Rating:
4 votes

MCRM Baraboo River Bridge

Sauk County, Wisconsin
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Photos 

View of the bridge from the South

Photo taken by Eric Hanson in July 2010

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Description 

This bridge still has its railroad tracks intact, however it does not appear it is used anymore. The line was abandoned in 1963, however the bridge itself is adjacent to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum and the track to the south is used by the museum to run trains. To the north approximately 1,000 feet the abandoned tracks intersect tracks used by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad. In between the bridge and the tracks it appears the "abandoned" section is used for storage of rail cars.

Facts 

Overview
Through truss bridge over Baraboo River (Formerly Chicago & North Western Railroad)
Location
North Freedom, Sauk County, Wisconsin
Status
Abandoned but used for storage
History
Built in 1903 as part of Chicago & North Western's 3.07 mile North Freedom to La Rue 1903 segment.
Design
Pony plate girder
Approximate latitude, longitude
+43.46172, -89.87282   (decimal degrees)
43°27'42" N, 89°52'22" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/267596/4816099 (zone/easting/northing)
Land survey
T. 11 N., R. 5 E., Sec. 2
Elevation
859 ft. above sea level
USGS topographic map
North Freedom
Inventory number
BH 47475 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Abandoned (1,372)
Built 1903 (267)
Built during 1900s (4,246)
Chicago & North Western Railway (470)
Girder (3,236)
North Freedom, Wisconsin (3)
 Owned by historical society (36)
Plate girder (2,250)
Railroad (4,070)
Sauk County, Wisconsin (19)
Through girder (1,134)
Wisconsin (804)

Update Log 

  • July 29, 2012: Photo imported by Luke Harden
  • July 28, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Edited status: Bridge is abandoned and Red-carded
  • December 31, 2010: Added by Eric Hanson

Sources 

  • Eric Hanson
  • Luke Harden - lukemh9 [at] gmail [dot] com
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Comments 

Baraboo River Bridge
Posted July 29, 2012, by Gary Sprandel (jaidite [at] aol [dot] com)

Last I'd heard the bridge and track were still "active" but only in the sense that it's the museum's link to the outside world.

Judging from the pic it looks as though the stored cars are new exhibits donated to the museum.

The red carding of the bridge may be due to the major flooding that hit the museum a few years back and damaged everything in the collection so with other locomotives and rolling stock being a higher priority(to keep money coming in)getting the museum's outside link repaired may need to wait until they have something to go in or out.

Baraboo River Bridge
Posted May 10, 2011, by Robert Thompson

Just an observation: it appears to be a pony girder span, rather than a through truss.