May 2012 Buff

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THE MEMPHIS BUFF THE MEMPHIS BUFF VOLUME 39, ISSUE 5 NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY VOLUME 39, ISSUE 5 NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY May 2012 May 2012 Special Event:Tennessee Central Fall Foliage Trip Special Event:Tennessee Central Fall Foliage Trip The Great Bridge's Birthday The Great Bridge's Birthday

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Special Event: Tennessee Central Fall Foliage Trip - The Great Bridge's Birthday

Transcript of May 2012 Buff

Page 1: May 2012 Buff

THE MEMPHIS BUFFTHE MEMPHIS BUFF VOLUME 39, ISSUE 5 NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY VOLUME 39, ISSUE 5 NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY May 2012 May 2012

Special Event:Tennessee Central Fall Foliage Trip Special Event:Tennessee Central Fall Foliage Trip

The Great Bridge's Birthday The Great Bridge's Birthday

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Memphis Chapter OfficersPresident – Walter Lang [email protected] President – Bruce SmedleyDirector – Bill Strong [email protected]/Treasurer – Thomas Doherty [email protected] Co-chairman – Carl LancasterProgram Co-chairman – Don Weis [email protected] Group Co-ordinater – Terry Redeker [email protected] Editor – Tom Parker [email protected]

Minutes of the April 5 MeetingThe meeting was held at the Germantown Library on Thursday 5 April 2012. Next months meeting will be at the Germantown Library on Thursday May 10 @ 7 P.M.The Chapter voted to donate $1000 to the Memphis Trolley and Railroad Museum.Tom Parker is recovering for his surgery and we wish him a speedy recovery.Michael Jack gave a report on the Illinois Central Historical Society annual meeting to be held in Greenville, MS Aug 2 to 4. For additional informational go to: http://www.icrrhistorical.org/2012_annual_meeting.htmlBill Strong gave a report on the NC&StL annual meeting to be held in Jackson, TN on May 2 to 4 additional information see: http://ncstl.com/events/2012/details.html

BIG EVENTThe Chapter will sponsor a group trip on Oct 6 for the 216 mile round trip from Nashville to Monterey on the Tennessee Central Super Fall Foliage Trip to standing stone festival. The Chapter will pay the first class fare for members in good standing (paid 2012 dues). You have to make your reservation through Tom Doherty with a refundable $25 deposit. You will get your $25 back when you show up on the 6th. RESERVATIONS MUST BE MADE BY Jul 27. If you wish to take guests with you we will make their reservation at the group rate of $62 at the same time, you must include their fare plus your $25 refundable deposit when making your reservation. Members are responsible for their own transportation to and from Nashville as well as lodging in Nashville. We need a minimum of 16 people to get the group rate.The train boards at 7:30 A.M., depart at 8 A.M. and will return to Nashville between 6 & 7 P.M.Any questions call Tom Doherty @ (901) 754-1674Mail deposits/reservations to: Tom Doherty

2235 Coachmans Dr Germantown, TN 38138-4111

Make checks payable to NRHS-Memphis Chapter.

“Bridges” mural at the Memphis Railroad & Trolley Museum Photo by Glenda Parker

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Frisco Bridge Observes 120th Birthday May 12,

2012May 12, 2012, marks the 120th

anniversary of the first train to cross the Frisco Bridge, called the “Great Bridge” when it was built.Following is an article from the New York Times describ-ing the event:

MEMPHIS'S GREAT BRIDGE

FORMALLY OPENED TO TRAFFIC YESTERDAY

THOUSANDS OF VISIT-ORS, A GREAT PROCES-SION, AND AN ORATION By SENATOR VOORHEES -THE SPAN, OVER THE MISSISSIPPI. MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 12.--Today with impressive cere-monies, the great steel bridge over tbe Mississ1ppi River at this point was formally de-clared opened for traffic. For twenty-four hours railroads and steamboats had been emptying people into Memph-is, and the crowd of visitors which to-day thronged the city and congregated about the great bridge to witness the ceremonies was estimated at

30,000. The city never before presen-ted such a gala appearance. The decoration of business houses was never s0 elaborate, and the Stars and Stripes floated from every cornice and window of the down-town buildings. The gunboat Concord, gayly bedecked with flags from stem to stern, raised her anchors and steamed slowly down stream toward the bridge amid a great din of whistles from the steamers at the levee. The river craft had been handsomely decorated.The festivities of the day began with a parade which started from down town at 10 o'clock. A detachment of mounted police cleared the way and the procession which followed was imposing. The Visiting and city militia acting as escort to the distinguished guests of the day, in carriages, led the way. Following these were the Fire Department of Memphis, with engines and carts gayly decorated, and 100 floats, illustrative of the products and manufactures of the Mississippi Valley. The procession was about two hours in passing, and after traversing the business por-tion of the city, proceeded to

the bridge, arriving shortly before 2 o'clock. George W. Morrison of Chica-go, Chief Engineer of the great structure, began the ce-remonies by giving a signal, and in a minute a procession of eighteen locomotives moved

Ribbon from the dedication of the Great Bridge on display at Memphis Railroad & Trolley Museum

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upon the bridge. Senator Voorhees of Indiana delivered the oration or the day. It dealt chiefly with the wisdom. patriotism, and foresight of Jefferson in the acquiring of Louisiana, the glorious results which had been accomplished, the growth ot the South within the last thirty years, its still brighter future. and finally predicted that the time was not far distant when the barri-er to the navigation or the two oceans would be removed.The bridge opened to-day was built by the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad Company. It is situ-ated on the spot where Ferdinand De Soto crossed the Missis-sippi in 1541, and in excavating for the shore pier on the Tennessee side some Spanish halberds, supposed to have been used by him, were found.The bridge is the third largest of its kind in the world. Active work upon it began in the Fall of 1888, when the first caissons were sunk. There are five spans and six piers, in-cluding the anchorage pier. The east shore, or cantilever

span is 225.83 feet; the main Span, consisting of two canti-lever arms and one intermedi-ate span, is 794.42 feet; One continuous span 621.06, and one deck span 338.75 feet, making a total length or 2.597.12 feet in the bridge proper. The structure is extended west of the main bridge by an iron viaduct 2,500 feet in length, followed by a 3,100-foot tim-ber trestle, and nearly a mile of embankment to a Junction With the existing track of the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memph1s Railroad, a few hundred feet west of Sibley, Ark. The river piers are sunk to depths varying from 75 to 131 feet below high water mark. All were sunk by the pnumat-ic caisson process, and are of masonry from the caissons to the bridge seats. The material of the main bridge is steel. The main posts a 80 feet high and weigh 28 tons. Many of the pieces weigh 10, 12, and 16 tons. The main pin of the cantilever truss is 14 1nches in diameter and weighs 2,200 pounds. A stee1 plate resting on the first pier from the Memphis side and coming out at the top is the largest steel plate ever made in the United States. This plate

reaches from tbe supports un-der the bridge to the extreme top and from side to side, be-ing open at the centre, and through this aperture traffic passes.

Spanish Halberd

An early photo of a steam engine crossing the Great Bridge. Note decking to allow vehicular traffic when not used by trains.

Bill Strong Collection

Library of Congress photo - C.B. Fraser Photographer - August, 1985

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CABOOSE

IC Terminal Caboose 8081 – Woodstock Tennessee, April 1954Bill Strong Collection

Meeting Schedule

May 10, 2012June 14, 2012July 12, 2012

August 2, 2012September 13, 2012

October 9, 2012November 13, 2012December 6, 2012

Germantown Public Library 7-9 pm.

1925 Exeter RoadGermantown, TN

38138

Contact the EditorTom Parker

3012 Wood Thrush DriveMemphis, TN 38134

[email protected]