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Western Railroad Discussion > Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge


Date: 11/18/24 20:30
Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: AndyBrown

Jeff and I were discussing BN's Missouri River bridge at Plattsmouth, NE tonight at Cedar Rapids Railfans, after seeing some stellar shots from Darren Ferreter from the late '80s.  I was telling Jeff that brush is getting terrible on both ends, to the point that these shots won't be possible in the near future!

Photo 1, westbound on the Nebraska side,  9-7-22.
Photo 2, eastbound on the Iowa side, 9-8-22.

Andy






Date: 11/18/24 21:44
Re: Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: santafe199

I first visited Plattsmouth in 1977. It looked just a wee bit different: ( Plattsmouth in Z scale! )...

Lance



Date: 11/19/24 06:42
Re: Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: timz

Wonder how the economics of bridge design changed. Why did a deck truss make sense for the Iowa end of the old bridge, but not for the new?



Date: 11/19/24 06:44
Re: Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: sarailfan

timz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wonder how the economics of bridge design changed.
> Why did a deck truss make sense for the Iowa end
> of the old bridge, but not for the new?

Plate girders of that size only became common around 1990 and onward; prior to that it was more cost effective to build a truss. I suspect it has a lot to do with the size of steel produced at the mills, there just weren't rolling mills capable of sheets that large in years past.

Posted from Android

Darren Boes
Lethbridge, AB
Southern Alberta Railfan



Date: 11/19/24 09:18
Re: Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: timz

Thanks for a plausible theory. So you're guessing
they would have built the old bridge that way if
steel that wide had existed then?



Date: 11/19/24 12:57
Re: Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: sarailfan

timz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for a plausible theory. So you're guessing
> they would have built the old bridge that way if
> steel that wide had existed then?

It would have depended on the cost of the steel then. Labor to rivet a truss bridge together may have still been cheaper, the railroad would have built whichever bridge had the lower labor plus materials cost.

Posted from Android

Darren Boes
Lethbridge, AB
Southern Alberta Railfan



Date: 11/19/24 14:40
Re: Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: xrds72

The newer bridge was built with the DPG's, most likely, because they are easier to fabricate and install than Deck Trusses. Cost of labor is a huge factor in such projects. 



Date: 11/19/24 17:56
Re: Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: atsf121

xrds72 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The newer bridge was built with the DPG's, most
> likely, because they are easier to fabricate and
> install than Deck Trusses. Cost of labor is a huge
> factor in such projects. 

It is easy to underestimate the construction costs, for sure.  I was watching out my office window yesterday as a 12 man crew used a smaller crane to assemble a giant crane, they probably had it done in about 4-5 hours.  This morning I got to work and they had already tilted up a half dozen or so concrete wall sections for the new building that's going in.  What's funny is to think back to when I started working at this office in April and how there were a few guys putting together sections of rebar.  And then the crews that came in and poured the concerte foundations.  And the grading crews that leveled everything out so the concrete guys could pour the floor.  And then the walls.  And it just keeps going.  It seems like the walls just "appeared" today, but it's been lots and lots of manhours to get to this point, and there's still a lot to go.  So I would imagine something as big and complex as a railroad bridge would require a huge amount of manhours to get it built, plus a lot of money to pay for all those manhours.

Nathan



Date: 11/19/24 19:10
Re: Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: doge_of_pocopson

Hi all - what is the story with the track on the left of the first photo? The weeds between the rails make me wonder….
Thank you - B



Date: 11/20/24 09:35
Re: Attn. Jeff Van Cleve, BN's Plattsmouth Bridge
Author: AndyBrown

doge_of_pocopson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi all - what is the story with the track on the
> left of the first photo? The weeds between the
> rails make me wonder….

That's the old line which crosses the old bridge, now a siding.  It's still in use but not full service.  There is still single track through the town of Plattsmouth.

Andy



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