NS - St. Louis Bridge

Photos 

Wabash Railroad Bridge #705

St. Louis Bridge after rebuild

Wabash RR photo

License: Released into public domain

Enlarge

BH Photo #345248

Map 

Street Views 

• View looking east from Lincoln Park Dr./IL Hwy. 48 intersection
• View looking south from IL Hwy. 48

Brief history 

On January 31, 1927, work was completed on the northbound track of the new $850,000 bridge over the Sangamon River at Decatur and on that date the Banner Blue Limited used the bridge for the first time.

Work was commenced on the new bridge in April, 1926, and it is expected that the entire job will be finished this fall.

The new double track steel and concrete structure will replace an old single track bridge and will eliminate a steep grade as the new bridge is elevated 13 feet above the old.

There has been no interruption in traffic during the construction work.

The new bridge consists of twelve spans of double track girders on concrete piers, the larges span being 106 feet long. These girders support concrete slabs which carry the track. By using this type of construction it is possible to use ballast under the tracks on the bridge and thus secure a smoother riding track.

The following statistics will give an idea of the magnitude of the job involved: The bridge is 1,062 feet long, 6,550 feet of line is affected, 1,665 tons of structural steel and 235 tons of reinforcing rods were used; 10,600 cubic yards of concrete and 150,000 yards of embankment fill were used.

From the March 1, 1927 edition of the Wabash News (monthly publication for employees)

Facts 

Overview

Deck plate girder bridge over Sangamon River on Wabash, later N&W, now NS Railway

Location

Decatur, Macon County, Illinois

Status

Open to rail traffic

History

Original bridge built 1800s; bridge rebuilt 1927 to handle longer/heavier trains

Railroads

- Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W)
- Norfolk Southern Railway (NS)
- Wabash Railroad (WAB)

Design

5-span deck plate girder bridge w/concrete slab approaches on both sides

Dimensions

Length of largest span: 106.0 ft.
Total length: 1,062.2 ft.
Deck width: 30.0 ft.

Also called

St. Louis Bridge
Wabash Railroad Bridge #705
N&W - St. Louis Bridge
Wabash - St. Louis Bridge
NS - Sangamon River Bridge
N&W - Sangamon River Bridge
Wabash - Sangamon River Bridge

Approximate latitude, longitude

+39.83040, -88.97738   (decimal degrees)
39°49'49" N, 88°58'39" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")

Approximate UTM coordinates

16/330788/4410804 (zone/easting/northing)

Quadrangle map:

Decatur

Inventory number

BH 64931 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Update Log 

• January 8, 2016: New photos from James Holzmeier
• January 1, 2015: Essay added by James Holzmeier
• December 21, 2014: New Street View added by James Holzmeier

Sources 

• James Holzmeier - wabashry [at] gmail [dot] com

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