Chippewa Falls Railroad Bridge

Large historic Truss and Girder combo bridge over Chippewa River

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

In 1881 and 1882, the Chippewa Falls and Northern Railroad built a line from Chippewa Falls to Cameron, a distance of about 40 miles.

In 1883, the Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls Railroad built from Chippewa Falls, at the existing line, crossing the Chippewa River, to Eau Claire, an additional 10 miles.

There at Yukon Jct. it would connect into the existing mainline from St. Paul, MN to Milwaukee.

Around 1886, the Chicago Northwestern came into possetion of both lines. They upgraded the bridges and existing trackage.

Chicago Northwestern operated the line through tough times and good times until 1995. In 1995 they were purchased by Union Pacific.

Union Pacific sold off the line from Chippewa Falls, north to Bloomer to the Wisconsin Northern, a part of Progressive Rail on November 29th 2004.

Union Pacific still operates the line north from Eau Claire to Chippewa Falls.

Still today, there are about 3 to 4 trains operating on the entire system per day. Which includes the historic bridge over the Chippewa River. Defenitly worth a visit!
05/31/12

This is the giant and historic bridge mentioned above. This one is striking, as it has 4 different bridge types, and shows the difference between late 19th century and late 20th century designs!

The bridge has a long and sad history. It replaced an old bridge that was destroyed by the great flood of 1894. This one opened about July 1894. It always has been a landmark for this area. But on the evening of July 20th 1993, it was changed forever.

Imagine: a massive bridge consisting of 6 spans of quadrangular through truss. It is a landmark. All the piers are wooden. People on this bridge are normal. You are walking on a warm July evening. And suddunly you see it, a person fleeing the scene and a pier on the bridge on fire. It is the second one from the north end. And suddunly fire crews rush to the scene! They walk onto the unstable bridge, and attempt to put out the blaze on the wooden pier. And before they put it out, the second span starts creaking, and the whole span comes down! And then, the bridge appears to be a loss. Then a short time later, the closest span plunges, and the burning pier collapses. The fire instantly goes out when the wood hits the river. And just as quickly as it started, it is all over. The area is taped off, and there sits two massive 160' metal spans laying in the river, along with the charred remains of a pier. And the investigation is on.

Police innitially suspected teenagers with Roman Candles or similar fireworks. But then a 6 year old girl had a different idea.

She stated that her mother had remarked that her step-father was at the bridge that night. This turned the whole case around, and by a year later, the man was inprisoned.

While the legal issues were going on, the railroad and city were facing a tough decision. Take down the old bridge, and abandoned the line, or, repair or rebuild the old bridge.

The option decided involved taking out the bridge over Lake Wissota on a abandoned line, that was abandoned in 1988. That old bridge consisted of 8 large 100' Deck Plate Girder spans.

Three were moved to the north side of this bridge. New concrete and steel piers were installed, and the bridge was shortened 20'.

Also, an I-Beam span was installed on the north side. The current design of this bridge is:

From North to South: 1-24' I-Beam Span (24') 3-100' Deck Plate Girder Spans (300') 1-12' I-Beam Span (12') 2-160' Quadrangular Truss Spans (320') 2-100' Quadrangular Truss Spans (200') 4 Spans Trestle (51')

The old bridge had 2 additional Truss Spans, both 160' long, instead of the I-Beam and DPG spans there now.

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Chippewa River Railroad Bridges

The photo above is looking from a walkway along the north side of the river.



The photo above is looking north towards the bridge. The photo below is looking north across the bridge.






The photo above is looking at the south approach. The photo below is looking north along the bridge.






The photo above is looking at the south abutment. The photo below is looking under span #7 towards pier #7.






The photo above is looking along span #7. The photo below is looking at a bent.






The photos above and below are looking from the south bank.






The photo above is looking at spans #4 and 5. The photo below is looking at pier #8.






The photo above is looking at the bridge from the southeast quadrant. The photo below is looking at the bridge number.






The photo above is looking at the portal bracing. The photo below is looking into a pier from the bridge.






The photo above is looking south along the bridge. The photo below is looking from a trail.






The photo above is looking from a hill. The photo below is looking at the 4 truss spans from the hill.






The photos above and below are looking from the hill.






The photos above and below are looking from the north bank.






The photo above is looking at the 4 truss spans. The photo below is looking at a pier added in 1993.






The photo above is looking at the 12' I-Beam span above pier #4. There is 2 parts to that pier, as demonstrated in the photo below.






The photo above is looking at pier #5. The photo below is looking at span #5.






The photo above is looking at spans #6 and 7. These are the 100' spans. The photo below is looking at span #4.






The photo is looking at the truss spans. The photo below is looking towards south the bridge.






The photo above is looking at span #3. The photo below is looking at span #2.






The photo above is looking at span #1. The photo below is looking south across the bridge.






The photo above is looking south along the bridge. The photo below is looking at the transition bent resting on pier #1. It was added between the I-Beam north approach and the DPG spans in 1993.






The photo above is looking at the north abutment. The photo below is looking inside span #1.






The photo above is looking at pier #1, also added in 1993. The photo below is looking at portal bracing.






The photos above and below are looking south along the bridge.






The photo above is looking south into the truss spans. The photo below is looking north into the truss spans.






The photo above, and the two below are looking at the bridge on fire.

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