Bridgehunter.com | C&NW Milwaukee River Swing Bridge

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C&NW Swing Bridge

The tracks are long abandoned, and the bridge is parked in the open position.

Photo taken by J.R. Manning

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This bridge carried the Chicago & Northwestern Railway from Chicago to the C&NW depot in Milwaukee. The depot is long gone, and so are the rails north of this span. The right of way continued through Milwaukee, part of it is now a recreational trail.

At one time, this bridge carried C&NW's signature Twin Cities 400 passenger trains that operated from 1935 to 1963. The 400, renamed the Twin Cities 400 in 1941, was so named for traveling from Chicago to the Twin Cities in 400 minutes. The 400 arrived in Milwaukee just 85 minutes after leaving Chicago and crossing the Milwaukee River on this bridge. (The train made it to St. Paul in 396 minutes. The only train between Chicago and the Twin Cities today is the Amtrak Empire Builder, which makes the trip in 8 hours, not even close to 400 minutes.)

Facts

Overview: Through truss bridge over Milwaukee River on Chicago & Northwestern
Location: Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Status: Closed to all traffic
History: Built 1915 to replace a circa 1890 double-track swing bridge
Design: Double-intersection Pratt through truss
Dimensions: Total length: 243.0 ft.
Also called: Bridge #1556
Approximate latitude, longitude: +43.02796, -87.90499 (decimal degrees)
43°01'41" N, 87°54'18" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 16/426268/4764317 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map: Milwaukee
Inventory number: BH 44904 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

C&NW Milwaukee River Swing Bridge

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