Question about I.C. R.R. bridge piers...

John, I have often wondered the same thing myself. The only answer I can come up with is that concrete was maybe a new technology when that bridge was built, and they did it as sort of an experiment.

There are so many questions I would have loved to have asked one of the real old timers from Cairo. Capts. Howard Tate and/or Henry Gross would likely have been able to answer this one. Maybe somebody on here knows more.

The stone piers were built for the original bridge. Around 1889, I seem to recall, the original bridge was completed when the IC realized that they needed to extend their tracks to the Gulf. Built upon stone piers, additional concrete piers were added when the bridge was rebuilt from 1949 -1952.

Don't blame it on me, Cap. I didn't do it.

Bob, that was my initial thought too, that the concrete piers were kind of an experiment to see how they held up compared with the limestone piers, but as my dad said, "that would be an expensive and dangerous experiment if they weren't sure about the concrete.".

Shipyard, the big question for you...is that the real story or a plausible lie?!? Just kidding. I thought about the piers being added later also, but can't see how the bridge could have possibly stood without those concrete piers being there originally, or were some of the original limestone piers replaced? If so, why?

Mr. Bates...I will accept your denial of responsibility, but with a small amount of skepticism.

Thanks for the info guys.

John

Sam, I also wonder if the story is true about the number of piers being doubled. The entire bridge would have had to be redesigned and rebuilt. Though I'm not an engineer, I don't see how a railroad bridge on the lower Ohio could be structurally sound with spans double the length of those now there. The channel span is 500.5 feet wide as it is now. I just don't buy that in 1889 they built that bridge with a 1,000 ft. channel span. I'd love to have it back if it ever was that wide.

While I certainly am not a railroad buff, I do enjoy books on the early railroads. About 20 years ago I purchased a book called "The History of the Illinois Central" by John Stover. Some of the highlights are the ICRR ended its tracks in 1856 at Cairo, it offered service by its own steamboats to New Orleans. One of its pilots was a fellow named Samuel Clemens. Now as to the questions on the river piers. The 1889 bridge had piers in about the same locations of the seven (??) present piers. Several of these piers were damaged in the earthquake of 1895. The substandard limestone piers were replace in the 1952 bridge by concrete. The original 1889 bridge had the same two channels spans as now. Five men died building the first bridge.The original and present bridges are considered among the longest in the world. Total length of both, including the approach trestles were/is 20,461 feet long. Now of course the Illinois Central is the Canadian National Railroad. Hopes this helps some.

Capt John;19545 wrote: Everytime I pass under the I.C. railroad bridge at Cairo, Illinois a question comes to mind that no one has been able to answer for me so far...I'm hoping Alan Bates or another dot.orger may be able to. The bridge piers on the I.C. railroad bridge alternate from limestone to concrete, every other pier all the way across the river. I've never noticed another bridge like this and wonder what the reason was for building every other pier out of limestone/concrete?

The answer may be an obvious one, but for the life of me, I can't figure it out. If anyone knows the answer, or at least a plausible lie, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

John

The current bridge at Cairo is not the original, at least the trusses and half of the piers aren't original. The bridge was originally a nine-span through Whipple Truss built in 1889:

Historic Bridges of the U.S. | First Cairo Railroad Bridge

When the bridge was rebuilt circa 1951, many, but not all of the original piers were reused... note that the new bridge consists of six Warren trusses, instead of the original nine:

Historic Bridges of the U.S. | Cairo Railroad Bridge

Hope this helps to clarify things a bit 😉

Harvey, thank you for those websites and the addtional clarification. Leave it to the people on this site to come up with the answers that no one else can. As they say, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with B.S." Well, you all continue to dazzle me...thanks.

John