The Kate Shelley High Bridge is the highest double-track railroad bridge in
the United States. It is located approximately 3 miles west of the city
of Boone, Iowa.
The bridge was designed by George S. Morison for the Chicago and North Western Railway and was constructed from 1899 to 1901. It stands at 185 ft height above the Des Moines River with a length of 2,685 ft. It was renamed in 1912 to honor Kate Shelley.
As the original double track bridge is currently getting ever aged and trains are subject to slow speeds (25MPH) crossing it, Union Pacific (owners of the C&NW property) is currently working a on a new, double track, concrete bridge scheduled to open Fall 2008. The bridge is located on a very busy route and it was much more cost effective to build a new bridge capable of much higher speeds. The current
bridge and its name will remain.
We went to Boone, Iowa! Actually, we went west of Boone to find this railroad bridge. There are three roads you can take to see the bridge; the first two we chose were closed because of the construction on the bridge. But with the third road we had luck. The boys loved it (I admit it, so did Christian and I). Here's the link for the history of the bridge. I don't actually expect anyone to read this; I'm just linking it for my own personal enjoyment.
Here's the bridge, with the new one being built in front of it. A train comes by approximately every 1/2 hour, so you never have to wait long to see one. (Can you imagine living near these tracks? Tons of people do.)
Here comes a train! 4 engines, wow, that's a heavy load (conversations in our vehicle as it passes by).
Here is the bridge we were parked on while taking these pictures:
There was a weight limit of 3 tons on this rickety old bridge. Yikes!Next, we stopped at the train yard to check it out. The boys (Aidan specifically) loved seeing so many stopped trains and tracks in one place.
Then Ethan really wanted us to take a picture of the Boone water tower. It kind of makes me hungry:
Then Aidan asked for the camera. There were many, many pictures. Here are just a few:
6 people wanted to leave a comment:
What an adorable family adventure! I didn't know that was near Boone.
Hey, do you have some homes scouted out for your upcoming house-hunting trip? (Feel free to email me the answer if you want.)
I think it's cute that you guys love doing little family adventures. We do too.
We love bridges at our house, as well as tunnels. What fun I'm sure it was! Better check out all those interesting sites before you move back here! YIPEE!
My boys would love that!
Gotta live it up in Iowa while ya can! You guys weren't near the tornadoes, were you?
What a great family field trip!
Ah, the Boone train bridge. I once sat on that bridge while a train went across. You do get a bit of perspective when you are 150 feet in the air standing on a 100 year old wooden bridge with a 50,000 ton train passes 18 inches above your head. It really is a cool bridge. I hope they don't tear it down.
We used to joke that to create a new town in Iowa, they would 1) build a Casey's gas station, 2) erect a water tower, 3) put a strange name (ala, Boone) on the water tower, 4) arrange a complex grid of one way streets, and 5) create the town.
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