FORT MADISON, IOWA - 11 May, 2018

Along the banks of the Mississippi River in Fort Madison, Iowa, the sirens are a regular occurrence, signaling the impending opening of the landmark BNSF swing bridge to river traffic.

An iconic crossing of an iconic river, this is a magnificent double-decked structure, with the double-tracked BNSF transcontinental mainline on the lower deck, and a two lane highway above.

Constructed from 1925 to 1927, this the second bridge to be constructed at this site. The original, opened in 1887, was a similar swing design but with only a single track and a cantilevered deck for horse-drawn traffic. By the mid-1920s the ever-increasing weight of the trains became too much for the original span and thus the Santa Fe replaced it with the structure we see today.

Altogether, the entire bridge contains a whopped 14,500 tons of steel and enough concrete to resurface 2.5 miles of US Interstate Highway.

Upbound River Tow:
Consist:
- ADM's Ardyce Randall
- 15 barges
Location/Time:
- BNSF Chillicothe Sub, Fort Madison, IA, Mississippi River Bridge, on 11May2018 at 14:15 CDT

BNSF Intermodal EB
Consist:
- BNSF 7052 [ES44C4]
- BNSF 4722 [C44-9W]
- Car Count Unknown/Mixed intermodal
Location/Time:
- BNSF Chillicothe Sub, Fort Madison, IA, MS River Bridge, on 11May2018 at 14:35 CDT

BNSF Intermodal WB
Consist:
- BNSF 8177 [ES44C4]
- BNSF 5399 [C44-9W]
- BNSF 7672 [ES44DC]
- BNSF 4943 [C44-9W]
- BNSF 4487 [C44-9W]
- Car Count Unknown/Mixed intermodal
Location/Time:
- BNSF Chillicothe Sub, Fort Madison, IA, MS River Bridge, on 11May2018 at 15:03 CDT

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Videography Equipment:
- Primary: Sony FDR-AX53 4K Camcorder
- Secondary: Sony HDR-PJ790V HD Camcorder
- Aerial Platform: DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Drone
- Radio Scanner: Uniden Bearcat BC125AT
- Edited with: Cyberlink PowerDirector 16

Created by Alex Christmas. Copyright 2018, as the Thornapple River Rail Series, All Rights Reserved