CN Railway Wolf River Vertical Lift Bridge
Photos
Photos of the bridge before conversion.
These documents were taken from the public Environmental Impact Statement.
Photo taken by Robert Thompson
Description
During the summer of 2003, the swing bridge experienced a catastrophic mechanical casualty which left the swing mechanism inoperable. Canadian National Railroad (Wisconsin Central Ltd.) modified the Gill’s Landing Railroad Bridge across the Wolf River from a swing bridge to a vertical lift bridge. The modification to the Gill’s Landing Railroad Bridge removed the center pivot swing span machinery and manually operated equipment used in swinging the span. The existing center pivot pier now houses hydraulic lifting machinery, converting the existing swing bridge to a vertical lift bridge.Facts
- Overview
- Pony/through plate girder bridge over Wolf River on Canadian National Railway
- Location
- Waupaca County, Wisconsin
- Status
- Open to traffic
- Future prospects
- Swing mechanism was no longer operative. Since the Wolf River at this point is federally designated as Navigable Waters, it was converted to a vertical lift bridge. The project was finished in the Autumn of 2011.
- History
- Several track upgrades have been completed since the bridge was erected in 1894. Major upgrades to the hydraulic swing machinery were completed in 1987.
- Design
- The Gills Landing Bridge consisted of a single track, 160-foot plate-girder swing span that rotated on a circular pivot pier. The swing span was completed in 1894. The pier is protected upstream and downstream by timber frame protection piers. When in its closed position, the span rests on rest piers at each end of the span. The span is reached by two long approach trestles from either shore of the river. In 2011, the broken swing mechanism was removed and a steel tower was erected on the center pier, housing vertical lift machinery. This is likely the ONLY vertical-lift bridge in the world with a CENTER lift tower.
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 160.0 ft.
Deck width: 27.0 ft.
- Also called
- Gill's Landing Swing Bridge
Soo Line Swing Bridge - Approximate latitude, longitude
- +44.30636, -88.88098 (decimal degrees)
44°18'23" N, 88°52'52" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/349971/4907620 (zone/easting/northing)
- Elevation
- 760 ft. above sea level
- USGS topographic map
- Weyauwega
- Inventory number
- BH 49803 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- March 10, 2012: Updated by Robert Thompson: Changed description to "Vertical Lift Bridge"
- March 4, 2012: Updated by Robert Thompson: Editorial change in description
- October 10, 2011: Added by Robert Thompson
Comments
The swing bridge was converted to a vertical lift bridge. As I noted, this is likely the ONLY Vertical Lift Bridge in the world with a CENTER lift tower!
http://www.uscg.mil/d9/docs/Gills.Landing.Draft.Environmental.Assessment.pdf
Very detailed history of the river, navigation on the river, the railroad and the bridge, plus many good maps and photos.
http://www.hardesty-hanover.com/markets/transportation/rail-transit/project.aspx?PID=50
Page at the project engineer's site on the conversion of this swing bridge to a vertical-lift span.
I had been planning to wait until I could photograph the bridge before I posted it; it is quite out of the way and off the beaten track. However, I was just made aware of the conversion that was about to be made. I'm glad they are restoring it to function, rather than just sealing it shut, although I'm sure the Canadian National Railway does not agree.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/wi/waupaca/bh49803/