Hayden Bridge

Working to correct the historic record with historian Jay Swofford before the nomination to the register. Perhaps the parts were crafted in 1869, I do not know, but I was told the bridge replaced the original trestle on the transcontinental line in 1882 and then disassembly began in 1896 for the move to Springfield in 1900.

Cable rail with steel columns and top rail by ASF Ironworks in Springfield, Oregon.

You're invited. The snow is going, going gone.

Please join us for the opening celebration of the Clark & Reeves, Phoenixville Bridge Works, 1882 Hayden Bridge on March 12th at 4pm in Springfield, Lane County, Oregon. Located at the corner of Marcola and Camp Creek and Hayden Bridge Roads, the crossing has no address but does have great presence across the street from Riverview Market and EWEB.

After the funding was secured from our very generous anonymous donor, and after we installed planks last fall, the railing will be installed this week by ASF Ironworks. We are ready to let everybody see the views. They are outstanding.

Please help us cut the ribbons from both sides / city and county and then meet in the middle where we will take a group photo. If I have missed anyone or if you can think of someone that needs to be involved please let me know. We sure haven't met everyone out here yet, although we try to get around.

If you have any questions or want to participate or donate to the event please don't hesitate to contact me. I will print up a few posters but don't hesitate to print and pass around or hang them in areas where we can get the word out best.

Press is invited to the bridge during the railing installation as well. That starts today by ASF Ironworks.

It is looking good Julie, job well done with all you have done to save this interesting bridge.

I'm going to have to make a trip down to Springfield to take a look at some point.

New deck width is 7'6" between curb.

Thanks Michael. Railing going on after the snow melts.

Also, I updated the numbers since I calculated them...

Looking at the HAER drawings, I found the following information.

Truss spacing: 16' center to center

Horizontal Clearance: ~14'-8" (truss spacing subtracting a thickness of Phoenix Column (15-7/8")

Vertical Clearance: ~19' portal to top of track (floor beam to portal distance, minus stringer, railroad ties, track)

All of this is based off the railroad dimensions provided by HAER, obviously if the deck has been modified by Julie's efforts these measurements would be different.

Under "design" it states that the inside horizontal clearance is 18'and inside vertical clearance 14'. That doesn't seem right to me: I see significantly more height available than width.

Snowy day.

I cleaned the west abutment. Still needs a broom but the matting is gone. Here is the shoe. The other end has the rollers for the expansion but the bees need to slumber before clean up. Maintenance. Almost there for funding the railing.

Planked. Railing next .... under fundraising for that.

Ready for planks and railing.

Something to know for future reference perhaps.

Turns out, after a year, almost two, that there are no permits required to plank and rail this bridge because it wont ever need to carry a fire truck. Haha.... spoent a lot ofmoney ti reach that result. Totally cool. Merry Christmas.

Everything takes a lot of time, but I think this concept can say what I can't about this project and why these bridges are important and how they can be the hub of a vibrant park. If you know me at all, you realize how important the amphitheater is, as is the children park area, the river bank. Access to our rivers.

This is the final version 1 before commentary by anyone official. We do not have ownership of the park land, that is EWEB and the boat access is under management by the county. We just have our rectangle of land.

The covered bridge isn't added yet.

http://www.lostbridges.org/details.aspx?id=OR/37-20-51x&loc=...

Here's the info so you can add it.

A.S. Miller & Sons is the preexisting builder category.

You can watch a McKenzie River Trust documentary on McKenzie River Covered Bridges here. Its cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErXyF6B0qp4 It shows clips of both bridges that I include here from screen shots, the covered and the railroad. I suppose the covered actually needs an entry? And the reasoning for the covered bridges here makes sense, protection from the elements let them last longer.

$26,000 has been raised out of $100,000 needed for railing, beautiful BACH Steel gates and decking. The purchase order for the main gate, the Northern Gateway to Springfield will be sent this week to Nels. They have designed a beautiful laced, riveted, rosetted, gate that goes perfectly with the bridge. We have asked the University of Oregon for critique, their preservation class with Christopher Bell and Don Petting met at the bridge at the end of September.

We are on site and working it. In the meantime, get ready to check out the Springfield Des Arc page, work commences soon. Nels is checking into final details in Arkansas.

Just a little TLC - Timber and Land CleanUp...

Feel free to print this on card stock, send them to your friends. I've found that trading cards, post cards, bookmarks are kind of fun to do when we are going somewhere. A quick snap shot of the Workin' Bridges of today taking on a project that we are not sure where it will go. Will we be the interim owner? Will we be able to develop the heritage park idea that is emerging with preservation via ownership? Those are the questions swirling at hq these days as we finish up and prepare to lift Martin Road, waiting patiently for the engineering for the bowstring move.

Finishing up the details for Dy & Anna's (the advance team) trip to Oregon next week to meet with interested folks in Springfield and Eugene for a couple of days. I'll be posting the press release with more info on where and when they will be around tomorrow but plan on the Chamber of Commerce in Springfield, Oregon at 2:00 next Wednesday for the public and any interested folks to get their ideas on the idea board. Dy will also be presenting at the Springfield Historic Commission on Tuesday at 5:30.

It's an Invitation to all Bridge Hunters in the Oregon/Washington area.

Please come join in the celebration from 4-7 pm Monday, June 13th at Hayden Bridge on Marcola Road in Springfield, Oregon. Some remarks at 5:45 as we toast to the past and wave to the future.

Be part of the planning for the future of this bridge. More was revealed. You guys don't know how hard it was being quiet during the negotiations on this one. Talk about corporate! We are grateful to Weyerhaeuser for their generous donation that gets the planning started.

That's the point when one goes, "Oh dear, we just bought another bridge!"

and then one goes "SLAP, IT'S A WHIPPLE!... a genuine old fantastic cast iron truss...."

and it is Bridge of the Year 2016 on Bridgehunter. this is a win for all of us on this site. thank you all for your insites and contributions, it's how we find out. Thanks to Mike Goff who let us use any of his pictures.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Grinnell, Iowa • Holt, Michigan •

Springfield, Oregon

The North Skunk River Greenbelt Association’s (NSRGA) Workin' Bridges is delighted to announce that Weyerhaeuser Company has agreed to a solution to preserve historic Hayden Railroad Bridge which spans the scenic McKenzie River, in Springfield, Oregon. The Hayden Bridge is a rare 1882 Whipple Truss bridge built of wrought and cast iron members. It is in excellent condition.

In 2015, Workin’ Bridges began working with Weyerhaeuser to consider options for the disposition of the bridge. After nearly a year, a mutually acceptable solution for the Hayden Bridge was developed.

Weyerhaeuser sold the bridge to the Iowa-based non-profit corporation for $1. The company also donated the land that the bridge sits on along with a generous cash allocation of $25,000. The funds will be used for planning and preserving the bridge, and designing the park land around it. This will allow the bridge to continue to cross the McKenzie River at its present location.

On June 13th, Diane Roth, President of NSRGA, Julie Bowers and Nels Raynor co-founders of Workin’ Bridges, will be in Springfield, Oregon to accept title to the property.

Workin' Bridges will be hosting a picnic at the bridge from 4 until 7 p.m. "We hope to meet many people, and will be announcing the team that will be going to work immediately gathering community input on designing and planning for the Hayden Bridge and property. We would love to see many bridge lovers on Monday to celebrate preservation." stated Bowers, Executive Director of NSRGA.

"Hayden Bridge is one of the prettiest bridges I've ever had the pleasure of walking on and I look forward to preserving it. Of all the bridges I've been involved with, this one deserves to be in a museum," stated Nels Raynor - Owner, BACH Steel and co-founder Workin' Bridges.

“We are pleased to find a solution that preserves Hayden Bridge,” said Greg Miller, Government Relations Manager, Weyerhaeuser Company.

Generally, NSRGA will be the interim owner of the bridge, satisfying the insurance and liability requirements, providing the expert restoration and engineering required, and finding the long term owners or a trail system that would take this on.

“We have to go into every project knowing that we are the owner, maybe for life in order to satisfy preservation covenants, and we look forward to helping find the best future for this span in this area. Now the conversation begins on what this historic bridge park will look like", said Julie Bowers.

“We look forward to bringing to the table officials from Springfield, Lane County and preservation officials at the state level as well as students, community members and bridge lovers as we start to look at this project. It is a blank slate, except for the bridge. We know what it needs in the short term, railing, decking and lighting which our master craftsmen, Nels Raynor and his BACH Steel Rivet Gang, will do. They use techniques that were used when this bridge was built working with cast and wrought iron, and will give the museum piece the attention to detail that it deserves.”

Hayden Bridge is a rare 1882 Whipple Truss, built of wrought and cast iron members, manufactured by Clark & Reeves Co, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The bridge is in excellent condition. Originally built as a replacement to an original crossing for the Transcontinental Railroad in Corrine, Utah, this railroad bridge was moved in 1901 to Springfield, Oregon where it remained in service until 1987, most recently owned by Weyerhaeuser.

Anyone interested in being part of the future of this bridge should contact Julie Bowers at jbowerz1@gmail.com, or call 641.260.1262

The North Skunk River Greenbelt Association - NSRGA was founded in 2010 and is dedicated to the preservation of historic truss bridges.

Workin' Bridges, a nonprofit dedicated to historic truss bridge restoration, under the guidance of The North Skunk River Greenbelt Association (NSRGA). Workin’ Bridges was founded by Julie Bowers and Nels Raynor at the end of 2011 to provide consulting for other bridge restoration projects while we tried to figure out how to save our own bowstring bridge. www.facebook.com/WorkinBridges www.workinbridges.org

Historical Significance (Library of Congress): The Hayden Bridge incorporates two features that were milestones in the history of wrought iron bridge building: the Whipple-Murphy truss and the Phoenix column. The Hayden Bridge was fabricated by Clarke, Reeves & Company, Phoenixville Bridge Works of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania in 1882. It was originally erected across the Bear River at Corrine, Utah by the Central Pacific Railroad, on the line that was part of the first Transcontinental Railroad. The bridge was dismantled and reassembled across the McKenzie River near Springfield, Oregon in 1901, as part of a logging spur line owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The 224 feet long wrought-iron span includes hollow "Phoenix Columns," an innovative fabrication design of the wrought-iron period of American bridge building. This feature was a staple of the Phoenixville Bridge Works. The span is a Double-Intersection Pratt Truss, also called a Whipple-Murphy Truss. In 1847, Squire Whipple patented his design for a Pratt Truss made of iron, with diagonal web members crossing two panel points. The Hayden Bridge is made of wrought-iron, except for the connections and ornamentation, which are cast-iron. Ornamental medallions are placed at the crossing of the diagonal portal bracings. Railroad brake-wheel designs decorate the corner portal brackets. A cast-iron nameplate atop the portal gives the full name of the Phoenixville Works. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/or0289/

Finally. The preliminary purchase agreements have been edited and we have a closing date in June. The "Bridge of the Year" is on track to begin planning for it to be open. As always when we go into a project, we go in as the owner and with the commitment that in the end, we are the owners, until future ownership can be determined.

We have found that under our ownership there is no question that the job will be done right. The bridge here requires railing that must equal the quality of the job and be decorative and safe. It needs decking and lighting. We are utilizing our local DOT friends to help get the word out to those that want to be part of the planning project. We have funds to help the design and planning process and have talked with the a professor at the University about master's level internships yet this summer that will move the conversation forward.

This bridge, too, was on a course for demolition, until Workin' Bridges stepped in. With perseverance, we were able to convince Weyerhaeuser that this would be a gift to the city of Springfield and Lane County, Oregon for this majestic bridge to get the attention it deserves.

The history is compelling. The Phoenix Bridge story is compelling. The use on the transcontinental railroad system is compelling. It's move is compelling because these bridges were built for this.

This bridge is to be preserved. Coast to coast, more are seeing the light bulbs go off, that these are resources not liabilities.

Woo Hoo.

Still on track to stay where it is Lee. Talks going on with city and Weyerhaeuser the owner.

I have not heard an update on this bridge lately. Workin' Bridges looked at it earlier this year. I am hoping the Hayden Bridge will become a pedestrian bridge. If anyone has any knowledge of anything to do with this bridge as in restoration, etc. can you please email me? Beautiful abandoned bridge in Springfield Oregon. A museum piece that I would hate to see destroyed.

At 13 and a half..I made it a quarter of the way across..before the train..arrived..ON the other side..from the upper valley. Sigh..it really was..a great idea..at the time!

The Hayden Bridge Preservation Plan has been submitted to the owner. What a wonderful experience..helping others know real costs for decision making. It's what Workin' Bridges does...bring an effective team together using locals and, one of the best, our going on five years collaboration with Nels Raynor. Next stop Kansas.

Absolutely.

By far one of the most beautifully unpreserved bridges ive ever had the pleasure of looking at....Perfect ....as a restorer of these beautiful structures there is no easier one to restore its as good as the day it was built!!

PDF version of HAER drawings attached.

Attachment #1 (application/pdf; 1,326,587 bytes)

Picture from March 2014:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/36241830@N06/13898982547

Listed Clarke, Reeves, and Co and Phoenix Bridge Co are the same company. The Clarke Reeves Co turned into the Phoenix Bridge Co in 1884. This bridge was built during the Clarke, Reeves Co era.

Actually, when you think about it, rivets are almost ALWAYS loaded in shear. And I assume the Phoenix Columns are used in compression versus in tension, so there should not be much stress on them.

Totally fascinating. They created tubular supports by riveting together semi-circular material. That's pretty unique. It's also asking a lot from the shear-strength of the rivets.

Neat Whipple Truss whether built for road traffic or railroad!

Wow, it looks a little spindly for a railroad bridge. But here it stands all these years later.