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Atchison Swing Bridge

Atchison County, Kansas

Photos 

From The Railroad Gazette's "English Versus American Bridges", published 1874

Public Domain: Published Prior to 1923

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View this photo at books.google.com

BH Photo #348695

Map 

Facts 

Overview
Lost Post through truss bridge over Missouri River on Road & Railroads
Location
Atchison, Atchison County, Kansas
Status
Replaced by a new bridge
History
Built 1875; Replaced ca. 1900
Builder
- American Bridge Works of Chicago, Illinois
Railroads
- Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (ATSF)
- Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (CRIP (1866-1920); RI (1920-1975) ROCK (1975-1980))
- Missouri Pacific Railroad (MP; MoPac)
- Union Pacific Railroad (UP)
Design
Post through truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 364.0 ft.
Total length: 1,154.0 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+39.56061, -95.11300   (decimal degrees)
39°33'38" N, 95°06'47" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/318476/4381123 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Atchison East
Inventory number
BH 70819 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (7,205)
American Bridge Works (28)
Atchison County, Kansas (67)
Atchison, Kansas (5)
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (392)
Built 1875 (103)
Built during 1870s (1,037)
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (1,066)
Kansas (3,166)
Lost (23,429)
Lost 1900 (21)
Lost during 1900s (296)
Missouri Pacific Railroad (359)
 Missouri River (117)
Movable (2,894)
Navigable waterway (2,128)
Owned by railroad (11,809)
Post truss (41)
Rail-and-Road (371)
Replaced by new bridge (15,643)
Span length 250-500 feet (1,151)
Swing (1,403)
Through truss (14,558)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,810)
Truss (31,965)
Union Pacific Railroad (2,322)

Update Log 

  • September 24, 2018: New photo from Douglas Butler
  • February 8, 2016: Added by Luke

Related Bridges 

Sources 

  • Luke
  • Douglas Butler
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Comments 

Atchison Swing Bridge
Posted October 28, 2017, by Robert Elder (robertelder1 [at] gmail [dot] com)

Yes, the original one has been replaced. The current swing bridge was built around 1900 I believe. As far as I know the current bridge is still in operating condition.

Atchison Swing Bridge
Posted October 28, 2017, by Luke

1) The bridge has long been replaced.

2) The Mississippi, Missouri (to a lesser extent than the others.), and Ohio Rivers are the most heavily used commercial waterways in the country.

Graph source: https://www.nap.edu/read/21763/chapter/4#25

Atchison Swing Bridge
Posted October 28, 2017, by Robert Elder (robertelder1 [at] gmail [dot] com)

Nathan:

A lot of people would be surprised to see a movable bridge in Kansas. The Missouri River is still considered navigable at this point. In fact, it is considered navigable all the way upstream to Sioux City, Iowa.

Thus, there are a few movable bridges over the Missouri River downstream from Sioux City on towards St Louis. This includes a couple of bridges on the Kansas stretch of the Missouri River.

Otherwise, Kansas does not generally have movable bridges except for some of the Kansas River bridges which were equipped with flood jacks.

Atchison Swing Bridge
Posted October 28, 2017, by Nathan Delaplaine (ndelaplaine [at] gmail [dot] com)

It looks the railway swinging drawbridge is still in good condition. I thought Kansas didn’t had a drawbridge because it’s the Midwest. It’s rare to see a drawbridge in Kansas.