BNSF Brush Creek Bridge (Parkville)

Parkville, Platte County, Missouri

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Name	BNSF Brush Creek Bridge (Parkville) Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Bridge #13.70
Built By	Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
Currently Owned By	BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor	King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio
Length	145 Feet Total, 105 Foot Main Span
Width	1 Track, Formerly 2 Tracks
Height Above Ground	15 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Baltimore Through Truss and Concrete Modular Girder
Substructure Design	Concrete and Steel Pile
Date Built	1907, Approach Reconstructed 2010
Traffic Count	15 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Bridge Number	13.70
BNSF Railway Bridge Number	13.70
Significance	Moderate Significance
Documentation Date	9/4/2016; 9/22/2018

In 1859, the Council Bluffs and St. Joseph Railroad Company (CB&StJ) began construction on 51 miles of new railroad, extending from Council Bluffs, Iowa to the Missouri State Line near Hamburg, Iowa. At the same time, the Platte County Railroad (PCR) began construction on 35 miles of new railroad, extending from St. Joseph, Missouri to Weston, Missouri. Work on this section was completed in 1861. In 1863, the Missouri Valley Railroad (MVR) began construction on an additional 25 miles of railroad, extending from North Kansas City to Winthrop, completing this segment in 1867. The same year, the MVR acquired the Platte County Railroad, and the CB&StJ began construction on an additional 81 miles of railroad, extending from the State Line to St. Joseph, Missouri. Work on the first section of the CB&StJ would be completed in 1868, and work on the second section would be completed in 1869. The MVR and CB&StJ consolidated to form the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad (KCStJ&CB) in 1870.

By 1901, railroads throughout the United States were consolidating. The KCStJ&CB would be acquired by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) in 1901. The CB&Q had acquired and constructed a large railroad network throughout the Midwest, and this route provided a direct connection between Kansas City and Council Bluffs/Omaha. Double tracking of the Napier to Kansas City segment of the line began in 1908, including segments from Kansas City to Waldron, Weston to Armour, St. Joseph to Nodaway and Curzions to Napier. Further double tracking would be completed in the 1910s and 1920s, including segments from Nodaway to Forbes in 1913, Forbes to Curzions in 1917, Waldron to Beverly in 1920, Beverly to Weston in 1922, and Iatan to St. Joseph segment at an unknown date. Much of the second track was removed in the late 1950s, after this segment of line became of reduced importance after the CB&Q constructed a new cutoff line from Brookfield to Kansas City. CB&Q merged with Northern Pacific Railway and Great Northern Railway to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) in 1970. In 1996, BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway, the current owner of this line. The North Kansas City to Napier segment forms the southern half of the St. Joseph Subdivision, and the Napier to Pacific Junction, Iowa segment forms the Napier Subdivision. The Pacific Junction to Council Bluffs segment of this line is part of the Council Bluffs Subdivision.

View an article discussing the original floor of this bridge

Located west of Parkville, this short through truss bridge carries the BNSF St. Joseph Subdivision across Brush Creek. The first bridge at this location was likely a wooden or iron truss. In 1905, the bridge would be reconstructed with a 105-foot 5-panel riveted Baltimore through truss span, set onto concrete concrete and approached by wooden pile trestle on the south end. In 1907, a parallel, identical span was added to the west side bridge, and was offset to the south. When constructed, the bridge utilized a reinforced concrete deck, an unusual feature for truss bridges during this time. The second track was removed between Parkville and Beverly in 1958, and the west bridge was removed in late 1958 or early 1959. It is unknown if the truss was reused after the second track was removed, but the CB&Q was still reusing bridge spans during the late 1950s. The truss utilizes a design standard to the CB&Q during the late 1900s and early 1910s, using riveted connections, heavy members and the standard CB&Q portal. This particular portal bracing design utilizes a shallow lattice design, with angular heel bracing. This particular portal design appears to have been a CB&Q standard, and was used on truss bridges from the 1890s until the 1930s. The Baltimore design was occasionally used by the CB&Q, although use appears to have been based on what line the bridge was on, and the engineer in charge. Empty holes on the portal bracing indicate that this span was built by King Bridge Company, based on historic imagery of this bridge (photo #22). The west track was reconstructed with a concrete modular girder bridge in 1905, and the approach of the original east track reconstructed with the same design in 2010. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. Significant repairs have been made to the bridge, including replacing structural components of the truss. Portions of the old west track bridge can still be seen. The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design.

Citations

Build date	Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Valuation Summary at the Newberry Library
Builder	Missing King Bridge Company plaque
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele