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Great shot!
Has anyone seen OSR 506 in operation recently? Seems like its’been a while since I’ve seen it running…
506 has been down for about 2-3 years now, but is being repaired slowly. I was kind of ‘put on the back burner’ for a bit.
Great shot Wayne!
It was very neccesary. The bridge dated to the 1970′s when CP last made repairs due to the ‘fire’ and simply put, CP did not do a very good job on the rebuild, bare minimum in fact.
Over time the pilings deteriorated and were in fact in deplorable condition and failure was quite imminent. Temporary repairs were made last Spring to keep the bridge in service, otherwise it would have shut the line down.
Plans have been afoot to replace structures on the line for a while and this bridge was simply moved ahead a couple years and executed in quick fashion in the most cost effective manner possible. New pilings went as far as 50 feet into the ground too in the centre.. very soft ground in the area.
The new structure is designed to last far longer and require less maintenance.
The next project will likely be the 1888 steel girder bridge downtown, one of the last original structures since the line was constructed. Will be replaced as part of a pedestrian bridge which will be adacent the new structure.
This bridge (above) will also eventually have a pedestrian bridge – it is part of the design but costs for the pedestrian side to be bore by the Trans Canada Trail.
Thanks for the info Steve. I wondered if they would be putting in a walkway, seeing the new steel beams sticking out as far as they do on this (south) side of the bridge could be taken as a bit of a hint. Back when this picture was taken we were doing photography of the GJE for John and Rita Carroll, and during those trips observed a lot of hikers/pedestrians using the bridge to cross the river, so including pedestrian access only makes sense. Still, I will miss the rustic appearance, in spite of the necessity of the upgrades.