Cap-Rouge trestle explained

Bridge Name:Cap-Rouge viaduct
Native Name:Tracel de Cap-Rouge
Native Name Lang:French
Carries:Rail
Crosses:Rivière du Cap Rouge
Locale:Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Owner:Canadian National Railway
Engineering:R.F. Uniacke, M.J. Butler, E.A. Hoare, A.E. Doucet
Length:1016m (3,333feet)
Width:52m (171feet)
Height:173feet
Coordinates:46.7488°N -71.3485°W

The Cap-Rouge trestle (French: Tracel de Cap-Rouge) is a railway trestle bridge inaugurated in 1908 and still in use in the community of Cap-Rouge, part of the borough of Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was commissioned in 1906 as a section of the National Transcontinental Railway to span the Rivière du Cap Rouge valley and connect the eastbound railway with the newly built and nearby Quebec Bridge. It was built as a steel structure by the Dominion Bridge Company at a total cost of 800 000 Canadian dollars.[1]

At 173feet, it is one of the highest structures on which trains are operated in the province of Quebec and as such, has become over the years an attractive location for trespassers. As a response, its points of access have been fenced and a video surveillance system installed.[2], it is only used by freight trains, at the relatively slow speed of approximately 12mph.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dans le ciel de Cap-Rouge, un "TRACEL" centenaire . Lebel . Jean-Marie. 2006 . La Société historique de Cap-Rouge . fr.
  2. Web site: CN Submission to the Railway Safety Act Review Panel . Transport Canada .
  3. Web site: Tracel de Cap-Rouge : au-delà des mauvais souvenirs . Porter. Isabelle. fr. 2013 . Le Devoir .