(Old) Bridge in Rantoul, KS

[jhkarim]

Hello everyone,

I think you all might be my last hope. I contacted the Franklin County, KS historical society who then put me in touch with David Huelsing of the MP Historical Society. He was unable to find anything on this particular bridge.

It is an old metal bridge that is now on the Flint Hills Nature Trail. It is about 2 miles NW of Rantoul, KS. The placard with its information is missing. It does have a number on it: 3453 (most likely) or 3A53.

Would anyone know anything at all about this bridge?

Thank you so much!
Danno

[bargetanika]

I don’t know anything about the bridge at all but a good strategy might be similar to what is called good police work. First, find out what railroad this actually was, it might not be the MP and could be a predecessor road to whoever it was at the end. Then, try to locate construction data and contracts to find out who physically built that section of road, bearing in mind that the bridge that’s there today may be a replacement of an original as often happened. If the road abandonment was recent enough, an ex employee or someone may still be alive who remembers information, although the possibility recedes every day. To wit:

At this late date I wonder all the time about how MP passenger service was handled in my home town before it was discontinued in 1935. The (now removed) track layout and (still standing) freight depot location don’t support any theory very easily. No separate passenger station shows on historic maps. And the freight house is at the end of what was a quite long dead end industrial spur line. When I was a kid in the early 60’s I could have asked anyone about it, including my father who moved there in 1933. But I didn’t realize the value of an interview. Today it is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in more mystery.

Pat Flory

[princessclyne69]

First I checked the Official Guide (I have a copy from 1966), which shows in the Index of Stations that Rantoul is served by the MP and no other railroad. Rantoul is just west of Osowatomie, which would be the Pueblo main line (now abandoned). I don’t know anything about trails.

But in the Condensed Profile charts, Rantoul shows between milepost 343 and 344. There are two bridges shown between milepost 345 and 346, one is called bridge 24, a 150′ through truss bridge over Middle Creek flowing into the Marais des Cygnes River, the next is bridge 3459 about 1.2 mile to the west, shown as a 3 panel reinforced concrete trestle.

Some explanation on bridge numbers is in order. It appears that at one time, late 19th – early 20th century, significant bridges on MP lines were numbered in order from east to west, in the direction of increasing mileposts. At some point this was changed to include every bridge, and to number the bridges in miles and tenths of miles from St. Louis, to match the mileposts. So the bridge shown as bridge 24 was probably later identified as bridge 3453 because it was around milepost 345.3. That is probably what’s painted on the bridge.

On the Condensed Profile, the only information on the bridge is that it has a clearance of 22′-0″ above the rail. The other piece of information shown on it is that the rail at that location was laid (replacement of earlier rail) in 1938. The elevation above sea level at that point is 838′, with a rise of about 1 foot from the track elevation on either side of the bridge. The track at that point is tangent (straight), with a curve to the right (north) beginning about a half-mile to the west, and a slightly sharper curve to the right, as viewed from the bridge (south) beginning about a half-mile to the east.

Hope this helps.

RG7

[princessclyne69]

Follow-up: I checked Google Maps and the information shown on the Condensed Profile seems to be borne out. Note that I made one typo, in that bridge 3459 is “about one-half mile” west of bridge 3453, not 1.2 as I tried to say.

RG7

[monikabidwill9523]

Have you tried bridgehunter.com? I am pretty sure the site is still up though the owner was killed late last year.

[Bud Moss]

A lot of history is lost, especially that on operations, consists and personnel. Unless a person comes upon something out of the blue, like an engineer or conductor timebook the main sources we are left with are employee timetables, track charts and the like. Don’t forget that the EAGLE often as great information. I know all of us want to be able to find all the arcane information but it just isn’t possible. This bulletin board also helps a lot. Enjoy the ‘hunt’ for information. Jerry Michels

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