St. Cloud Rail Bridge
Encyclopedia
The St. Cloud Rail Bridge is a pin-connected truss bridge
that spans the Mississippi River
in St. Cloud, Minnesota
. It was built in 1892 by Great Northern Railway and was probably designed by the railroad. Two of the piers are stone, while a third pier is newer and made of concrete. The bridge has an extra set of bracing that hangs about ten feet below the bottom trusses, appearing to hang like a hammock. This was added to increase the capacity of the bridge.
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
that spans the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
in St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...
. It was built in 1892 by Great Northern Railway and was probably designed by the railroad. Two of the piers are stone, while a third pier is newer and made of concrete. The bridge has an extra set of bracing that hangs about ten feet below the bottom trusses, appearing to hang like a hammock. This was added to increase the capacity of the bridge.