Topeka Railroad Bridge (East)

Located in Topeka, this large through truss bridge is the eastern railroad bridge across the Kansas River in the city. The previous bridge at this location was an iron truss bridge, constructed in 1878. By 1909, that bridge had become too light for traffic, and would be replaced by a new truss bridge. Five 150-foot 7-panel pin-connected Pratt through truss spans would be installed, reusing stone piers from the previous bridge. In addition, a 75-foot "class DD" through plate girder span would be installed on the south end of the bridge. The bridge was fabricated by American Bridge Company, a prominent bridge builder during the 20th Century. The trusses for this bridge were a modified version of the standard Santa Fe truss design, utilizing laced members, pinned connections and a A-frame portal bracing with subdivided bracings. The bridge was largely unchanged until July 1951, when flooding collapsed two spans of the bridge. Loaded steam locomotives were placed on the bridge in an effort to hold the bridge down. A temporary trestle would be installed until permanent spans could be installed.

In the spring of 1952, the Santa Fe began work on repairing the bridge. A new 140-foot 6-panel riveted Warren through truss span, fabricated by the American Bridge Company and United States Steel would be installed on the north end (span #1) of the bridge. The connections of this span have been repaired with high strength bolts. The northern collapsed span (span #4) would reportedly be replaced with a span from the abandoned Topeka Street Railway. This span would be a 150-foot, 6-panel pin-connected Pratt through truss span, utilizing the more common double intersection lattice portal with subdivided heel bracings. The truss appears to have been fabricated in approximately 1900, and utilizes a standard Santa Fe design. It is possible that the Santa Fe sold this span to the Topeka Street Railway early in the 20th Century, and reacquired it to repair this bridge. The southern collapsed span (span #5) would be replaced by another secondhand span, this span utilizing a 150-foot 6-panel riveted subdivided Warren through truss. The span utilizes heavy members and a portal with dual x-frame braces. The subdivided Warren through truss was occasionally used by railroads throughout the first half of the 20th Century, as it offered a durable design. This span appears to have been fabricated in approximately 1910 for an unknown bridge. It is also unknown if this span was originally a Santa Fe span. The bridge utilizes a mix of ballast and open deck bridges, both of which were standard designs for the Santa Fe. Railroads often reused spans to save costs on bridges, and secondhand spans were commonly used to quickly repair bridges in an emergency. This bridge is unique for featuring a number of different designs in a single bridge.

Further reconstruction occurred on the bridge in 1964, when the entire bridge was raised. A 25-foot steel stringer span would be added to the south end of the bridge, and the entire substructure of the bridge would either be repaired or reconstructed, giving the bridge its current appearance. As of 2024, one of the steam engines is reportedly still buried in the mud of the river below. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The bridge now serves as a connection between the Union Pacific and BNSF. The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the variety of truss designs and unique history of the bridge. Research into the histories of the two replaced spans is ongoing.