Sangamon Valley Trail - Cantrall Creek Bridge
Description
This bridge was part of an abandoned segment of the St. Louis, Peoria and North Western Railway, later consolidated into the Chicago and North Western Railroad. It was constructed in 1911-1913 with $10.0 million in capital raised by the Chicago and North Western Railway to haul coal from Macoupin County mines operated by the Superior Coal Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chicago and Northwestern. The six Macoupin coal mines served by the St. Louis, Peoria and Northwestern yielded an estimated 2.0 million tons of coal annually, almost all of which was burned by the Chicago and North Western in its steam railway operations.Facts
- Overview
- Abandoned deck girder bridge over Cantrall Creek on future Sangamon Valley Trail
- Location
- Sangamon County, Illinois
- Status
- Intact but closed to all traffic
- Future prospects
- Proposed future use for the Sangamon Valley Trail.
- History
- Built 1920
- Builders
- - Gustaf Widell & Co. of Mankato, Minnesota
- Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Railroads
- - Chicago & North Western Railway (CNW)
- St. Louis, Peoria & North Western Railway (StLP&NW)
- Design
- Railroad Deck Plate Girder Trestle
- Dimensions
-
Total length: 350.0 ft.
- Also called
- C&NW Bridge #1840
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +39.88877, -89.70723 (decimal degrees)
39°53'20" N, 89°42'26" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/268521/4418920 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Athens
- Land survey
- T. 17 N., R. 5 W., Sec. 30
- Elevation
- 550 ft. above sea level
- Inventory number
- BH 50915 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- January 13, 2019: New photos from Nick Schmiedeler
- January 12, 2012: Updated by Steve Conro:
Sources
- Steve Conro - sconro [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Nick Schmiedeler - nick [at] nickschmiedeler [dot] com
Comments
The original line was built with timber bents. When C&NW took over the line they widened the substructures by removing the timber trestles and building more substantial concrete and steel for a future 2nd track. This track was never added.
I actually was in contact with someone who has the blueprints for this bridge. As reported to me, the superstructure of the bridge was built in 1920 by Wisconsin Bridge & Iron works, and the substructure built by Widell Company. Eager for pictures!
This thing is a beast. 2nd line removed or never placed....looooong walk down recently-opened stretch of rail-to-trail to this one, at least one plaque removed but sounds like research has it at 1913 or so. Just a monster, and a beautiful spot. Fun visit.
This bridge is now open to the public for pedestrian and bicycle use only.
Work has begun on the Sangamon Valley Trail extension. Main structure will remain but the deck will be redone for bicycle/pedestrian usage.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/il/sangamon/bh50915/
This bridge was repurposed and opened to pedestrians in November 2017 as part of the Sangamon Valley Trail.