 |
Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge |
|
Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge |
| Chambers Railroad Bridge The Chambers Railroad Bridge is the only remaining covered railroad bridge in Oregon. It is believed to be the only remaining covered railroad bridge west of the Mississippi River. The Chambers Bridge is a Howe Truss bridge (see explanation of a Howe truss below).
While in private ownership, no maintenance was performed and
significant damage and decay occurred to the bridge. The only
reason the bridge remains standing today is because it was constructed
using oversized timbers to support the heavy loads of the steam
locomotives and railcars loaded with logs. The oversized
materials used in the original construction of the bridge add
significant cost to the restoration efforts. In addition to acquiring the bridge the City pursued the ownership of some property on the east end of the bridge. As a result, sufficient property on the east end has been donated to the City for access and future development of a park. Coupled with the City’s current ownership of the land on the west end of the bridge full access and use of the bridge was secured. The bridge when restored will be able to serve as an additional pedestrian and bicycle crossing on the Coast Fork Willamette River.  In 2006 the bridge had experienced significant damage and decay and was leaning to the upriver side. Concern existed that if restoration work is not begun quickly the historic treasure of Oregon’s only remaining covered railroad bridge would be lost. The Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge was awarded a $1,315,370 grant from the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program. The City provided a match of at least $136,000. Additional funds were awarded from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Oregon Surface Transportation Program. The City began the Round Up for the Bridge program in February 2007 to provide an oppo  rtunity for local citizens to contribute to the
restoration project. The program basically invites citizens to round
up their Water/Sewer bills and the rounded up change goes to the trust
fund established to fund bridge restoration. Many citizens have taken
the opportunity to round up for the bridge. We have had some round up
an additional dollar or two. The largest round seen to date is a
$20 round up. The trust fund is established so that anyone can also
donate into the fund to help with the bridge restoration and bridge park development. As of
February 27, 2009 we have raised through the round up program $7,790.
The funds raised will be used to help achieve the match needed for the
National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation grant that we have
received. The resconstructed bridge was moved back into place October 6, 2011.
|
Videos of the Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge
The restored Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge was dedicated and opened for public use on December 3, 2011. Thank you to everyone who joined us for the celebration. Check out the photos and video of the project on this page. The reconstructed Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge was launched into position on Thursday, October 6th. Following placement over the river the remaining work on the informational kiosk, concrete, roof and access will be completed. For a time lapse video (1:28 minutes) made by OBEC Engineers click here. The video shows the forklifts pushing the bridge into place. Click on picture to see larger photo and information
Emergency Declared On February 9, 2010 it was discovered that the Chambers Covered Railroad  Bridge had moved and creating additional leaning upstream.
Apparently the bridge had moved as
a result of the January 12, 2010 storm. The bridge was in danger
of imminent collapse. On Tuesday, February 16, 2010 the Cottage Grove
City Council held an Emergency Council Meeting to declare an emergency and authorize the immediate dismantling of the bridge. Upon adoption of the emergency resolution
the City and consulting engineers (OBEC) began securing approvals from
State and Federal agencies for the dismantling of the bridge.
Clearances were received Friday, February 19, 2010 and onsite work
began Monday, February 22, 2010.Bridge Dismantling Bridge dismantling began February 24, 2010. The bridge was secured and a substructure under the bridge was built to stabilize the bridge during the dismantling. A platform was built on the downstream side of the bridge and rolled under the bridge. Once under the bridge the platform was raised to hold the bridge structure in place. The upper chords were anchored to the downstream substructure to further stabilize the bridge. Rehabilitation  The reconstruction of the bridge began March, 2011. During the summer of 2011 materials were replaced on the site and the bridge was reconstructed. The restored bridge is scheduled for completion in November 2011.  Dedication and re-opening of the bridge occured December 3, 2011. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
What is a Howe Truss Bridge? (The pictures above show the Howe Trusses exposed)
How(e) It Works, By Steve Hauff(Reprinted with permission from The Trainmaster, November 2009) From its invention and patenting in 1840 , until the style finally succumbed to more modern designs and materials in the mid-1920s, William Howe's truss was a mainstay for bridge builders and architects throughout the world. Howe originally devised the truss for architectural purposes (he needed a long span for roof in a church) but the modular aspect of the design lent itself to both road and railway bridge applications.  On railways, the Howe truss fell into three general types: the pony truss, where the trusses were not as tall as the trains and there was no cross-bracing at the top of the tursses; the deck truss, where the rails and ties were carried completely above the trusses; and the through truss, where the trains went between the trusses and under a series of cross-braces at the top of the trusses. There were covered variants of all three types, though in the case of the pony and deck trusses, the cover generally only enclosed the truss structure and not the cross-bracing. In the case of the through truss, most were open, but there are examples of partially-covered (trusses only) and fully covered varieites, such as the Chambers Bridge. The design appealed to railroads for several reasons: first, the chords were essentially modular, with heavier loads being accomodated by adding members (three to seven was common) and clear spans as long as 150 feet typically used components no longer than 85 feet; second, the angle castings and tension rods could be standardized, limiting the inventory of replacement parts; third, the compression members were square-cut and of uniform length, allowing prefabrication and pre-treatment with preservative; fourth, the relatively modest size of the components allowed the construction of the bridge without large cranes or elaborate launching structures (although falsework was required). The genius of Howe's design was that he used materials where they worked best - steel or iron for the vertical tension members; wood for the angled compression members; and a modular scheme for the chords. These features, coupled with simple wood joinery, made for an easily erected and simply maintained structure. While construction of the railroad Howe trusses essentially ended in the 1920s, a significant number of this type of bridge remained in service until 1970s and 1980s. Unfortunately, few examples survived into the twenty-first century. (The Trainmaster is the Official Publication of the Pacific Northwest Chapter National Railway Historical Society, Portland Oregon. For more information visit www.pnwc-nrhs.org) |
