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| Name | Camden Place Railroad Bridge |
| Built By | Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad |
| Currently Owned By | Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited |
| Superstructure Contractor (1905 Spans) Superstructure Contractor (Remaining Spans) |
Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota Unknown Unknown |
| Substructure Contractor (1905 Work) Substructure Contractor (1936 Work) |
Newmann & Hay of St. Paul, Minnesota J.P. Haley Construction Company of St. Paul, Minnesota |
| Length | 923 Feet Total, 110 Foot Main Spans |
| Width | 1 Track |
| Height Above Ground | 40 Feet (Estimated) |
| Superstructure Design | Warren deck truss, deck plate girder, through plate girder, steel stringer and concrete slab |
| Substructure Design | Concrete and concrete pile |
| Date Built | 1905, east approach added 1936, west approach and spur rebuilt ca. 1960 |
| Traffic Count | 20 Trains/Day (Estimated) |
| Current Status | In Use |
| Significance | Regional Significance |
| Documentation Date | 9/9/2012; 4/7/2018 |
ln In 1887, the Minneapolis and St. Croix Railway (M&StC) constructed 36 miles of new railroad between Shoreham, Minnesota and the St. Croix River near Osceola, Wisconsin. The line connected to ongoing Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway (Soo Line) construction in Wisconsin. In 1888, 5 additional miles of new railroad would be constructed from Cardigan Junction to Soo Line Junction in St. Paul (near present day Arlington Avenue and Jackson Street). The M&StC would be purchased by the Soo Line in 1888. In 1890, a one mile extension would be constructed from the Northern Pacific Railway and Great Northern Railway tracks, across the Mississippi River to Camden Junction. In 1899, a new spur was built along the west bank of the Mississippi River to reach downtown Minneapolis. An additional extension would be made to Seventh Street in St. Paul in 1909. A new cutoff was constructed in 1911 between the Mississippi River Bridge and Central Avenue. By 1937, the Soo Line had entered bankruptcy, and it would be reorganized as the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad in 1944.
By 1961, the Soo Line would be merged with other CP subsidiaries Duluth,
South Shore & Atlantic Railroad and Wisconsin Central Railroad to
form Soo Line Railroad, a company controlled by CP. In 1981, the southern mile from Soo Line Junction to Seventh Street would be abandoned. In 1984, the Soo
Line would be reorganized as the Soo Line Corporation, and the railroad
would be fully merged into CP in 1990. In 2023, CP would merge with Kansas City Southern Railway to form CPKC, which currently operates this route. The Minneapolis to Withrow segment of the line is known as the Withrow Subdivision.
Located south of the 42nd Avenue Bridge, this large deck truss bridge carries the CPKC mainline across the Mississippi River. The first bridge here was built in 1891, and consisted of a covered wooden through truss bridge. In 1905, that bridge would be replaced by a steel deck truss bridge, manufactured by Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company, and set onto concrete substructures. In 1936, the east end would be extended to cross St. Anthony Parkway. The west end of the bridge would be rebuilt with steel stringers, and the spur on the west end reconstructed with deck plate girders in approximately 1960.
Currently, the bridge consists of a pair of 25-foot steel stringers as the west approach, three 110-foot riveted 10-panel Warren deck truss spans, a 60-foot deck plate girder span suspended on 32-foot Warren deck truss cantilevers, three more Warren deck truss spans, a 50-foot through plate girder span across St. Anthony Parkway, and a 10-foot concrete slab. The west end of the bridge also contains an abandoned spur, which was constructed of a 55-foot, a 45-foot and three 50-foot deck plate girder spans. The entire bridge rests on concrete substructures. In addition, the bridge runs at a heavy 40-degree skew.
The deck truss spans follow a standard design for the Soo Line. The deck plate girder span across the main navigation channel is an unusual feature of the bridge. The cantilevered trusses it rests on utilize a tapered design and riveted connections. While many online sources state the cantilever span was added in 1977, the span appears in a 1938 aerial image, possibly indicating this span is original to the bridge. The unusual spur off the west end of the bridge utilizes deck plate girders, which appear to have been modified for a curve. It is currently unknown if these girder spans were relocated to this location.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair condition, with some deterioration noted throughout the superstructure and substructures. The trusses have been strengthened at an unknown date, and various repairs made to the concrete piers since the initial construction. The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the unique design.
Citations
| Builder and build date | The Engineering Record, Building Record and the Sanitary Engineer, Volume 51 |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |