St. Cloud Rail Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:St. Cloud Rail Bridge
Crosses:Mississippi River
Carries:One track of the BNSF Railway
Locale:St. Cloud, Minnesota
Design:Four-span high deck pin-connected truss bridge
Mainspan:170 feet
Length:587 feet
Width:One track
Below:20 feet
Open:1892
Maint:BNSF Railway
Id:74.2
Coordinates:45.5639°N -94.1575°W

The St. Cloud Rail Bridge is a pin-connected truss bridge that spans the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1892 by Great Northern Railway and was probably designed by the railroad. Two of the piers are stone, while a third pier is newer and made of concrete. The bridge has an extra set of bracing that hangs about ten feet below the bottom trusses, appearing to hang like a hammock. This was added to increase the capacity of the bridge.

The Bridge is owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe and used by BNSF and Northern Lines Railway to access the truncated rail lines that once extended to the northwest and southwest, west of the Mississippi River. The active rail lines currently extend through St. Cloud and Waite Park, MN with branches extending to St. Joseph, MN and Rockville, MN.

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