The Milwaukee Road S3 is in charge of a Friends of the 261 Trip, running on the BNSF Wayzata Sub. over the Mississippi River Main Channel en route to TC&W Rails at Cedar Creek Jct. for a Fall Color Excursion out of Minneapolis Jct. to Glencoe and back.
This 550 foot bridge was built in 1893 by the Great Northern Railway and rebuilt in 1926. It replaced a span built at the same location in 1867 for the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, making this the site of the first Mississippi River railroad crossing in Minneapolis.
In 1963, 2 of the original girder spans and a pier taken out, and a Petit Truss Span was added. This was done to allow upstream navigation past St. Anthony Falls for barges.
There was once a curved bridge span that diverged off the west end of the girder spans that led to Minneapolis Union Depot. When passenger service was discontinued from downtown Minneapolis, and West River Parkway was constructed, the curve section and the trackage going to the depot was removed.
Locomotive: MILW 261
10-8-16
Minneapolis, MN
