Kate Shelley High Bridge | |
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![]() Original bridge (left), new bridge(right) | |
Coordinates | 42°03′32″N93°58′12″W / 42.059°N 93.97°W |
Carries | Freight trains |
Crosses | Des Moines River |
Locale | Boone, Iowa, U.S. |
Maintained by | Union Pacific |
Characteristics | |
Material | Steel |
Total length | 2,685 ft (818 m) |
Height | 185 ft (56 m) |
Piers in water | 8-16 |
History | |
Designer | George S. Morison |
Construction start | 1899 |
Construction end | 1901 |
Closed | 2009 |
Boone Viaduct | |
Architect | George S. Morison |
NRHP reference No. | 78001207 [1] |
Added to NRHP | November 17, 1978 |
Location | |
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The Kate Shelley High Bridge, officially called the Boone Viaduct when it was completed in 1901, is one of the highest and longest double-track railroad bridges in the United States. It is located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Boone, Iowa.
It was nicknamed after the Iowa railroad heroine, Catherine Carroll Shelley, better known as Kate Shelley. On July 6, 1881, when she was 15 years old, Kate Shelley risked her life to warn the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad company that the Honey Creek bridge was out. A "pusher" train had fallen through the bridge near her home. Kate heard the accident and knew the train schedules, so Kate attempted to save a passenger train scheduled to travel over the Honey Creek bridge by crossing the Des Moines River Bridge near her Moingona home. It was night, during a raging thunderstorm. Wearing only her nightdress and armed with a lantern, she crossed the bridge on her hands and knees. She made it to the station and saved the train. She then led rescuers back to save the men who had fallen from Honey Creek Bridge. Of the four men who fell, two were saved, one was found dead, and the fourth was never found, presumed to be dead. In some versions of the tale, Kate was 17 years old, asserting that the birthdate on her own gravestone is inaccurate. They also claim the passenger train had already stopped, but no actual evidence has been presented proving either of those two disputed facts. Her bravery was heralded in many newspapers. Kate's lantern is housed at the Boone County Historical Society Museum in Boone, IA [2] [3]
The bridge was designed by George S. Morison for the Chicago and North Western Railway and was constructed from 1899 to 1901. [4] It stands 185 feet (56 m) above the Des Moines River and is 2,685 feet (818 m) long. The bridge was never officially renamed for Kate Shelley, but there were many commemorations there to honor her as if it carried that name. Gradually it became better known as the Kate Shelley High Bridge, or just the Kate Shelley Bridge, and the popularity of the Boone Viaduct name faded.
By the mid-1950s, traffic on the bridge was limited to one train at a time. [5] In 1986, some of the bridge towers were damaged in a wind storm. [5] Union Pacific Railroad is the current owner of the bridge, and starting in 2001, they undertook an inspection and repair program; this resulted in both tracks being opened again, but with a 25-mile-per-hour (40 km/h) slow order. [5]
The bridge is located on an east/west Union Pacific main line—the Overland Route [6] —connecting Chicago to the west coast. [7]
From 2006 to 2009, Union Pacific constructed a new double track concrete and steel bridge next to the old span. [8] During construction, the bridge was lengthened 160 feet (49 m) to the east due to instability of the bank caused by heavy rains in Spring 2008; this delayed completion by at least eight months. [9] The bridge opened to traffic on August 20, 2009, when the Union Pacific ran its first train across the new span. [8] The UP officially named the new viaduct the Kate Shelley Bridge. The new bridge can handle two trains simultaneously at 70 mph (110 km/h), and at 2,813 feet (857 m) long and 190 feet (58 m) high, [8] the new bridge is longer and slightly taller than the original. The original bridge was left in place.
In addition to the Boone Viaduct (completed 1901), a.k.a. the Kate Shelley High Bridge, and the Union Pacific Kate Shelley Bridge (completed 2009), at least two other bridges have been occasionally called the Kate Shelley (Shelly) bridge. The bridge at Moingona that Kate crossed was sometimes referred to as the Kate Shelly Bridge before the Boone Viaduct was complete. A new steel bridge was built to replace the old wooden Moingona one in 1894. The small stone bridge over Honey Creek near her house, where the pusher engine crashed, was also occasionally called the Kate Shelley (Shelly) Bridge.
There were and have been many high trestles (Trestle bridges) in Boone County, such as the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad's Bass Point High Bridge. [10]
New Kate Shelley Bridge | |
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Coordinates | 42°03′32″N93°58′12″W / 42.059°N 93.97°W |
Carries | Heavy rail |
Crosses | Des Moines River |
Locale | Boone, Iowa |
Maintained by | Union Pacific |
Characteristics | |
Material | Concrete and steel |
Total length | 2,813 ft (857 m) |
Height | 190 ft (58 m) |
History | |
Construction start | 2006 |
Construction end | 2009 |
Opened | 2009 |
Location | |
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Boone is a city in Des Moines Township, and county seat of Boone County, Iowa, United States.
Sheldahl is a city in Polk, Boone, and Story counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 297 at the time of the 2020 census.
A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles triangles joined at their apices by a plank or beam such as the support structure for a trestle table. Each supporting frame is a bent. A trestle differs from a viaduct in that viaducts have towers that support much longer spans and typically have a higher elevation.
The Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates freight and passenger excursions in Boone County, Iowa.
Catherine Carroll Shelley was a midwestern United States railroad heroine and the first woman in the United States to have a bridge named after her, the Kate Shelley High Bridge. She was also one of the few women to have a train named after her, the Kate Shelley 400.
Beaver Creek is a tributary of the Des Moines River that rises at the northern border of Boone County in the U.S. state of Iowa, and then flows generally south and southeast through western Boone County, northeastern Dallas County, and finally northwestern Polk County before flowing into the Des Moines River approximately a mile south of the Saylorville Reservoir in Polk County. In total, the main channel is approximately 77 miles (124 km) in length, and the watershed drains approximately 380 square miles (980 km2).
The Potomac Creek Bridge was first built in 1842 by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad across the Potomac Creek in Stafford County, Virginia, United States.
The Tulip Viaduct is a 2,295-foot (700 m) long railroad bridge in Greene County, Indiana, that spans Richland Creek between Solsberry and Tulip. According to Richard Simmons and Francis Haywood Parker, authors of Railroads of Indiana, it is "easily the state's most spectacular railroad bridge". The bridge was built in 1905 and 1906 by the Indianapolis Southern Railway and successor Indianapolis Southern Railroad, which became part of the Illinois Central Railroad in 1911. It is now part of the Indianapolis–Newton, Illinois, line of the Indiana Rail Road.
High Trestle Trail is a rail trail running from Ankeny to Woodward in central Iowa. The recreation trail opened on April 30, 2011. It is a paved recreational trail that runs through the Polk, Story, Boone, and Dallas counties. The trail's name is derived from a former 1913 bridge that spanned the Des Moines River between the towns of Madrid and Woodward.
The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) was a railroad that operated in the United States from 1876 to 1903. It was formed to take over the operations of the bankrupt Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, which was, in turn, the result of merging several predecessor lines, the construction of which began in 1869. The corporate headquarters were in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it had operations in Iowa and in Minnesota. It was succeeded by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway.
The Jefferson Street Viaduct is a historic structure located in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States. The riveted Warren deck truss bridge was completed in 1936. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as a part of the Highway Bridges of Iowa MPS.
The Kate Shelley 400 was a short-lived streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway between Chicago, Illinois and Iowa. The train drew its name from the CNW's popular Twin Cities 400, so-named for making the 400-mile (644 km) run from Chicago to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 400 minutes, and Kate Shelley, a young woman who in 1881 risked her life to save a passenger train from a washed-out bridge. The C&NW introduced the Kate Shelley to fill the void left by the Union Pacific Railroad's famed "City" streamliners, which had moved from the CNW's route to that of the Milwaukee Road. The Kate Shelley made its first run in October 1955. Initially it operated to Boone, Iowa, but this was cut back in 1956 to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and then again in 1957 to Clinton, Iowa, just across the Mississippi River. The CNW dropped the name altogether on July 23, 1963, though the unnamed trains #1 and #2 continued running until the formation of Amtrak in 1971, when they were discontinued.
Lincoln Township is a township in Polk County, Iowa, United States. It contains the town of Alleman, and portions of Sheldahl, Ankeny and Polk City. All but the northeast corner of the township attends the North Polk Community School District, in Alleman. Fourmile creek runs through the township, and is the only continuous waterway through the township.
Moingona is an unincorporated community in Boone County, in the U.S. state of Iowa.
The Boone Bridge was located southwest of Boone, Iowa, United States. It spanned the Des Moines River for 647 feet (197 m). The area in which this bridge was built was a pivotal transportation corridor in the early 20th century. The Chicago and North Western Railroad built the Boone Viaduct upstream from this location in 1901. It was the world's longest two-track viaduct. The county built a pin-connected truss bridge to carry a county road over the river just downstream from this location in 1909. In 1913 it was chosen as part of the route of the Lincoln Highway, the nation's first transcontinental highway. Because of its narrow width of only 16 feet (4.9 m) and an increase in traffic, a new bridge was required. The Iowa State Highway Commission designed this bridge in 1927. It was composed of two riveted Pratt and two Parker through trusses. The contract to build the structure was awarded in November 1927 to the A. Olson Construction Company of Waterloo, Iowa for $77,900. It was completed later in 1928. The bridge carried U.S. Route 30 traffic until it was rerouted to the south. It carried a county road until it was replaced in the early 21st century, and dismantled. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
Boone Bridge 2, also known as the Wagon Wheel Bridge, was a historic structure that was located west of Boone, Iowa, United States. It spanned the Des Moines River for 703 feet (214 m). The Boone Commercial Association and the Boone County Board of Supervisors disagreed over the location of a new wagon bridge over the river. The county wanted the new bridge west from Eighth Street in Boone, closer to the Chicago and North Western Railroad's Boone Viaduct. The businessmen wanted to rebuild the Incline Bridge. The dispute was resolved when the Commercial association offered to buy the Incline Bridge. The county contracted with the Iowa Bridge Company to design and build the bridge, which was completed in 1910 for $77,900. The bridge consisted of a long-span Pennsylvania truss over the main channel of the river and three Pratt trusses over the floodplain. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Stone Arch Viaduct, also known as the Old Stone Arch, is located northeast of Shelby, Iowa, United States. The span carried the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad tracks over Little Silver Creek. It measures 35 feet (11 m) from the water level to the deck, 20 feet (6.1 m) in width, and 30 feet (9.1 m) in length. The bridge has flanking wingwalls that measure 40 feet (12 m) in length. Limestone for the bridge was quarried near Earlham, Iowa and transported by train to the site. It is one of two such bridges known to exist in Shelby County. The Rock Island was the first railroad to enter the county, and continued to operate here into the 1950s. At that time they abandoned the line when the Atlantic cutoff was built providing a more direct route between Atlantic, Iowa and Council Bluffs. While the tracks were removed, the stone arch, the railroad grade, and the right-of-way were left intact. They are now part of the Rock Island Old Stone Arch Nature Trail. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The Adair Viaduct is a historic structure located in Adair, Iowa, United States. It spans the Iowa Interstate Railroad tracks for 192 feet (59 m). In 1908 Adair County built the first bridge at this location over the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad tracks near the site of the 1873 Jesse James train robbery. Increased traffic by the 1920s necessitated its replacement. The Iowa State Highway Commission designed the three-span open spandrel arch bridge. The Adair County Board of Supervisors awarded the $42,263 to build the bridge to the Federal Bridge Company of Des Moines. It is somewhat unusual in Iowa in that the bridge is not symmetrical. Because it is located over a deep cut the two approach spans at 56 feet (17 m) each are shorter than the main span, which is 80 feet (24 m). The bridge was opened to traffic in June 1924. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The Burlington and Northwestern Railway (B&NW) was a 3 ft narrow gauge railroad system in Iowa that operated during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It connected Burlington, Iowa with branches to Washington and Oskaloosa, Iowa. Incorporated in 1875 as the Burlington and Northwestern Narrow Gauge Railway Company, it began carrying traffic in 1876, when it also dropped 'narrow gauge' from its corporate name. The line reached Washington in 1880, operating over 52.5 miles (84.5 km) of track. In 1881, the Burlington and Western Railway Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) was formed to connect the line to Oskaloosa, completed in 1883. For two decades, both lines were operated as a single system, until on June 20, 1902, the system was widened to standard gauge and the B&NW was adsorbed by the B&W. Later that year, the system was leased to the CB&Q, and in 1903, the entire system was deeded to the CB&Q.