CPKC Grand River Bridge (Chillicothe)

Chillicothe, Livingston County, Missouri

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Name	CPKC Grand River Bridge (Chillicothe) Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Bridge #I-702
Built By	Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad
Currently Owned By	Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited
Superstructure Contractor	American Bridge Company of New York (1927 Spans) Unknown (50-Foot Spans
Length	1058 Feet Total, 135 Foot Main Spans
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	20 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Warren Pony Truss, Deck Plate Girder and Concrete Slab
Substructure Design	Stone Masonry and Concrete
Date Built	1903 (50-Foot Spans) 1927 (Trusses and 68-Foot Spans)
Traffic Count	10 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Bridge Number	I-702
Significance	Moderate Significance
Documentation Date	10/9/2016

In 1882, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee Road) began construction on a new railroad line, extending from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Ottumwa, Iowa. The 40-mile line would be completed in 1884. By 1885, work was authorized to begin towards Kansas City, Missouri; a critical railroad hub in the Midwest. The extension opened in 1887, giving the Milwaukee Road a direct route between Chicago and Kansas City. The Milwaukee Road acquired and constructed a large amount of track throughout the Midwest during the 1870s and 1880s. At the Cedar Rapids suburb of Marion, the route connected to the Milwaukee Road mainline across Iowa. By the early 1900s, a direct connection to the Mississippi River town of Davenport was desired, and in 1901, the Rutledge Cutoff was completed. The cutoff extended from Rutledge, Iowa to Muscatine, Iowa, and allowed for a quicker way to access the Milwaukee Road facilities at Davenport, as well as shortened the travel time and distance from Chicago to Kansas City. Between Davenport and Muscatine, the railroad jointly owned a line with the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island).

The Milwaukee Road operated this route as a principal mainline, and the line served as a primary connection between the two largest railroad hubs in the United States. The Milwaukee Road was often in financial trouble, especially after the costly Pacific Extension was completed in 1909. In 1925, the company declared bankruptcy, and reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in 1928. Significant upgrades were made to the line in the 1930s and 1940s, although the line remained single tracked. In 1930-1931, the Milwaukee Road and Rock Island reconstructed their lines from Polo, Missouri to Kansas City, abandoning much of the original line. A new bridge into Kansas City was completed in 1945, further improving operations. In 1980, the Rock Island went bankrupt, and the Milwaukee Road purchased the Davenport to Washington, Iowa line; abandoning their own line between Washington and Muscatine. By 1985, a suitor for the Milwaukee Road was being sought, and the Soo Line Railroad, controlled by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) purchased the Milwaukee Road in 1986. In 1997, CP sold this line to I&M Rail Link, which later sold it to Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad (IC&E), a subsidiary of Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad (DM&E). In 2008, DM&E and IC&E were purchased by CP. CP merged with Kansas City Southern Railway in 2023 to form CPKC, the current owner of this route. The CPKC operates the Ottumwa Subdivision between Davenport and Ottumwa, the Laredo Subdivision between Ottumwa and Laredo, Missouri; as well as the Kansas City Subdivision between Laredo and Kansas City. The route between Polo and Kansas City is shared with Union Pacific Railroad, which eventually acquired the former Rock Island line. This route now forms the principal mainline of the CPKC system, and traffic is expected to increase significantly over the coming years.

Located south of Chillicothe, this pony truss bridge carries the CPKC mainline across the Grand River. The first bridge at this location was a wooden truss span, constructed in 1887 when the railroad was built through the area. In 1896, the bridge would be replaced by four 135-foot pin-connected Pratt through truss spans, reusing the stone piers from the wooden bridge. In 1903, the north trestle approach was replaced with ten 50-foot deck plate girder spans, set onto concrete substructures. By 1927, the truss spans had become too light for traffic, and would be replaced. The southern three trusses would be replaced by 135-foot, 8-panel riveted Warren pony truss spans, again reusing the stone piers. The northern truss would be replaced by a pair of 67-foot 6-inch deck plate girder spans. In addition, a concrete slab span would be added to the south end of the bridge in 1927.

The truss spans are a typical Milwaukee Road design used during the late 1920s and early 1930s, consisting of a rounded upper angle connection, riveted connections and solid members. These spans were heavily constructed, and often used to replace short to medium through truss spans. The deck plate girder spans added in 1927 are both fishbelly spans, with the center of the girder deeper than the ends. These spans were constructed in this manner to prevent major reconstruction of the piers. The 50-foot spans are a standard Milwaukee Road design, and were used extensively throughout the system during the early 1900s. It is believed that the trusses from this bridge may have been reused at another location, although this has not been confirmed. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition. A number of repairs have been made to the substructure since initial construction. The author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design and large size of the bridge.

Citations

Builder and build date (1927 spans)	American Bridge Company plaque
Build date (50-foot spans)	Milwaukee Road Archives Drawing Collection at the Milwaukee Public Library
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele