Building Oregon
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Work provided by University of Oregon

Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge (Wisham, Washington)

Alternative Title
  • Celilo Bridge (Wisham, Washington)
Photographer
Date
  • 1912
Description
  • This image is included in Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, a digital collection which provides documentation about the architectural heritage of the Pacific Northwest.
View
  • exterior
View Date
  • 1974
Temporal
  • 1910-1919
MODS Note
  • "The Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge or Celilo Bridge is a single-track railroad bridge opened in 1912 over the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It consists of eight steel truss spans and several deck girder spans, and since 1957 it has included a vertical-lift section. The bridge was designed by engineer Ralph Modjeski and erected by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co., of Leavenworth, Kansas. It is part of the Wishram, Washington to Bend, Oregon line of the BNSF Railway (formerly the Oregon Trunk line of the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway). The bridge is downstream of the site of Celilo Falls, now submerged by water impounded by The Dalles Dam. The Celilo Canal passed beneath the southernmost span, which is a swing span. Completion of The Dalles Dam in 1957 inundated the canal. Over a period of several months starting in October 1956, the bridge was raised by up to 5 feet (1.5 m) over its entire length, and the truss span to the north of the swing span was modified to lift for river navigation. The new lift span's first complete raising and lowering took place on June 21, 1957, and the bridge reopened to rail traffic the following day.[3] The swing span, to the south of the lift span, remains in place, but it ceased to be used after the lift span was installed. It was "permanently locked in place" in October 1956, for the start of work to modify the bridge.[4] View from the southeast, showing both the original swing span (at left) and the vertical-lift span added in 1957 The lift span in the lowered position, the less common position All of the bridge's piers rest on rocks that were normally exposed during low water periods. During periods of high water, this stretch of the Columbia River became raging rapids, so the piers were built during low water. The north end of the bridge is a wye, where the rail line from Bend meets the BNSF Portland to Pasco mainline. On the south end of the bridge, the line crosses over and interchanges with the Union Pacific mainline. Excluding the two branches at the north end, the bridge is 2,396 feet (730 m) long. The wye's east leg is 952 feet (290 m) long, and its west leg 849 feet (259 m) long.[1] When built, the bridge's longest span was a 316-foot (96 m) fixed span located just to the north of the swing span;[1] that section was later replaced by a lift span." Source: Wikipedia, March 14, 2014.
Subject
Work Type
Location
Rights Holder
  • University of Oregon
Identifier
  • pna_13711
Source
  • Gift of C. Gilman Davis
Provenance
  • Design Library, University of Oregon Libraries
Citation
Institution
Submission Date
  • 04/27/2015
Modified
  • 08/12/2022
Collections

APA

Building Oregon, University of Oregon. (24 Apr 2024). Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge (Wisham, Washington) Retrieved from https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df67j6368

MLA

Building Oregon, University of Oregon. "Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge (Wisham, Washington)" Oregon Digital. 24 Apr 2024. https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df67j6368

Chicago

Building Oregon, University of Oregon. "Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge (Wisham, Washington)" Oregon Digital. Accessed 2024-04-24. https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df67j6368

Wiki

{{cite web | url= https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df67j6368 | title= Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge (Wisham, Washington) |author= |accessdate= 2024-04-24 |publisher= }}
Data Sources
Footer Number Term External URI
1 Davis, C. Gilman (Charles Gilman), 1918-1979 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n88172724
2 Architecture--United States http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85006693
3 Architecture, American http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85006700
4 bridges (built works) http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300007836
5 No label found http://opaquenamespace.org/ns/workType/transportationstructures
6 railroad bridges http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300007893
7 built works http://vocab.getty.edu/aat/300265418
8 Washington >> United States https://sws.geonames.org/5815135/
9 Klickitat County >> Washington >> United States https://sws.geonames.org/5799909/
10 United States https://sws.geonames.org/6252001/
11 Wishram >> Klickitat County >> Washington >> United States https://sws.geonames.org/5816375/
12 University of Oregon http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n80126183

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