Dallas Center IA 515-720-2463 | You may have noticed that I have been posting pictures of a bridge.
The official name is 'Boone Viaduct', but everyone called it 'The Kate Shelley Bridge'.
It crosses the Des Moines River just west of Boone, Iowa. On the Union Pacific Railroad double track, probably the most used east west railroad in the country. And I bet it beats all the north south lines also. Lots of western coal going to eastern power plants.
The viaduct was built in 1903. for many years it was the longest and highest double track railroad bridge in the world. Key word is double track.
When the bridge was completed it made crossing the Des Moines River Valley much easier. The river is not that big, but the valley is.
Before 1903 the trains had to go down one side of the valley and then a long hard climb up the other side.
During World War II there was a large force of army troops guarding the bridge. Not just in war time, but anytime the lost of that bridge would cause many problems. Today keeping the lights on east of Chicago with that bridge out of commision would be a major problem.
And up until about 1960 a railroad guard walked the bridge after ever train crossing. Can you imagine walking over a mile each way and 185' above the river at night, during a blizzard, or in the fog?
And today you would not even be done with one walk and it would be time to start another. The last I heard 65 trains a day are on the bridge.
Many years ago the railroad decided one train at a time on the bridge. This cause long delays and backups. So the went back to letting trains meet on the bridge, but at a greatly reduced speed.
The new bridge was supposed to be done in December of 2008, but I don't think it was done on time.
Because of the history and fame of the old bridge, it will not be torn down.
On Easter Sunday of 1993 I parked about a mile from the east end of the bridge, then walked the tracks until I was at the stone end of Kate Shelly, had my video camera. And I waited, and waited, and waited some more. At last I could hear something. Slowly the noise grew louder. Then a train.
That was something I wanted to do for a long time.
And about 20 minutes later a railroad guard deal was put there. The train crew had probably reported some bozo on the bridge.
After 911 my deal could not be done. There are not full time guards out there but there must be plenty of TV camers. Anything fishly and rail guards are there PDQ.
Kate Shelley. The train she saved was on the old crossing of the Des Moines River, a few miles down stream at the little town of Moingona. Miss Shelly heard a train crash on a small creek near her home on the east side of the Des Moines River Valley. The bridge over Honey Creek had washed out. Miss Shelley knew a fast east bound passenger train would be on that rail road in a short while.
She first looked for crew at the wreak, then headed west to the Moingona station.
It was dark, it was raining, the river was very high, floating trees were stacked up on the upstream side of the bridge,
Then her lateern blew out. But there was plenty of lighting to see the way.
Miss Shelley made it to Moingona in time to stop the train.
I showed Dave Morgan the bridge when he was here for the Farm Progress Show in 2008. We drove out the gravel from the north east in my Corvette.
dave said, 'That is quite the bridge'
I have been over the valley on a special train. In 1984 they had a fund raiser to get The Boone and Senic Valley going. A steam engine and old passenger car. Tickets were about $15, maybe $20 each. I scapled mine for $20-
The Boone and Senic Valley does not use this bridge, or get any place close to it.
The easest way to see the bridge is go west of Boone on the old Lincoln Hightway, now county road E-41. Cross the Des Moines River, up the west side of the valley. On the flat out of the valley, there are sign for 'Kate Shelley Bridge'. Gravel about three miles.
This brings you in from the south. - Then down into the valley on the road the picture below was taken on. Under the bridge.
There is a car bridge just upsteam on the north side. Good views from that bridge of Kate.
During constrstion you could not drive the road under the bridge, but it is now reopened
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 DSCF1042.jpg (74KB - 208 downloads)
DSCF1032.jpg (61KB - 244 downloads)
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Bridge Pictures
