TZPR Farm Creek Bridge

View an article discussing the Schaub variant truss

Located north of Main Street in East Peoria, this unusual through truss bridge carries the former Peoria & Pekin Union Railway over Farm Creek. The first bridge at this location was likely a timber truss bridge, constructed to connect to the Lake Erie & Western Railway tracks east of Farm Creek. In 1905, the bridge would be rebuilt with a new steel truss span, constructed for a sharp curve in the railroad. Due to the occurrence of severe flooding on Farm Creek, the creek would be channelized in 1930. As part of the channelization efforts, the original truss span was shifted west, and a new through plate girder span installed east of the truss span. Currently, the bridge consists of a 118-foot, 6-panel, riveted Schaub variant through truss span, approached by a 125-foot through plate girder span. The entire bridge is set onto concrete substructures, which are integral to the concrete flume which carries Farm Creek. The truss span was fabricated by the Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Works, while the through girder span was fabricated by the American Bridge Company. An unknown contractor constructed the concrete substructures. The truss span is skewed, which provides for unusual geometry and details. This span consists of mainly solid members, a traditionally composed floor and a lattice style portal bracing. The portal and sway bracings have been rebuilt with new steel, which was likely done to allow for larger trains to use the structure. The through girder span is heavily skewed, and uses a standard design consisting of rounded and tapered ends. The concrete substructures are heavily constructed, and appear to have been constructed to accommodate a second track. It is not believed a second track was ever constructed, and the width may be due to the sharp curve of the bridge.

The Schaub Variant truss was developed in 1901 by Julius W. Schaub, a Chicago based bridge engineer. The Schaub variant truss was designed to provide a truss design which would be used for medium length spans. The design utilizes a Warren design with subpanels, and a combination of riveted and pinned connections. The location of the riveted connections prevented any movement of the pins in the pinned connections. The design was used by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, the Missouri Pacific Railway, and the Iowa Central Railway (later Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway). A number of Schaub variant trusses were built, in different sizes, configurations and with different connections. Several contractors also fabricated the various spans. More information about this innovative design can be found at the link above. The truss span of this bridge uses exclusively riveted connections, likely due to the unusual geometry of the structure. Since the initial construction, the only major alterations to the structure include the rebuilding of the upper bracings on the truss. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the unusual configuration and design.