RCP&E Cheyenne River Bridge (Wasta)

Wasta, Pennington County, South Dakota

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Destroyed deck girder span, buried in sandbar

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Name	RCP&E Cheyenne River Bridge (Wasta) Chicago & North Western Railway Bridge #1813
Built By	Chicago & North Western Railway
Currently Owned By	Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad
Superstructure Contractor	Lassig Bridge & Iron Works of Chicago (Spans #1 and #4) American Bridge Company of New York (Spans #2 and #3)
Substructure Contractor	Unknown
Length	1370 Feet Total, 159 Foot 8 Inch Largest Spans
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	20 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Quadrangular Lattice Through Truss, Warren Through Truss and Timber Pile Trestle
Substructure Design	Steel Caisson and Timber Pile
Date Fabricated	1887 (Spans #1 and #4) 1927 (Spans #2 and #3)
Date Erected	1927
Original Location (Spans #1 and #4)	Bridge #228; Cedar River Bridge; Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Traffic Count	2 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Chicago & North Western Railway Bridge Number	1813
Significance	High Significance
Documentation Date	7/15/2017

In 1879, the Chicago and Dakota Railway (C&D) completed 46 miles of new railroad from Tracy, Minnesota to Elkhorn, South Dakota. At Tracy, the line connected to an existing railroad owned by the Winona and Saint Peter Railway (W&StP), which was being leased by the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW). At the same time, the Dakota Central Railway (DC) completed an additional 25 miles from Elkhorn to Volga, South Dakota in 1879. In 1880, 184 additional miles would be completed by DC to Pierre. The C&D would come under control of the Chicago & North Western Railway in 1881, and the C&D, DC and W&StP would all be merged into the C&NW in 1900.
In 1905, Native American land west of the Missouri River opened to settlement and development. The C&NW immediately began working on a new line to reach the Black Hills. In 1906, 76 miles would be completed from Ft. Pierre to Philip by the Pierre, Rapid City and North Western Railway (PRC&NW), with 44 additional miles were completed by the same company between Rapid City and Wasta that year. In 1907, the bridge across the Missouri River at Pierre and 3 miles of track would be completed by the Pierre & Ft. Pierre Bridge Railway, and the remaining 44 miles would be completed from Philip to Wasta by the PRC&NW. The PRC&NW and Pierre & Ft. Pierre Bridge Railway were both funded and controlled by the C&NW, and would later be fully incorporated.

The C&NW operated the route between Winona and Rapid City as the main line of the Dakota Division, eventually operating the passenger train the "Dakota 400" over the route. As the line became less profitable in the 1970s and 1980s, the C&NW was considering abandoning the route. In 1986, the line between Winona and Rapid City would be sold to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad. The DM&E would be purchased by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) in 2008. In 2014, the DM&E entered into an agreement with the Genesee & Wyoming owned Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCP&E) to sell 670 miles of track. Today, RCP&E operates the segment between Pierre and Rapid City, South Dakota as the PRC Subdivision.

Located east of Wasta in rural Pennington County, this large through truss bridge crosses the Cheyenne River alongside former US Highway 14/16. The first bridge here was likely a wooden truss bridge. That bridge appears to have been replaced by a deck plate girder bridge at some point. It appears that the deck girder bridge was destroyed during a flood, as one of the spans has been buried in a sandbar near pier #4. In 1927, the bridge was replaced by the current structure. The outer spans (spans #1 and #4) consist of a 159-foot 8-inch riveted quadrangular lattice through truss span, believed to have been originally fabricated in 1887 as part of a five span bridge at Bridge #228 across the Cedar River at Cedar Rapids, Iowa along the cutoff around Cedar Rapids. The center spans were fabricated in 1927, and consist of 6-panel riveted Warren through trusses. Span #2 is 148-feet 7-inches long and span #3 is 147-feet 2-inches long. The trusses rest on steel cylinder caisson piers, and the bridge is approached by numerous trestle spans on either end. The quadrangular spans are typical of mid to late 1880s quadrangular trusses fabricated by Lassig Bridge & Iron Works, featuring a flat topped lattice portal, with standard cutout heel bracings. The Warren spans utilize an A-frame bracing, and heavy built up members.

Railroads often reused steel and iron spans, as it provided a cost effective way to upgrade branch line bridges without spending large amounts of money on new spans. There are numerous secondhand trusses on the Pierre-Rapid City route, mainly reused from the Cedar Rapids bridge, as well as Bridge #708 across the Mississippi River at Winona, Minnesota. The other three spans from Bridge #228 were reused at Bridge #1711 west of Philip, Bridge #1659 near Midland, and Bridge #1509 near Fort Pierre, all three of which continue to cross the Bad River. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The quadrangular spans have been strengthened, with new floor beams installed. The author has ranked this bridge as being highly significant, due to the unique history and combination of truss designs.

Citations

Builder and build date (spans #2 and #3)	American Bridge Company plaque
Builder, build date and relocation history (spans #1 and #4)	Chicago & North Western Railway Historical Society Archives
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele