Western Railroad Discussion > Watery Wednesday.

 I know we could use some rain right now but not this much. Record rainfall upstream of the Arkansas river in 2019 brought a high level of water through Tulsa and to the mainline crossing of the BNSF Cherokee Sub just East of the yard. This is the only railroad bridge in the area and used by BNSF, UP and Watco's SKOL (South Kansas and Oklahoma) to reach the SLWC (Stillwater Central). The flooding which caused $3 billion dollars damage and 5 fatalities continued for weeks. Here just below Keystone reservoir the Army Corps of Engineers intentionally released 275,000 cubic feet of water per second from the Keystone Dam, more than double the flow rates at Niagara Falls prompting evacuations and concerns for the levees. You can see the difference between the low water view with sand bars and rocks in the bed compared to white caps licking at the bottom of the bridge. Though this bridge has withstood several flood events, two earlier bridges did not and were washed away. I made several trips into Tulsa to record the high levels and I included some earlier views of the normal scene. Notations on the images give details, tanks for looking.
1. BNSF 7811, KCS 4154 eastbound on the Arkansas river bridge Tulsa, OK 5-30-2019.
2. BNSF 7811, KCS 4154 eastbound on the Arkansas river bridge Tulsa, OK 5-30-2019.
3. BNSF 1735, 1635, HLCX 6305 trim job eastbound from the yard crossing the Arkansas river at normal levels, Tulsa, OK 9-7-2017.

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4. BNSF 6783, 5050 with tanks eastbound on the Arkansas river at high water, Tulsa, OK 5-30-2019.
5. SLWC 4163, HLCX 6328, SLWC 4161, 4129 on the Arkansas river at normal level 9-7-2017. 

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Quite the contrast! Thanks for the comparisons..... I hope the bridge remains intact!

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

Very interesting series!

Larry