The Quincy Rail Bridge is a truss bridge that carries a rail line across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

between West Quincy, Missouri, and

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

, USA. It was originally constructed in 1868 for the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

, a predecessor of BNSF Railway. From the 1950s until 1971 it served the ''

Kansas City Zephyr The ''Kansas City Zephyr'' was a streamliner passenger train service operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) between Chicago and Kansas City. Overview The largest fleet of named streamliners in the United States were t ...

'' and '' American Royal Zephyr'' daily passenger trains between Chicago and Kansas City. It served

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's ''

Illinois Zephyr The ''Illinois Zephyr'' and ''Carl Sandburg'' are a pair of passenger trains operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Quincy, Illinois. As '' Illinois Service'' trains, they are partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transport ...

'' from Chicago to West Quincy, Missouri, from 1971 to 1993. Since the

Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood wa ...

the

''Illinois Zephyr'' and ''

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

'' services terminate at the Quincy station, although after the passengers have disembarked the trains do cross the bridge to the BNSF Railway

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0 ...

in West Quincy, where the equipment is oriented in the proper direction for the return trip on the

wye Wye may refer to: Place names *Wye, Kent, a village in Kent, England ** Wye College, agricultural college, part of University of London before closure in 2009 **Wye School, serving the above village ** Wye railway station, serving the above villa ...

and is stored until the next departure. This Mississippi River crossing does serve as a backup route should the

Fort Madison Toll Bridge The Fort Madison Toll Bridge (also known as the Santa Fe Swing Span Bridge for the old Santa Fe Railway) is a tolled, double-decked swinging truss bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Fort Madison, Iowa, and unincorporated Niota, Il ...

crossing be unavailable.

Current bridge

The current structure, located at Mississippi River mile 380.0, was built in 1960. It has a

through truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or s ...

main span of . the other spans of the bridge are deck trusses. When this bridge was constructed, the channel for boat traffic was relocated from the west side of the river to the east side. The bridge opened on November 11, 1960 dedicated by Harry Murphy, president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It was built at a cost of $9,575,000. With the opening of the bridge, the railroad made a donation to the city of the island between the river and Quincy Bay (Quinsippi Island) and one of the old bridges across the bay for use as a recreational area.

Original bridge (1868—1899)

The first structure at this location was completed at ten AM on November 7, 1868 when bridge engineer Thomas C. Clarke tested the structure with the crossing of locomotive engines. The bridge and a total of two miles of track formed a new connection between the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Built by the Quincy Bridge Company and its president Nathaniel Bushnell, the bridge was a

swing span A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

Pratt truss which cost $1,500,000. The 362-foot long swing truss created two spans of 181 feet. Sixteen fixed spans using a

Whipple truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension (mechanics), tensi ...

complete the river crossing to make the bridge 3,189 feet long (2 spans at 250 feet, three spans at 200 feet, and eleven spans at 157 feet). A second bridge across Quincy Bay (the waterway between present-day Quinsippi Island and the city of Quincy) included another draw span.

First replacement (1899—1960)

The original bridge was replaced in 1899 as the original wrought-iron truss could not carry the heavier trains and engines in use at the time. This bridge included wagon bridge decks cantilevered off the sides of the rail bridges to accommodate farm traffic and automobiles. Once the

Quincy Memorial Bridge The Quincy Memorial Bridge is a truss bridge over the Mississippi River in Quincy, Illinois. It brings eastbound U.S. Highway 24 into the city of Quincy from Missouri. It was built in 1930, initially as a toll bridge, and remains structurally so ...

opened in 1930, the wagon bridge decks were subsequently removed from this railroad bridge. This bridge included two separate bridges across Quincy Bay and a junction on the island between the bay and the river. Both bridges across Quincy Bay were swing bridges to allow passage of ships into Quincy Bay. On November 27, 1915, a passenger train travelling east from Missouri fell into the bay after failing to stop when the swing bridge was open for a barge.

References

External links

*
BNSF - Quincy Railroad Bridge
a
Bridgehunter.comCBQ - Quincy Railroad Bridge (Old)
at Bridgehunter.com
CBQ - Quincy Railroad Bridge (Oldest)
at Bridgehunter.com {{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Quincy Rail Bridge , bridge signs = ''BNSF Railway'' , upstream =

Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge The Keokuk-Hamilton bridge is a steel girder, 4-lane bridge from Keokuk, Iowa to Hamilton, Illinois. It carries U.S. Route 136 across the Mississippi River. It also has fully fenced off pedestrian walkway. The Keokuk–Hamilton Bridge was built ...

, upstream signs = , downstream =

Bayview Bridge The Bayview Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge bringing westbound U.S. Route 24 (US 24) over the Mississippi River. It connects the cities of West Quincy, Missouri and Quincy, Illinois. Quincy Memorial Bridge serves Eastbound US-24. The b ...

, downstream signs = West Truss bridges in the United States Quincy Rail Bridge (1868-1960) Buildings and structures in Marion County, Missouri Buildings and structures in Quincy, Illinois Quincy–Hannibal area Railroad bridges in Missouri Railroad bridges in Illinois Bridges over the Mississippi River Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad BNSF Railway bridges Interstate railroad bridges in the United States

Current bridge

Original bridge (1868—1899)

First replacement (1899—1960)

See also

References

External links