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| Name | BNSF Bridge #137.4 Great Northern Railway Bridge #137.4 |
| Built By | Great Northern Railway |
| Currently Owned By | BNSF Railway |
| Superstructure Contractor | Unknown |
| Length | 132 Feet Total, 30 Foot Spans |
| Width | 1 Track |
| Height Above Ground | 15 Feet (Estimated) |
| Superstructure Design | Deck Plate Girder and Timber Pile Trestle |
| Substructure Design | Timber Pile |
| Date Built | 1943 Using Spans Fabricated c. 1943 |
| Original Location | Unknown |
| Traffic Count | 5 Trains/Day (Estimated) |
| Current Status | In Use |
| Great Northern Railway Bridge Number | 137.4 |
| BNSF Railway Bridge Number | 137.4 |
| Significance | Local Significance |
| Documentation Date | 1/1/2016 |
In 1887, the Willmar and Sioux Falls Railway Company (W&SF) began construction on a new 147 mile railroad line between Willmar, Minnesota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Construction would be completed by 1888. The following year, the Sioux City and Northern Railroad (SCN) Company began construction on 96 miles of new railroad, starting at Garretson, South Dakota and extending south to Sioux City, Iowa. An additional extension would be made in 1893, when the Sioux Falls, Yankton and South Western Railway Company (SFY&SW) constructed 58 miles of new railroad to Yankton, South Dakota. The SFY&SW would be sold to the W&SF in 1893, and the SCN would be sold to the W&SF in 1900. In 1907, Great Northern Railway (GN) purchased the W&SF. GN built and acquired an extensive railroad network throughout Minnesota.
GN operated this route as a mainline. The Sioux City leg of the route provided an important and competitive connection for stock yards at Sioux City to the Twin Cities. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad. The segment between Yankton and Irene was abandoned in 1981, and the segment between Irene and Sioux Falls was abandoned in 1982. BN was in turn merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF currently operates the Marshall Subdivision over the Willmar to Sioux City segment of this line, and the Corson Subdivision over the Garretson to Sioux Falls segment of this line.
Located along Redwood Boulevard on the west side of Brandon, this deck plate girder bridge crosses an unnamed creek. Built in 1943 using secondhand spans fabricated c. 1910 at an unknown location, the bridge utilizes three 30-foot deck plate girder spans, approached by timber pile trestle spans. The entire bridge is set onto timber pile substructures. Railroads often reused steel and iron spans, as it was an effective way to save costs on replacing branch line bridges. It is unknown where these spans may have come from. Because Great Northern replaced spans more often than most railroads, there are numerous spots that these spans may have potentially come from. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
Citations
| Build Date | Great Northern Willmar Division Bridge Index, located at the Minnesota Historical Society |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |