Steam & Excursion > As Often As We Drive Over This Bridge We Forget What's Below!

One of the most notable landmarks on Interstate 5 in Northern California for highway traffic is the Pit River Bridge over Lake Shasta.  In more modern times this bridge has become known as Turntable Bay Bridge, and for good reason.

While the highway traffic occupies the top level of the bridge, most who travel over the bridge do know know that there is a lower level devoted to railroad traffic.  Built in 1942 as and early part of the I-5 system this bridge over Lake Shasta had to carry not only the re-routed auto traffic caused by the building of Shasta Dam, but also the re-routed rail traffic of the Southern Pacific.

While today, the vehicle traffic can not see or even sense the presence of the railroad traffic on the lower deck, that was not the case during the days of steam as this photo demonstrates.  Here we see a Northbound SP freight emerging from under the bridge early one morning.  The helper Cab-Forward engine has certainly made her presence known to any of the auto/truck traffic crossing the top level of the bridge.

For those of you living in the West, remember this next time you cross over this famous bridge.

Martin



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/16 02:36 by LoggerHogger.

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Amazing photo and fascinating information. Thanks for posting this.
Bob

Wow & just think of the people did not know that trains were below & all that smoke came up. That would scare the poop out of me when on a bridge that long.

Tim

Thats ok passed over it several times before I found out there was a river bed in the bottom called the Pitt River. And to all of those who worry about it going dry, from a friend who is getting into his 80s. His comment about water level, seen it that low befor and it will fill back up.
 

Neat picture.

What is equally amazing is there is no vehicle traffic on the bridge.

I became interested and aware of this bridge in the early 1960s when I saw an article on it in Trains or Model Railroader.

Is the lower deck still double tracked?

Stan Praisewater

sagehen Wrote:
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> I became interested and aware of this bridge in
> the early 1960s when I saw an article on it in
> Trains or Model Railroader.
>
> Is the lower deck still double tracked?
>
> Stan Praisewater

No, there was a siding there called Pit River but it was removed.

WP-M2051 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sagehen Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I became interested and aware of this bridge in
> > the early 1960s when I saw an article on it in
> > Trains or Model Railroader.
> >
> > Is the lower deck still double tracked?
> >
> > Stan Praisewater
>
> No, there was a siding there called Pit River but
> it was removed.

The siding was named Pitbridge, and was 90 cars in length.

I believe it was built to carry Highway 99 traffic.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

The Pit River Bridge (officially the Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Bridge[1]) is a double deck, deck truss, road and rail bridge over Shasta Lake in Shasta County, California. The bridge, carrying Interstate 5 on its upper deck and Union Pacific Railroad on its lower deck, was built in 1942 as part of the construction of the Shasta Dam/Shasta Lake reservoir system.[2] The Pit River Bridge was constructed to replace the Lower Pit River Bridge, as the rising waters of the Shasta Lake reservoir would have put the older bridge underwater.[3][4] The entire bridge spans 3,588 feet (1,094 m) long on the upper deck and 2,754 feet (839 m) on the lower deck.[2] With a height of 500 feet (150 m) above the old Pit River bed, it is structurally the highest double decked bridge in the United States; however, today the bridge sits only about 40 feet (12 m) above the water when Shasta Lake is full.[3]At the time it was built, the highway on the bridge was signed as U.S. Route 99 and the rail line was owned by Southern Pacific. The Coast Starlight, the passenger train line operated by Amtrak that runs from Los Angeles north to Seattle, also uses the bridge.[2]The bridge is officially known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Bridge, to honor military veterans from California who have fought in foreign wars.[1]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Pit_River_Bridge.jpg/220px-Pit_River_Bridge.jpg Pit River Bridge before its pylons were inundated by Shasta Lake  

AND...., right at the west or south end of the bridge there was a tunnel. Both main and siding turned into gauntlet track through the tunnel with the switch on the south end of the tunnel. You could still see where the main sat over to the left a bit going through the tunnel going east or north way into the 80s, long after the siding was removed.  If you go under the highway bridge looking south, you can see what looks like a tunnel portal for double track but with rails over on the right side. The left part of the "tunnel" ends into a solid wall. That was where the the frog was for the gauntlet track.

The reason for this was back in the steam days, if the switch was at the start of the bridge, the engine could be stopped in the tunnel at a red signal. Then someone had to go to the phone to get permission to pass the red signal and or take the switch in hand throw,  not good for the waiting crew breathing the smoke and heat.

Nudge

There's a bunch of Pit River Bridge posts and early photos in the TO archive, try this one that shows the original road bridge and the present bridge (thanks DMaffei):

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1625090,1625474#msg-1625474

My old Friend jdb had driven through the area during construction and did some research looking for the old roadway and the bridge construction, searching 'Authors' with jdb should show some interesting discussions. Jdb dug out the idea that 'Turntable Bay' was named after the curves in the road relating to how tight they were that a vehicle may need a turntable to get through them. Apparently the mining RR that followed the Pit River did not have a turntable at that location but somebody liked the name. I never have followed that old right of way but it would be interesting to figure out, I believe it is fairly well documented.

Also note that the original SP route did not cross the Pit River, it followed the Sacramento into the north-western part of Redding, where Shasta Dam is located. Lots of interesting info in John Signor's book about the SP Shasta Division.

Here's the same bridge on June 22, 2015 from the other side.
 

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>AND...., right at the west or south end of the bridge there was a tunnel. Both main and siding turned into gauntlet track through the tunnel with the switch on the south end of the tunnel.

Yes, the power switch was between tunnels 1 and 2, then gauntlet track to the EE of tunnel 2, where the frog was, then the bridge. About 1/4 east of the engine in the OP's pic is tunnel 3. The siding was abandoned around 1960 (to short and no easy way to lenghten it). The last time I went through tunnel 2, about 15 years ago, the longer ties from the gauntlet track were still in use.

EtoinShrdlu Wrote:
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> >AND...., right at the west or south end of the
> bridge there was a tunnel. Both main and siding
> turned into gauntlet track through the tunnel with
> the switch on the south end of the tunnel.
>
> Yes, the power switch was between tunnels 1 and 2,
> then gauntlet track to the EE of tunnel 2, where
> the frog was, then the bridge. About 1/4 east of
> the engine in the OP's pic is tunnel 3. The siding
> was abandoned around 1960 (to short and no easy
> way to lenghten it). The last time I went through
> tunnel 2, about 15 years ago, the longer ties from
> the gauntlet track were still in use.

Those long ties are still there. They have been rebuilding the track through the tunnels over the last three years, so I would imagine that tunnel 2 is on the list to be relaid soon.

I spent many days shooting from mostly the east (north) end of the bridge. Great spot.

I'd like to see a photo of the East switch Pitbridge if anyone has an old shot.  Believe there was a cantilever signal tower, it was a cool spot.  My Dad took me there to the top of a cut when I was a small boy in 1959 or 60, I remember seeing a train but not the switch.