 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Niles
Land survey
T .4 S, R.1 W, sec 11
Elevation
150 ft. above sea level
Inventory numbers
CA 33-35 (California bridge number)
BH 43058 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Average daily traffic (as of 2009)
14,850

Categories 

19th Century (6,181)
Alameda County, California (75)
American Bridge Co. (1,153)
Built 1896 (234)
Built during 1890s (2,459)
California (2,307)
Central Pacific Railway (31)
Deck girder (4,483)
Edgemoor Bridge Works (52)
Girder (7,920)
Have street view (22,039)
NR-eligible (3,971)
Niles Canyon Railway (6)
Open (36,527)
Owned by railroad (9,804)
Pin-connected (3,199)
 Plate girder (6,095)
Pony truss (15,046)
Pratt through truss (4,596)
Pratt truss (8,016)
Railroad (13,078)
Skewed (4,672)
Southern Pacific Railroad (488)
Span length 75-100 feet (5,786)
Through truss (12,893)
Total length 250-500 feet (4,598)
Truss (29,433)
Virginia Bridge & Iron Co. (156)
Virginia Bridge Co. (43)
Warren pony truss (2,946)
Warren truss (5,783)
Western Pacific Railroad (1862 to 1870) (2)

Update Log 

  • June 19, 2016: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added category "Pin-connected"
  • January 23, 2014: Updated by Luke Harden: Merged NBI data.
  • April 4, 2010: Updated by Craig Philpott: Corrected location, added street view and photos
  • February 17, 2010: Updated by Craig Philpott: Corrected GPS coordinates
  • July 23, 2009: Added by Alan Frank

Sources 

Comments 

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