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Volunteer Bridge

Du Page County, Illinois
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Photos 

Volunteer Bridge

Looking southeast; note pedestrian bridge as rebuilt in 2010 is not level with original bridge deck.

Photo taken by Frank Hicks in February 2011

Map 

Description 

Built 1907 to carry the Elgin Branch of the Chicago Aurora & Elgin RR over the Chicago & North Western RR. CA&E RR abandoned 1959, bridge converted to pedestrian use ca. 1965. Bridge approaches were rebuilt in 2010. Named Volunteer Bridge by the Illinois Prairie Path. There is some disagreement about its construction date; "Sunset Lines Vol. I" by Larry Plachno lists its construction date as 1909 but the IPP celebrated the bridge's 100th anniversary in 2007.

Facts 

Overview
Pratt through truss bridge over Union Pacific RR (formerly Chicago & North Western RR) on Illinois Prairie Path (formerly Chicago Aurora & Elgin RR)
Location
Wheaton, Du Page County, Illinois
Status
Open to pedestrians
History
Built 1907 for CA&E RR, railroad abandoned 1959, converted to trail use ca. 1964, approaches rebuilt 2010
Design
Pratt through skew truss, approach at north end constructed 2010.
Dimensions
Total length: 1,544.0 ft.
Also called
CA&E Wheaton Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.86524, -88.11659   (decimal degrees)
41°51'55" N, 88°06'60" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/407331/4635417 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Wheaton
Inventory number
BH 48239 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Built 1907 (375)
Built during 1900s (4,247)
Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad (3)
Du Page County, Illinois (21)
Illinois (2,500)
Interurban (122)
Open to Pedestrians (2,084)
Pratt through truss (3,166)
 Pratt truss (5,660)
Rail-to-trail (494)
Railroad (4,075)
Skewed (4,080)
Through truss (9,210)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,217)
Truss (23,574)
Wheaton, Illinois (2)

Update Log 

  • November 11, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added categories "Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad", "Interurban"
  • August 14, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added category "Railroad"
  • December 15, 2011: Updated by Frank Hicks: Added categories "Rail-to-trail", "Skewed"
  • February 24, 2011: Added by Frank Hicks

Sources 

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Comments 

Volunteer Bridge
Posted February 25, 2011, by Daniel Hopkins (chimera [at] clovermail [dot] net)

Thats an awesome rebuild they did! Keeping the original while tacking on a newer addition.