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DWP Trail Kingsbury Creek Bridge

Stone Arch Bridge over Kingsbury Creek
West Duluth, St. Louis County, Minnesota

Click the Photo Above to See All Photos of This Bridge!
Name DWP Trail Kingsbury Creek Bridge
Built By Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Railway
Contractor Unknown
Currently Owned By St. Louis County
Length 45 Feet Total
Width 1 Track
Height Above Ground 10 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Type Stone Arch
Substructure Type Stone Masonry
Date Built 1911
Traffic Count 0 Trains/Day (Bridge is a Trail)
Current Status Rails To Trails
Significance Local Significance
In 1911, the Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Railroad charted a line from Duluth to Virginia to reach the large deposits of high grade iron ore.

The line was officially completed in 1912, and was linked with Canadian Northern Railway, which linked in from Winnipeg.

Leaving Duluth, the line would approximately parallel the existing Northern Pacific Tracks as it climbed the hills out of Duluth.
One feature is the tunnel under Ely's Peak. North of I-35, the rail line heads due north through very rural sections of the Iron Range until reaching Forbes, where it has a connection with a current DM&IR line.
Upon reaching Virginia, it continued north towards Winnipeg.

The lines were officially consolidated into Canadian National Railway in 1923 following the nationalization of Canada's Railroads.

Throughout the years that followed. the DW&P was an important connection into the Midwest States.

In 2011, the CN Merged the DW&P into another subsidiary of theirs, Wisconsin Central Ltd.
Today, much of the DWP is still active north of Duluth as Canadian Nationals Rainey Subdivision.
South of I-35, the tracks are an unofficial hiking trail in the bluffs leading into Duluth, and is locally known as the DW&P Trail. One caution is the lack of maintnance and the toll its taken on the undecked rail bridges, some of which are over 100 feet above the vallies.
04/03/22


Located near the Lake Superior Zoo, this large stone arch bridge crosses Kingbury Creek.
Built in 1911 during the construction of this route, the bridge features a single stone arch span. Heavily built, the bridge is made out of stone quarried nearby.
Oftentimes, bridges built at this time would have been constructed of concrete. However, the choice of the railroad to use stone in this situation appears to have paid off, as the bridge is in nearly perfect condition.
The jagged rocks on the creek make photographing the bridge difficult. The downstream side is completely inaccessible due to fences.

The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.

Citations

Source Type

Source

Build Date Construction of Railroad
Railroad Line History Source ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele



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