Prince of Wales Bridge - Ottawa, Ontario - Truss Bridges on Waymarking.com

"The Prince of Wales Bridge is a rail bridge across the Ottawa River joining Ottawa, Ontario to Gatineau, Quebec. It connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway line just west of Lebreton Flats, and crosses the south channel of the river to Lemieux Island; it then continues across the northern channel into Quebec.

It is a multi-span Pratt truss bridge, consisting of six equal spans over the south channel, and seven spans over the north channel; the second-last span, proceeding northward, is longer by a factor of about 1.7.

It was built by the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway in 1880, named for Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. At that time, it was one of the few crossings of the Ottawa River, and was one of the most valuable assets of the line, which was owned by the Quebec provincial government. The QMO&O continued to lose money, however, and it was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1882, who connected it with their other recent purchase, the Canada Central Railway. This connection gave the CPR a solid rail route from their westward line being built from North Bay to the ports of the St. Lawrence. The Prince of Wales Bridge was joined by the CPR's Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge in 1901, the second railway bridge to cross the river between Ottawa and Hull.

The Prince of Wales Bridge served well into the 20th century, but as rail transport diminished and more efficient routes became more common, the line was abandoned. The City of Ottawa purchased the CPR line, including the Prince of Wales Bridge, during the early 2000s for the O-Train project, however, the bridge has remained unused and the track east of the Bayview Station to the bridge is overgrown. Interestingly, as the purchase of the bridge included the approaches on both sides, Ottawa now owns property in Quebec."

Wikipedia: (visit link)

Date Built: 10/12/1880 Length of Span: 575 feet www: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Wales_Bridge Parking Coordinates:: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
Log your find with a picture of the bridge with yourself or your GPS in the foreground. This shot does not have to be taken "on" the bridge. The shot should show the "truss" structure of the bridge as well.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/25/2014 HurricaneLaurk visited it 08/28/2013 lindeye visited it 07/01/2012 Sires4 visited it 01/24/2012 elyob visited it

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