NWP - Keyes Estuary Phoenix Bridge
Photos
Bridge supports of the North Pacific Coast Railroad crossing of Keys Estuary near Tomales, California
Photo taken by Thewellman
License: Public domain: Released by author
BH Photo #315493
Description
These spans were relocated from the GH&SA's ROW to here ca. 1906/7, when the NWP took over the route. After abandonment in the 30s, the two trusses were again relocated. One was re-erected over Lagunitas Creek and Sir Francis Drake Blvd., in what is now Samuel P. Taylor State Park. That one was long since replaced by a modern bridge for the Cross Marin trail.Facts
- Overview
- Pratt through truss bridge over Key's Creek on Northwestern Pacific Railroad
- Location
- Marin County, California
- Status
- Removed
- History
- Built 1880 elsewhere; Relocated here 1906/7; Removed 1931 and relocated again
- Builders
- - Clarke, Reeves & Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix Iron Works of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
- Railroads
- - North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPC)
- North Shore Railroad (California)
- Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP)
- Design
- Pratt through truss
- Also called
- NWP - Keys Creek Bridge
NSR - Keys Estuary Bridge
NPC - Keys Estuary Bridge
NSR - Keyes Estuary Bridge
NSR - Keys Creek Bridge
NPC - Keys Creek Bridge
NWP - Keys Estuary Bridge
NPC - Keyes Creek Bridge
NWP - Keyes Estuary Bridge
NSR - Keyes Creek Bridge - Approximate latitude, longitude
- +38.22148, -122.92194 (decimal degrees)
38°13'17" N, 122°55'19" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 10/506833/4230392 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Tomales
- Inventory number
- BH 65907 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Related Bridges
- NPC - Keyes Estuary Howe Truss (Predecessor)
- NWP - Lagunitas Creek Phoenix Bridge (Parts reused in)
Sources
- Luke
- Sparsely Sage and Timely - Imagery
Comments
Transferring amended comments from duplicate listing.
These spans are from the 1880s (not certain of exact year but 1879 used arched portal bracing of a very different appearance).
Also, this may be the source for (though unlikely based on Luke's article posting) as they are of the same basic design including portal bracing (where the original portal bracing remains):
http://bridgehunter.com/ca/sonoma/20C0005/
http://bridgehunter.com/ca/sonoma/bh43377/
http://bridgehunter.com/ca/mendocino/10C0046/
Regards,
Art S.
1) Don't remember the source, it's been 5 years since I made this page.
2) This page, which had gotten lost in the archive pipeline. https://www.sparselysageandtimely.com/blog/?p=13802
Luke,
1) What is the source for the history statement "Removed ca. 1907"? Everything I've seen says the rail service continued until 1930.
2)What is the image/info sourced from Sparsely Sage and Timely? I don't see anything applicable on the cited page.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/ca/marin/bh65907/
Art, the text in those three links all mention that the two spans here came in the same batch from the GHSA as the linked spans, and that they were relocated from this location to the Shafter Branchline across Lagunitas/Paper Mill Creek at Irving in 1931 (Newspaper article), which itself only lasted a few more years (1933, per the LoC documentation for Shafter bridge.)
Sadly, I've only been able to find a picture of the Howe at Irving, and only pictures of the Phoenix truss here at the estuary.