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| Name | DN Tongue River Bridge Great Northern Railway Bridge #31.7 |
| Built By | Great Northern Railway |
| Currently Owned By | Dakota Northern Railroad |
| Superstructure Contractor | Keystone Bridge Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Length | 89 Feet Total, 60 Foot Main Span |
| Width | 1 Track |
| Height Above Ground | 10 Feet (Estimated) |
| Superstructure Design | Through Plate Girder and Timber Pile Trestle |
| Substructure Design | Timber Pile |
| Date Built | c. 1940 Using a Span Fabricated 1899 |
| Original Location | Unknown |
| Traffic Count | 1 Train/Day (Estimated) |
| Current Status | In Use |
| Great Northern Railway Bridge Number | 31.7 |
| Significance | Local Significance |
| Documentation Date | 8/10/2020 |
In 1890, the The Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company
(StPM&M) constructed a 32 mile branch line extending from an existing line at Grafton, North Dakota to Cavalier, North Dakota. The line would be extended an additional 16 miles to Walhalla, North Dakota in 1897. The StPM&M was controlled
by James J. Hill, a railroad tycoon who
wished to build a railroad network extending from Minnesota to the
Pacific Coast. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, the StPM&M acquired
and constructed numerous new railroad lines throughout North Dakota,
including numerous parallel lines to connect wheat crops in northern
North Dakota to the mills at Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1907, the
StPM&M would be sold to another Hill company, the Great Northern
Railway (GN). An additional 5 mile extension to the Canadian Border would be constructed in 1907, and an unaffiliated company would construct a line to Morden, Manitoba the same year. The GN utilized this route as a branch line, serving grain elevators in the small communities it passed through. The International connection would be removed in 1936, and the line cut back to Walhalla. In
1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad
(BN). In 1996, the BN merged
with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF
Railway. BNSF leased the line segment to Dakota Northern
Railroad in 2006. DN continues to operate this route as the Walhalla Subdivision.
Located in Cavalier, this through plate girder bridge crosses the Tongue River. Built in approximately 1940 to replace an older wooden Howe truss, the bridge consists of a single 60-foot through plate girder span, set onto timber pile piers. This span was originally fabricated in 1899 by Keystone Bridge Company, and used at an unknown location. The bridge is approached by timber trestle spans on either end. This design of bridge was commonly used by railroads throughout the United States, as it was durable and easy to construct. Often, railroads would reuse spans from mainlines on branch lines, as it was an economical way to replace older bridges. Research is ongoing to where this span was relocated from. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
Citations
| Builder and build date | Keystone Bridge Company plaque |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |