BNSF Little Arkansas River Bridge (Halstead)

Name	BNSF Little Arkansas River Bridge (Halstead) Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Bridge #194.50
Built By	Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
Currently Owned By	BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor	American Bridge Company of New York
Length	150 Feet Total
Width	2 Tracks, 1 In Use
Height Above Ground	15 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Pratt Through Truss
Substructure Design	Concrete
Date Built	1913, Installed 1915
Traffic Count	10 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Bridge Number	194A
BNSF Railway Bridge Number	194.50
Significance	Moderate Significance
Documentation Date	10/29/2017

In 1871, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (ATSF) constructed 74 miles of new railroad, extending from Emporia, Kansas to Newton, Kansas. The following year, an additional 283 miles to the Colorado State Line would be completed, followed by an additional 11 miles to Granada, Colorado by the Colorado & New Mexico Railroad (C&NM) the following year. An additional 140 miles to Pueblo, Colorado would be completed by the Pueblo & Arkansas Valley Railroad (P&AV) in 1876. The ATSF would be reorganized as the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1895. The ATSF leased both the C&NM and the P&AV railroad, and they were eventually consolidated into the ATSF in 1900. The ATSF had acquired and constructed a large number of railroad lines throughout the western United States, particularly in Kansas and Oklahoma. This line served as the principal mainline between Kansas City and the Pacific Coast. Portions of the line would be double tracked in the early 1900s, including the Emporia to Ellinor segment. The ATSF would merge with Burlington Northern Railroad in 1996 to form BNSF Railway, the current owner of this line. The Ellinor to La Junta segment of this line is operated as the La Junta Subdivision.

Located on the east side of Halstead, this through truss bridge crosses the Little Arkansas River. The previous bridge at this location was likely a lightweight iron truss. In 1915, the bridge would be replaced by a 150-foot 7-panel pin-connected Pratt through truss span, set onto concrete abutments. The through truss span was fabricated in 1913 by the American Bridge Company, and apparently was not installed until two years later. The truss utilizes many features typical of an ATSF truss bridge, including heavy members and bracings, and a ballast deck. The Pratt truss design was the most commonly used truss design by American railroads, as it provided a cost effective and easy to construct design for medium length spans. The use of pinned connections in railroad bridges was largely obsolete by 1910, having been replaced with trusses of riveted construction. The ATSF utilized this design until the 1920s, preferring the Pratt design to the more standard Warren design during the 1910s and 1920s. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design.

Builder and build date	American Bridge Company plaque
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele

BNSF Little Arkansas River Bridge (Halstead)

Halstead, Harvey County, Kansas