The Atchison and St. Joseph Railroad would complete the St. Joseph-Winthrop portion in 1861; and begin construction on the North Kansas City-Weston portion of the line in 1863.
The Weston and Atchison Railroad would complete the lines between Weston and Winthrop. These two railroads would be merged back together in 1867 to form the Missouri Valley Railroad; which completed the North Kansas City-Weston portion of the line.
In 1867, the St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad built an 81 mile line from St. Joseph, Missouri to the Iowa border. The entire line would parallel the Missouri River from Kansas City northwards.
By 1870; the railroad would be reorganized as the Kansas City, St. Joseph and Council Bluffs Railroad. This railroad also built a number of other branch lines and relocated significant portions of trackage along the Missouri River.
In 1901, the railroad would be formally merged into the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; which had constructed a large amount of trackage around the region. The line was critical for connecting Council Bluffs to Kansas City.
The CB&Q continued to operate this as a mainline; until 1970. In 1970, the CB&Q would merge with Great Northern and Northern Pacific to form Burlington Northern; a large railroad which operated a consierable amount of trackage through the area.
In 1996, BN merged with the struggling Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway; the current operator of the line.
This portion is currently the southern part of the St. Joseph subdivision.
01/14/22
This massive truss bridge crosses the Platte River parallel to Missouri State Highway 45.
There are a number of Platte Rivers in the Midwest. This particular river is known as the Little Platte River to help distinguish it from the major river that runs through the plains of Colorado and Nebraska. This river rises near Creston, Iowa flowing south until it reaches the Missouri River near Kansas City.
Little is known about the history of the bridge. It is believed that the girder and slab spans were constructed in 1920, when the line was double tracked.
In 1945, a major flood washed out part of the bridge. A temporary bridge was used for a couple years while the collapsed spans were scrapped and eventually replaced. It is unknown when the truss was added, although it may have been in 1946.
The bridge currently consists of a massive 8-panel, riveted Baltimore Through Truss. In addition, three through girder spans approach the bridge (two on the north, one on the south) along with a single concrete slab span on either side.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with little significant deterioration.
The author has ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common nature of the through girder spans; and the more modern nature of the truss span.
The photo above is an overview.
| Upstream | Sharps Station Interurban Bridge |
| Downstream | Mouth at Missouri River |