UP - Wapsipinicon River Bridge
History of the Bridge
Written by Jason SmithThis bridge may be the site of the first Thacher through truss bridge that was designed and patented by Edwin Thacher in 1881. A Thacher truss features a combination of either a Warren and Pratt configuration or a configuration of a Warren and Stearns truss. The middle panel of the truss span features an equalateral A-frame design. According to Donald Jackson, the first bridge was a 147 foot long structure built over the Wapsipinicion River for the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad in 1881. As this line was acquired by Rock Island Railroad in 1903 and later by Chicago and Northwestern due to the railroad's receivership proceedings, plus given the geographical formations of the region south and east of Cedar Rapids, it is highly likely that the first Thacher Truss Bridge was built at this site, although it is unclear when it was replaced, let alone when this bridge (the current structure) was built.
Facts
- Overview
- Through truss bridge over Wapsipinicon River on Union Pacific Railroad
- Location
- Clinton County, Iowa
- Status
- Open to traffic
- Railroads
- - Chicago & North Western Railway (CNW)
- Union Pacific Railroad (UP)
- Design
- 2 Span Quadrangular lattice through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 167.0 ft.
Total length: 322.0 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +41.82702, -90.81226 (decimal degrees)
41°49'37" N, 90°48'44" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/681678/4632884 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Wheatland
- Inventory number
- BH 53593 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- January 31, 2018: New photos from John Marvig
- January 3, 2014: Updated by John Marvig: Added build date
- August 14, 2013: New photos from John Marvig
- January 30, 2013: New photo from Luke Harden
- November 8, 2012: Essay added by Jason Smith
- November 7, 2012: Photo imported by Luke Harden
- September 21, 2012: Updated by John Marvig: Added information
- September 21, 2012: Added by Luke Harden
Related Bridges
- CNW - Wapsipinicon River Bridge (Predecessor)
Sources
- Luke
- John Marvig - marvigj27 [at] gmail [dot] com
- Image
- Jason Smith - flensburg [dot] bridgehunter [dot] av [at] googlemail [dot] com
Comments
Jason, It's probably the exact same pic pf the bridge that I shared with you, as I also shared it with Dylan.
Here's a more detailed info on the Thacher truss: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2013/04/15/name-that-b...
Thanks Dylan for the information. I can go ahead and post your comments in the Chronicles' comment section. Can you post your pic of the Thacher truss please? Thx.
JS
Jason, I was reading through your essay, and I must point out some issues. I know nothing about Thacher trusses or their history, but if the first Thacher truss was a BCR&N structure, there is absolutely no way it was built at this site. Although the CNW did acquire a large number of ex-RI lines following the Rock's 1980 demise, this line has always been a CNW line since its inception. In fact, this line is one of the oldest routes CNW built, being its original E/W line across Iowa. The only place I know of where the BCR&N crossed the Wapsipinicon River was at Independence, and there is a picture showing it to be a Thacher Truss.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/ia/clinton/bh53593/
Correct; the picture I am referring to is the one Luke sent me awhile ago, which I assume is the same one used in the bridge's entry:
http://bridgehunter.com/ia/buchanan/bh55872/