Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative - Wiki
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Annapolis Royal Bridge
Annapolis Royal Bridge
Mile 00.27 on the Yarmouth Subdivision[1]
This bridge crossed the the wide, tidal Allen's Creek (also know as the Allain River), just west of Annapolis Royal. It was originally built in 1890 as a single wooden truss and trestles on either end, 325 feet long exclusive of the wooden pile approaches. The first train to cross was on August 21, 1890, when a Windsor & Annapolis Railway work train from Annapolis Royal driven by Robert Stewart with conductor David Cook carried a load of ballast and rails to Upper Clements for the construction of the line's "missing link" to Digby.[2] Regular rail service across the bridge began on July 27, 1891 at first with trains of the Western Counties Railway and from 1894 onward by the Dominion Atlantic Railway].[3]
The first wooden bridge was replaced by a new steel span in 1914. The substructure consisted of a 150-foot steel through truss resting on two and two concrete abutments and two 85 foot Through Plate Girder spans with standard wooden trestle approaches at both ends.[4] The length of all spans totaled 468 feet in 1968.[5]
The 1914 structure remained essentially the same until the line west of Coldbrook was abandoned in March 1990. The bridge remains intact but heavily weathered as of 2020 with gaps dug at approaches to discourage recreational use.
Gallery
DAR Engine No. 18 with a passenger train on the Annapolis Royal Bridge with the Annapolis Royal "Frogmore" station on far right, 1909.
Postcard of a westbound passenger train at the Annapolis Royal Station with the Annapolis Royal Bridge in background, taken from the St. George Street Overpass looking west, circa 1910.
The rebuilt Annapolis Royal Bridge with footings of the first bridge, April 24, 1913.
Track Schematic for Annapolis Royal showing the wye, sidings and specs for the Annapolis Royal Bridge, circa 1918.
Annapolis Royal Bridge on August 5, 1973.
Eastbound freight crosses the Annapolis Royal Bridge approaching Annapolis Royal. May 18, 1989.
The Burro Crane working on the Allain River Bridge, 1989.
The bridge from Fort Anne, circa 1990.
The Annapolis Royal Bridge looking east to the town of Annapolis Royal, September 9, 2005.
The Annapolis Royal Bridge crossing the Allain River, August 30, 2011.
A track view of the Annapolis Royal Bridge crossing the Allain River, facing east on August 30, 2011.
West end of the bridge, 2019.
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References
- ↑ Dominion Atlantic Railway, 1969 Memorandum of General Information, p. 15.
- ↑ W. W. Clarke, Clarke's History of the Earliest Railways in Nova Scotia (c. 1925) p. 11.
- ↑ Marguerite Woodworth, History of the Dominion Atlantic Railway, page 109.
- ↑ Extensive Improvements on the Dominion Atlantic Railway.” CANADIAN RAILWAY AND MARINE WORLD, November 1914, 490.|Extensive Improvements on the Dominion Atlantic Railway.” CANADIAN RAILWAY AND MARINE WORLD, November 1914, p. 490.
- ↑ Dominion Atlantic Railway, 1969 Memorandum of General Information, p. 15.
