Rating:
48775
{95}%
1 vote
CB&C - Wabash River Bridge
Photo
Cbc wreck bluffton
BH Photo #199138
Description
Bridge was damaged in 1913 flood, and center steel girder and two concrete piers were added after a complete rebuild. In May of that year a Southbound mixed train suffered a collapse of the new North concrete pier sending the entire new span, the engine and one box car to fall causing a fatal injury to the engineer who died on the way to a Huntington Hospital. Later a footbridge was added to allow passengers to cross the river until a new permanent structure was built. While under construction, another temporary lower bridge was built to carry trains across, which according to the book "Ghost Railroads Of Indiana" would occasionally be unidated by water causing doubt among passengers crossing this temporary bridge that the rails were indeed there. Entire rail line was abandoned and pulled up by 1918, and that may include the bridge. There doesn't appear to be any public access to this former bridge site unfortunately.
Facts
- Overview
- Lost Deck girder bridge over Wabash River on Formerly Cincinnati Bluffton and Chicago Railroad
- Location
- Bluffton, Wells County, Indiana
- Status
- Removed
- History
- Part of a grand plan to connect Chicago to Cincy, abet late, that suffered financial problems it's entire existance. Bridge scene of collapse and derailment involving one fatality.
- Railroad
- - Cincinnati, Bluffton, & Chicago Railroad (CB&C)
- Design
- Originally all wood construction, a center steel girder with concrete piers was added after bridge was damaged in 1913 flood. This left other piers and bridgework of original wood stringer type construction intact or repaired in addition to the new section.
- Dimensions
-
Total length: 200.0 ft.
- Also called
- Corned beef and cabbage Wabash Bridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +40.75068, -85.17885 (decimal degrees)
40°45'02" N, 85°10'44" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
- Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/653740/4512675 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Uniondale
- Inventory number
- BH 48775 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- May 16, 2011: Added by James Norwood
Locals called it The Corned Beef & Cabbage Line (CB&C).