CN Escanaba River Bridge (Wells)

Wells, Delta County, Michigan

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Name	CN Escanaba River Bridge (Wells) Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Bridge #338.39
Built By	Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway
Currently Owned By	Canadian National Railway
Superstructure Contractor	American Bridge Company of New York (Lassig Plant) (Deck Truss Spans) Unknown (Deck Girder Spans)
Substructure Contractor	Unknown
Length	682 Feet Total, 98 Foot Main Spans
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	20 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Warren Deck Truss and Deck Plate Girder
Substructure Design	Concrete
Date Built	1901, West Approach Added c. 1905
Traffic Count	10 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway Bridge Number	338.39
Canadian National Railway Bridge Number	338.39
Significance	Regional Significance
Documentation Date	3/29/2016

In 1883, the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie and Atlantic Railway (MSSM&A) constructed 47 miles of new railroad, extending from Turtle Lake to Bruce, Wisconsin. The following year, an additional 20 miles were constructed from Bruce to Main Creek, Wisconsin. In 1886, an additional 76 miles were completed from Main Creek to Rhinelander, Wisconsin. In 1887, the Minneapolis and St. Croix Railway (M&SC) constructed 36 miles of railroad, extending from Shoreham, Minnesota to the St. Croix River near Osceola, Wisconsin. At the same time, the MSSM&A constructed an additional 37 miles from the St. Croix River to Turtle Lake, as well as 126 miles from Rhinelander to Gladstone, Michigan. In 1888, the MSSM&A completed 148 additional miles to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, completing the line. The MSSM&A and M&SC were consolidated to form the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway (MStP&SSM, commonly known as the Soo Line) in 1888. This line formed the eastern principal mainline of the Soo Line, connecting the Twin Cities to Canada at Sault Ste. Marie.

The Soo Line was a modest sized railroad in the Midwest, with routes extending through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Dakota, with subsidiary routes extending to Chicago. It was operated as a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). By 1937, the Soo Line had entered bankruptcy, and it would be reorganized as the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad in 1944. In 1961, the MStP&SSM would be merged with other CP subsidiaries Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad and the Wisconsin Central Railway to form Soo Line Railroad, a company controlled by CP. Throughout the 20th Century, this line slowly lost importance, as most traffic for the Soo Line was run over the Chicago-Twin Cities mainline. In 1984, the Soo Line would be reorganized as the Soo Line Corporation in advance of a pending purchase of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road). In 1987, this line would be sold to Wisconsin Central, Ltd. (WC). Known as the "new" Wisconsin Central, the railroad acquired several excess rail lines from the Soo Line, Milwaukee Road and Chicago & North Western Railway.

In 1990, the segment between Amery, Wisconsin and Almena, Wisconsin was abandoned and sold to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for trail use. In 2001, WC was merged into Canadian National Railway (CN), becoming the American subsidiary of CN. The segment between Dresser, Wisconsin and Amery, Wisconsin was abandoned in 2003, and also sold to the Wisconsin DNR. In 2021, CN sold excess and unprofitable lines in northern Wisconsin to the Fox Valley & Lake Superior Rail System (FOXY). FOXY acquired the line between east of Ladysmith, Wisconsin and Goodman, Wisconsin. Today, CN continues to operate the Shoreham to Dresser segment of this line as the Dresser Subdivision, and the Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM) occasionally offers tourist excursions over this section of line. In addition, CN operates the Almena to Tony segment as the Barron Subdivision; the Goodman to Gladstone, Michigan segment as the Pembine Subdivision and the Gladstone to Sault Ste. Marie segment as the Manistique Subdivision. FOXY operates the line between Tony and Goodman, although the segments between Tony and Prentice and Rhinelander to Goodman are currently out of service. The Cattail Trail uses the former railroad grade between Almena and Amery, and the Stover Seven Lakes Trail uses the former grade between Amery and Dresser.

Located in Wells (North Escanaba), this large deck truss bridge carries the former Soo Line mainline across the Escanaba River. The first bridge at this location likely consisted of a wooden truss bridge, constructed when the line was first built. In the late 1890s and early 1900s, the Soo Line made significant improvements to this line, replacing wooden bridges with new steel and concrete structures. In 1900, the Soo Line ordered five deck truss spans for this crossing at a cost of $40,000, and the spans were installed in 1901. In approximately 1905, the west approach was reconstructed with four new deck plate girder spans, giving the bridge its present configuration. Currently, the bridge consists of five 98-foot, 10-panel, riveted Warren deck truss spans, approached by four 48-foot deck plate girder spans on the west end. The entire bridge is set onto concrete substructures, which are likely founded on timber piles. The piers use a standard design, with a square design and an angled nose on the upstream side. In addition, the abutments both use a standard Soo Line design, with a square pedestal covered by a sloped backwall.

In the early 20th Century, the soo Line began extensively using a "lattice girder" design, which was effectively a riveted deck truss. The five spans consist of massive built-up beams, a standard floor and heacy riveted connections. The top chord, bottom chord and endpost all consist of built-up beams, with V-lacing on both sides and some use of solid plates. The diagonal members consist of a combination of V-laced built-up beams and solid beams. Vertical members consist of a similar design, with lighter V-laced beams. The floor appears to consist of two stringers, connected by floorbeams to the truss webs. The internal bracing, upper lateral bracing and lower lateral bracing all consist of steel bars, typical for spans from this era. The plate girders are unusually heavy for the short length, and consist of two heavy plate girders and an open deck. American Bridge Company fabricated the truss spans at their Lassig Plant in Chicago, while the approach spans were fabricated by an unknown contractor. It is unclear if the substructures were constructed by railroad company forces or by an unknown contractor. Riveted truss spans became popular in the early 20th Century as a stronger alternative to pin-connected spans which had dominated since the mid-19th Century. These spans used heavier members, a simple design and were often riveted together on-site. Since the initial construction, the bridge has seen no significant alterations, and remains in regular use. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, as it is an unusual example of a multiple span deck truss in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Citations

Build date and builder (main spans superstructure)	The Railroad Gazette; Volume 33, Issue 2
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele