Republican River Pegram Truss Bridge

That link provides a great discussion of the Pegram Truss. It mentions a 148' span over the Solomon Branch near Minneapolis, KS. There is a Pegram in Minneapolis, but it crosses Pipe Creek immediately above its junction with the Solomon River. http://www.bridgehunter.com/ks/ottawa/minneapolis-rr/

An abandoned railroad line crossed the Solomon River a short distance west of Minneapolis, but Google Maps indicates that any bridge at that location has been removed http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&ie=UTF8&ll=39.118832,-97.723491&spn=0.001323,0.002401&z=19

The most detailed information I have found on Pegram truss bridges is on this National Register Nomination: http://www.historicbridges.org/utah/pegram/utahnomination.pdf

Very interesting bridge and design. I was just reading an undated wikipedia article on trusses. The article says (without reference) that there are only 10 Pegram trusses still standing and that most of them are in the state of Idaho. Go figure.

I just realized that I have never uploaded pictures of the plaques that are mounted on this bridge. These photos are packed away somewhere.

I believe that there are two plaques on the main span. One identifies the builder as the Edge Moor Bridge Works and the other identifies the truss type as a Pegram truss.

Yeah, that would be great if you could upload pics of those trusses in Indiana and Ohio. It will be interesting to compare them.

I was just reading where Indiana Bridge Company referred to their "Pegram" as a "high triangular truss. I'm not sure if there were any major differences in the two, but they look very similar. I'm hoping to visit the Peterson Ford bridge sometime this week, and will post some pictures if I do.

Robert

Thanks for the info on the Pegram trusses. There are two bridges built by the Indiana Bridge Company that have a similar truss. One is in Preble County, OH (Seven Mile Creek Bridge)and was built in 1906. The Indiana bridge is the Peterson Ford Bridge over the Mississinewa River in Deleware County north of Muncie, and was built in 1902. While Ohio does call their bridge a Pegram, I have always just heard of our Indiana bridge referred to as a Polygonal-chord Warren Thru Truss. We also have a Triple Lattice (Fredricksburg Bridge) in Washington County,IN that is being moved to a park in Hamilton County, IN to be restored. These bridges were built for roadway use, where both of these truss types were more common on the railways.

Tony

I agree with Anthony that this is an impressive bridge. This bridge, the UP Crossing, the Salt Creek Bowstring Bridge, the County Line Bowstring Bridge, and the Rice Stone Arch Bridge are all located within about 5-6 miles of each other (as seen on the maps) and can conveniently be visited on one trip, road conditions permitting.

This is one of at least two Pegram trusses that I am aware of in Kansas. The other is located in Minneapolis in Ottawa county, and is pictured on this site.

WOW! This is a neat bridge! A Pegram sandwiched by a pair of triple-intersection lattices. Makes me want to go to Kansas.

An unmentioned fact on this bridge is that it was originally a Union Pacific railroad bridge until the railroad was abandoned and removed in the 1930s. It's a very interesting bridge on a blacktop road and is also relatively close to KS Hwy 9.