Thebes Bridge

Thebes Bridge
Coordinates 37°13′00″N 89°28′01″W / 37.21667°N 89.46694°W
Carries Union Pacific, previously the Missouri Pacific Railroad
Crosses Mississippi River
Locale Illmo, Missouri and Thebes, Illinois
Characteristics
Design Continuous truss bridge
Total length 3,959 feet (1,207 m)
Longest span 651 feet (198 m)
Clearance below 104 feet (32 m)
History
Opened April 18, 1905

The Thebes Bridge is a truss bridge carrying the Union Pacific Railroad (previously carried the Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific, in a joint operation) across the Mississippi River between Illmo, Missouri and Thebes, Illinois. It is owned by the Southern Illinois and Missouri Bridge Company, now a UP subsidiary.[1]

History

The Southern Illinois and Missouri Bridge Company was incorporated in Illinois on December 28, 1900 to own the bridge and 4.64 miles (7.47 km) of connecting rail line. It was initially owned equally by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad, Illinois Central Railroad, Missouri Pacific Railway, St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, and St. Louis Southwestern Railway. The designer of the bridge was Polish-American engineer Ralph Modjeski.[2] The Missouri Pacific and SLIM&S merged in 1917, and in 1945 the C&EI sold its 1/5 share to the Missouri Pacific, giving the latter company, since merged into the UP, a majority interest.

References

  1. Class I Railroad Annual Report R-1: Union Pacific Railroad Company to the Surface Transportation Board for the Year Ending Dec. 31, 2007
  2. Glomb, Jozef; Peter J. Obst (Translator) (2002) (in English). A man who spanned two eras: The story of bridge engineer Ralph Modjeski. Philadelphia: Kosciuszko Foundation. ISBN 978-0-917004-25-4.

Moody's Steam Railroads 1949 by John Moody of Moody's Investor Service

See also