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| Name | Brown's Creek State Trail - MN-95 Bridge Northern Pacific Railway Bridge #11 |
| Built By | Northern Pacific Railway |
| Currently Owned By | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
| Superstructure Contractor | American Bridge Company of New York |
| Length | 164 Feet Total, 82 Foot Main Span |
| Width | 1 Track |
| Height Above Ground | 15 Feet (Estimated) |
| Superstructure Design | Through Plate Girder and Timber Pile Trestle |
| Substructure Design | Stone Masonry and Timber Pile |
| Date Built | 1912, Moved Here 1967 |
| Original Location | Turntable at Missoula, Montana |
| Traffic Count | 0 Trains/Day (Bridge is a Trail) |
| Current Status | Open to Trail Traffic |
| Northern Pacific Railway Bridge Number | 11 |
| Significance | Moderate Significance |
| Documentation Date | 4/29/2012; 8/26/2015 |
In 1870, the Stillwater and St. Paul Railroad Company (S&StP) constructed a 13 mile route between the existing railroad at White Bear Lake and Stillwater, Minnesota. In 1871, the Minneapolis and Duluth Railroad Company (M&D) built a short route between East Minneapolis at the Great Northern wye, near the corner of Hennepin Avenue and Central Avenue SE; to M&D Junction, near Goose Lake in White Bear Lake. The M&D would be consolidated into the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway (M&StL) in 1881. The M&StL would be reorganized as the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad in 1894. By 1899, the S&StP would be sold to the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad (StP&D). The StP&D would be sold to the Northern Pacific Railway (NP) in 1900, and the East Minneapolis to M&D Junction line would be sold to the NP the following year.
The NP operated these lines as branches, serving industrial areas of the Twin Cities. At an unknown time prior to 1968, the line between the Great Northern and Northern Pacific lines in East Minneapolis was abandoned. In 1970, NP would merge with rival Great Northern Railway and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). In 1985, BN would abandon the White Bear Lake to Stillwater segment of this route, and sell the portion east of Duluth Junction (Grant) to the tourist railroad Minnesota Zephyr, part of the Minnesota Transportation Museum. In 1996, BN merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway. BNSF leased the remaining portions of the line to Minnesota Commercial, which continues to operate it. The Minnesota Zephyr was abandoned in 2012, and the railroad turned into the Browns Creek Trail.
Located north of Stillwater, this bridge carries the Brown's Creek State Trail across Minnesota Highway 95. The previous bridge at this location was a through plate girder bridge, constructed in 1881. By 1967, this bridge had become too light and replacement was required. An 85-foot turntable at Missoula, which had been fabricated in 1912 by American Bridge Company, was removed during the 1960s and stored at Brainerd, Minnesota. The span was altered with a heavy 65-degree skew, and shortened slightly to fit this location. Two timber pile trestle spans approach the bridge on either end, and the bridge sits on stone abutments from the previous bridge, as well as timber piles. Railroads often reused steel bridge spans to save costs during bridge projects. Spans which were no longer needed at one location could feasibly be reused at another location, often with strengthening and other alterations. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the reuse of the turntable.
Citations
| Builder, build dates and relocation history | Blueprints retrieved from MNDOT Electronic Plan Site |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |