BNSF Middle River Bridge (Argyle)

Argyle, Marshall County, Minnesota

Default pic
South pier
Plaque on outer span
Painted date on outer span
Looking north
Middle span
North pier
Stenciling on middle span
North abutment
Date stamp
Overview
Plaque on center span
Under outer span
Under middle span
Under outer span
Looking south
Looking south
Looking north
Looking north
South abutment
Overview

Click the photo to view the full-size version

Default Pic
South pier
Plaque on outer span
Painted date on outer span
Looking north
Middle span
North pier
Stenciling on middle span
North abutment
Date stamp
Overview
Plaque on center span
Under outer span
Under middle span
Under outer span
Looking south
Looking south
Looking north
Looking north
South abutment
Overview
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Date Taken:
Author:
Caption:
Name BNSF Middle River Bridge (Argyle)
Great Northern Railway Bridge #39.6
Built By Great Northern Railway
Currently Owned By BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor American Bridge Company of New York
Length 90 Feet Total, 32 Foot Largest Span
Width 1 Track
Height Above Ground 20 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design Steel Stringer
Substructure Design Concrete
Date Fabricated 1924 (Middle Span)
1938 (Outer Spans)
Date Erected 1951
Original Location (Inner Span)
Original Location (Outer Spans) 		Bridge #250; Penrith, Washington
Unknown
Traffic Count 5 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status In Use
Great Northern Railway Bridge Number 39.6
Significance Local Significance
Documentation Date 8/10/2020

In 1872, the The St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company (StP&P) constructed a new railroad between north of Barnesville, Minnesota and just south of Warren, Minnesota; a distance of 102 miles. The line would be extended an additional 65 miles to St. Vincent, and the Canadian Border at Noyes in 1878. By 1879, a newly completed link to the Twin Cities reached Barnesville, giving this route a direct connection to the Twin Cities. Also in 1879, the StP&P would be purchased by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway (StPM&M). The StPM&M was controlled by James J. Hill, a railroad tycoon who wished to build a railroad network extending from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, the StPM&M acquired and constructed numerous new railroad lines throughout Minnesota. In 1907, the StPM&M would be sold to another Hill company, the Great Northern Railway (GN).

GN operated this as their primary connection to Canada. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad. The segment of this route between Downer and Glyndon would be abandoned in 1974, followed by a segment between north of Barnesville to Downer in 1981, the segment between Ada and Felton in 1990. BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway, which sold the segment between Crookston and Ada to the Minnesota Northern Railroad (MNN), and the segment between Barnesville and north of Barnesville to the Otter Tail Valley Railroad in 1996. The MNN abandoned a segment between Ada and Beltrami in approximately 2008. Today, the MNN operates the Crookston to Beltrami segment of this line, while the OTVR operates the Barnesville segment of this line. The BNSF continues to operate the Crookston to Noyes portion of this line as the Noyes Subdivision, with a busy interchange with the Canadian National Railway at Noyes.

Located on the north side of Argyle, this steel stringer bridge crosses the Middle River. The previous bridge at this location was a timber trestle bridge. In 1951, it was desired to replace that bridge with a permanent structure. In response, three secondhand beam spans were reused and installed here on new concrete substructures. The outer spans are each 28-foot spans, consisting of four beams. These spans were built in 1938 at an unknown location. It also appears these spans may have been altered before being moved here. The middle span is a 32-foot span, consisting of six beams arranged in two sets of three. This span was fabricated in 1924 at Bridge #250 near Penrith, Washington.

Railroads often reused steel bridge spans to save money. The Great Northern kept their bridges on a shorter life cycle than most railroads, upgrading mainline bridges relatively frequently. By upgrading mainline bridges, this freed up secondhand spans for other bridges, often resulting in those bridges utilizing components of multiple bridges. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.

Citations

Builder, build dates and relocation history Plaques and stenciling
Erection Date Great Northern AFE Index; Courtesy of GNRHS Archives
Railroad History Citation ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele