A WELL LOVED BRIDGE

   In the days of railroads everything came and went on the railroad so the railway went through the center of town. It was handy for passengers to catch a train or get off. Freight was loaded and unloaded. Towns grew up around the railroad.

    Slowly the moving of freight changed. Roads were improved and so trucks began hauling freight. Trucking was more flexible as the truck could pick up and unload closer to the source of the freight.

   So there came a time when rail roads were taken out of the downtown or in our case the railroad was taken right out of town. I wonder if any freight is received or sent out of our town. The grain terminals are about 20 km away.

   So since the movement of freight changed the railroads had to change. Railroads became a nuisance in town because of all the crossings. The large amount of land railways had became a valuable asset for other development. 

   Railroads were torn up and the land set up for redevelopment. This process was costly even though the land was valuable. 

    This is where my bridge comes into the story. If the railway didn't have to take a bridge out it saved them money. So find a use for the bridge in the community and sell it for a dollar  and the railway is free of a costly asset.

   Now people have a bridge . This bridge was refurbished for lots of money and incorporated into the large trail system we have. 

   This bridge give an excellent connection to both sides of the city. The morning I took this photo many people were riding or walking to work.

   When I took the photos I could imagine that huge steamer slowly crossing the bridge. How many trains have crossed that bridge? How many times have I crossed the bridge?

   

The Bridge I Use the Most

     I had never thought about the bridge I have gone over more than any other bridge. I took the picture on my bike trip. This bridge was put in to take traffic from our trails across the river. So there's this bridge on the west end of the trails and the exact same bridge on the eastern end of the trails. I have crossed this bridge walking, cycling and skiing. 

     I ride at least 1000 km a summer. Although there are many other trails I do ride this one quite often. In the winter there are cross country skiing areas on both sides of this bridge. It's kind of cool to ski across a bridge.

    Now I like the look of this bridge although it doesn't compare with the old steel rail way bridge.

I hadn't noticed the clouds in the photo

It's a hard bridge to photograph as there's not a good angle on it.

I did get a shot with most of the bridge.

     So there's the beautiful bridge that I have crossed more than any other bridge.

A Fine Old Bridge

       Hilairy for The Smitten Image quite often advises, "Take your camera and stroll through your neighborhood." She tells us that we will find all kinds if interesting things to photograph.

      On Sunday I did about 20 kms on my bike instead of walk. I did find some things to photograph. However, I would find more if I walked.

       We have a large trail system in the city which was put together in the early eighties. Some interesting deals were made. The railway was moving out of downtown. This old bridge was in the way and the railway was going to take it down. So a deal was made that the bridge would remain and would be used as part of the trail system. The railway reconditioned the bridge and we were left with a bridge with fin decking that could be used for riding or walking. So the railway didn't have to go to the expense of taking the bridge down and we got a fine bridge.

     It's easy to imagine the huge black locomotive easing it's way across the bridge. I can hear see and smell the large beast. The bridge would creak and slowly bend and shift as the heavy locomotive made it's crossing.The bridge brings back many senses.

We don't see this style of steel bridge anymore.

A fine wooden deck was installed on the old bridge.

Serving on a sunny summer day.