Rating:
3 votes

NWP - Alderpoint Bridge

Humboldt County, California

Photos 

Alderpoint Railroad Bridge

Looking North

Photo taken by Craig Philpott in June 2010

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BH Photo #167757

Map 

Video 

Alderpoint Railroad Bridge

Craig Philpott

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Description 

Three span through truss on abandoned railroad line.

Facts 

Overview
Through truss bridge over Eel River on Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP)
Location
Humboldt County, California
Status
Closed to all traffic
History
Built 1913 by the American Bridge Co.
Builders
- American Bridge Co. of New York (1910 Fabricator)
- Utah Construction Co. of Ogden, Utah (1910 Contractor)
Railroads
- Eureka Southern Railroad (EUKA)
- Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP)
- Southern Pacific Railroad (SP)
Design
Pratt Through truss, three spans with deck plate girder approaches on concrete piers.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 202.0 ft.
Total length: 1,124.0 ft.
Deck width: 18.0 ft.
Also called
NWP - Cain Rock Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.14645, -123.60326   (decimal degrees)
40°08'47" N, 123°36'12" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
10/448616/4444186 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Alderpoint
Elevation
328 ft. above sea level
Inventory number
BH 45398 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

American Bridge Co. (1,508)
Built 1913 (860)
Built during 1910s (9,636)
California (2,593)
Closed (2,666)
Deck girder (5,748)
Eel River (California) (23)
Eureka Southern Railroad (5)
Girder (10,237)
Humboldt County, California (83)
Northwestern Pacific Railroad (51)
Owned by railroad (12,424)
Pin-connected (3,901)
 Plate girder (7,926)
Pratt through truss (5,393)
Pratt truss (9,300)
Preserved (1,187)
Railroad (15,426)
Skewed (4,906)
Southern Pacific Railroad (661)
Span length 175-250 feet (1,989)
Through truss (15,070)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,883)
Truss (32,794)
Utah Construction Co. (10)

Update Log 

  • June 10, 2016: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added category "Pin-connected"
  • June 22, 2010: Updated by Craig Philpott: corrected design
  • June 20, 2010: New photos from Craig Philpott
  • May 27, 2010: Added by Craig Philpott

Related Bridges 

Sources 

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Comments 

NWP - Alder Point Bridge
Posted June 7, 2015, by RoadTripFPV (roadtripfpv [at] gmail [dot] com)

The walk from Alderpoint took about twenty five minutes and required a bit of bush whacking and climbs around washouts, but well worth the views! A flight in and around the bridge: https://youtu.be/o6lVIWbl3oY

Alder Point Railroad Bridge
Posted May 7, 2012, by Craig Philpott (cphilpott [at] puc [dot] edu)

Yes, there are truly prickly locals near this bridge. I would strongly encourage any visitors to stay strictly on the RR right of way or on the river side of the right of way to avoid local conflict.

Alder Point Railroad Bridge
Posted May 7, 2012, by chris (chris [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Very angry land owner neighbor, likes to play police over bridge she doesn't own

Alder Point Railroad Bridge
Posted June 20, 2010, by Craig Philpott (cphilpott [at] puc [dot] edu)

A wonderful bridge that requires a hike of about 1.5 miles from the nearest road. The hike is South from Alderpoint along the RR ROW which is completely grown over, washed out and filled with stickers and brush.