Rating:
2 votes

MP - Arkansas River Bridge

Sebastian County, Arkansas, and Sequoyah County, Oklahoma

Photos 

Vintage photo provided by Gene McCluney

Enlarge

BH Photo #129849

Map 

Description 

Ten 197 ft Pegram truss spans 366 ft draw span 38 ft concrete span on the west approach

Facts 

Overview
Lost Pegram truss swing bridge over Arkansas River for Railroad and at one time Wagon traffic in Ft. Smith. It was removed due to the Kerr-McClellan Arkansas river navigation project.
Location
Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas, and Sequoyah County, Oklahoma
Status
Lost
History
Built 1891, removed 1969
Builders
- Edge Moor Bridge Works of Wilmington, Delaware
- George Pegram of Council Bluffs, Iowa
- Union Bridge Co. of Buffalo, New York & Athens, Pennsylvania
Railroads
- Missouri Pacific Railroad (MP)
- St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway (StLIM&S)
Design
Pegram truss swing
Dimensions
Total length: 2,407.0 ft. (0.5 mi.)
Also called
Helen Gould Bridge
Iron Mountain railroad bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+35.38800, -94.43352   (decimal degrees)
35°23'17" N, 94°26'01" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
15/369805/3917015 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Fort Smith
Inventory number
BH 38330 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (8,397)
Arkansas (1,765)
Arkansas River (116)
Built 1891 (243)
Built during 1890s (3,195)
Edge Moor Bridge Works (80)
Fort Smith, Arkansas (16)
George Pegram (28)
Lost (28,530)
Lost 1969 (97)
Lost during 1960s (938)
Missouri Pacific Railroad (409)
Moffett, Oklahoma (3)
Movable (3,115)
Navigable waterway (2,204)
Oklahoma (2,031)
 One-lane traffic (7,837)
Owned by railroad (13,504)
Pegram truss (30)
Pin-connected (4,712)
Rail-and-Road (397)
Railroad (16,462)
Replaced by new bridge (19,403)
Sebastian County, Arkansas (78)
Sequoyah County, Oklahoma (44)
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway (35)
State line crossing (913)
Swing (1,562)
Through truss (16,816)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,997)
Truss (35,500)
Union Bridge Co. (70)

Update Log 

  • May 3, 2021: New photo from Geoff Hubbs
  • November 18, 2018: Updated by Luke: Noted that trusses were Pegrams
  • September 17, 2015: New photo from Douglas Butler
  • August 20, 2015: New photo from Douglas Butler
  • February 25, 2010: Updated by David Backlin: Revised GPS
  • February 23, 2010: Updated by David Backlin: Added GPS
  • February 15, 2010: Updated by David Backlin: Added USGS quadrant
  • March 8, 2009: New photos from Gene McCluney
  • December 7, 2008: Added by Gene McCluney

Sources 

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Comments 

Arkansas River Railroad Bridge
Posted February 20, 2010, by Mike Page (mike [dot] page [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Not to change the subject, but I find that first photo to be incredibly interesting. My first love was locks and dams on the Green River near my home in the 1830's. That first photo shows the hull of a sternwheel packet steamer being built in the foreground. That is way cool.

Arkansas River Railroad Bridge
Posted February 19, 2010, by jack (jackkav [at] sbcglobal [dot] net)

jeez crazy bridge?

Arkansas River Railroad Bridge
Posted February 15, 2010, by David Backlin (us71 [at] cox [dot] net)

More info can be found here:

http://condrenrails.com/FSVB/Bridges/Iron-Mountain-Bridge.ht...

Arkansas River Railroad Bridge
Posted June 14, 2009, by Robert Elder (robertelder1 [at] gmail [dot] com)

This must have been an incredible structure. A multiple span Pegram truss is not something you see everyday.