Western Railroad Discussion > Iowa City Bridge and a Local

We drove out to visit our sophomore at Univ. of Iowa today. After lunch at St. Burch Tavern downtown, we headed south of town for an afternoon walk on the Iowa River Corridor Trail. I may have suggested this as I knew there was former Rock Island bridge over the river where we would be walking. I was not disappointed by the walk or the bridge which is a two span structure over the river. Interestingly, the east span is a Warren truss and the west span is a Howe truss.
 

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Close up of the east end of the Warren truss and one of the bridge shoes on the east end. Note the cutdown pieces of rail used to increase the height.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/21 20:38 by kevink.

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We headed back to town to drop off the college kid and start back home becase the high school kid had a social (ly-distance) gathering they wanted to attend. I drove up Gilbert Street thinking I woud head over to Dodge Street and check the IAIS yard. Through the trees, I spotted what sured looked like an IAIS engine. I went west to Dubuque Street thinking it was working the yard. It turned out to be IAIS 708 with two cars. I grabbed a couple of photos and headed back to the car. The train sounded its horn and started moving west. A quick mental calculation said I had no chance to get the next street over to get the train passing the depot so the last shot is of the 708 passing a recently constructed apartment building.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/21 20:47 by kevink.

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Nice catch on the Local!

SP8595 Wrote:
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> Nice catch on the Local!
Thanks!

I would have liked the depot image but the last time I saw this local, it was working the yard. While I was waiting by the depot, it pulled up to about this spot but headed east leaving me with nothing to show.
Any IAIS pic in sunshine is fine with me!

Posted from iPhone

The bridge you photographed is in service for Crandic who owns the Iowa City-Hills line and runs it sporadically.  Andy Brown has more details.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Expansion joint - The rails are not to increase height, but to provide smooth roller surface for the horizontal roller to accept expansion and contraction of the bridge. === === = === JLH

I can't beleive that HOWE truss can support a diesel engine--it looks too wimpy!  It must bend and flex alot when one passes over.

That Warren truss span is sure spindly looking! I'm not sure I'd want to take a modern diesel across it. Certainly nothing heavier or larger than a GP-7 or GP-9.
Scary looking. I had a friend from the East Coast who's parent's sent him to school there back in the Sixties. I believe they thought he would be safe from drugs and big city sins. I received a letter from him and on the envelope flap he wrote, "There is no Iowa". In the letter's content he expressed he felt like he had been sent to Siberia. He did survive the social outcasting and became a school teacher back East in some a suburban school district, probably drug and sin infested.
Go

coach Wrote:
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> I can't beleive that HOWE truss can support a
> diesel engine--it looks too wimpy!  It must bend
> and flex alot when one passes over.

Gonut1 Wrote:
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> That Warren truss span is sure spindly looking!
> I'm not sure I'd want to take a modern diesel
> across it. Certainly nothing heavier or larger
> than a GP-7 or GP-9.

Well, since CRANDIC is running the occasional train over both trusses, I assume they don't have any issues with span.
And in the interest of accuracy, I mis-identified the truss types. The west (left) space is a Warren through truss built around 1905 and the east (left) truss is a Quadrangular truss built around 1885. 

 

ntharalson Wrote:
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> The bridge you photographed is in service for
> Crandic who owns the Iowa City-Hills line and runs
> it sporadically.  Andy Brown has more
> details.  

Sorry, don't ask me.  I've been trying to catch the Hills job for some time now and can't seem to find any regularity to the operation.

The truss bridge spans, obviously are transplants from other locations.  I think the east one is from the old Sylvan Slough bridge at Rock Island (RR east geographic south end of the Arsenal bridge) and if I was a betting man I put my money on the west span having come from the old Skunk River bridge north of Brighton that was abandoned after the Brighton Cutoff was built, circa 1948.  Sure looks like the trusses that were on that bridge.

Andy