Western Railroad Discussion > BNSF bridge in fog with hoar frost and a train

It has been an extremely mild winter in North Dakota. We had 6-8" a week ago and it's all melted. The warmer daytime temperatures bring overnight freezing fog and hoar frost. This morning I caught an eastbound empty grain train crossing the old bridge. This train is destined for one of four grain terminals on the BNSF Jamestown Sub. After the crew ties down the power a PTI van will take them east to a hotel in West Fargo (if Mandan crew) or the Dilworth yard office (if Dilworth crew). The terminal elevator has 12 hours to load the train, likely with soybeans. 

The cranes are for the new bridge construction, slated to be completed this year. Thanks for stopping by.

Bismarck Bill 

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Marvelous moody fog image.  Thanks for getting out there in this weather.

Where, exactly, in North Dakota was this photo taken?

Dick

2ebright Wrote:
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> Where, exactly, in North Dakota was this photo
> taken?
>
> Dick

From the campus of Bismarck State College.

BB

BNSF has been pretty proactive replacing it's 100+ year old bridges with modern structures. UP seems to wait until it's crisis, taken out of fire, floods, derailments and collapses.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

One more from the front yard 

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The frost really makes the trees look neat.
Brian Stevens

Posted from iPhone

funnelfan Wrote:
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> BNSF has been pretty proactive replacing it's 100+
> year old bridges with modern structures. UP seems
> to wait until it's crisis, taken out of fire,
> floods, derailments and collapses.

The Clinton, IA bridge over the Mississippi River is the big expensive one I always worry about going OOS.

None of the other "big midcontinent river bridges" (Council Bluffs, Blair, TRRA StL Bridges (Merchants is recently refurbed), Thebes, Memphis, Huey Long appear to be as in marginal shape as the Clinton one. There's a couple in Saint Paul and one in Hudson, WI over the St Croix that I haven't observed lately,

Out west the Portland Steel Bridge over the Willamette also looks a little marginal, it also carries road vehicles and light rail on the upper deck.

Note to bridge engineer readers: I did use the word "appear", I'm not a structural engineer,

What I find interesting in these bridge photos is that BNSF is putting in a new bridge with more piers in the river.  The old bridge had less piers, and a larger steel truss bridge.  Less piers, less "scouring" issues.

Are large steel bridges no longer favored, the type that cross over an entire river, or have we lost the capacity to build them?

Nice shots Bill,  thanks for sharing.  Not quite the same as Port C,  Florida,  Ehh?

PWM

Nice shots Bill! I appreciate your efforts in the chilly weather.... 

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

coach Wrote:
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> Are large steel bridges no longer favored, the
> type that cross over an entire river, or have we
> lost the capacity to build them?
The large spans come from a time when steamboat navigation on the river was still a thing. Since that is no longer a concearn, there is no need for the long spans.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

funnelfan Wrote:
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> coach Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Are large steel bridges no longer favored, the
> > type that cross over an entire river, or have
> we
> > lost the capacity to build them?
> The large spans come from a time when steamboat
> navigation on the river was still a thing. Since
> that is no longer a concearn, there is no need for
> the long spans.

Ted's point is true. Compare this bridge with the new BNSF bridge over the Missouri River at Plattesmouth, NE. The river is navigable there and thus a truss bridge was built for the longer spans.
BB

Cost is certainly an issue in any major engineering design, like this one. The design that's being built is no doubt the best combination of cost, life span, etc.