CPR Bridge - Castlegar, BC
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 49° 19.841 W 117° 39.779
11U E 451829 N 5464428
This is possibly the only movable railroad bridge in the Kootenays that is also a truss bridge.
Waymark Code: WMG4Y0
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 01/13/2013
Views: 1
When the Columbia & Kootenay Railroad arrived in Castlegar around 1896, the major venue for commercial and passenger traffic in the area was the Columbia River. It was the Highway for several sternwheelers, all of which were owned by Canadian Pacific by that time. Canadian Pacific bought this railroad and continued it west to Grand Forks prior to construction of this bridge.
As the railroad entered Castlegar on the north side of the Columbia, a bridge was necessary in order to access points south, most notably the Cominco lead/zinc/gold smelter(which the CPR also owned at the time) about 25 km to the south, down the Columbia River Valley. In order to allow the paddlewheelers free passage, it was deemed necessary to include a movable section in the bridge. The bridge itself wasn't built until 1902.
However, there was no longer a need for river traffic south of Castlegar and the sternwheelers ran only north from to Castlegar, as far north as Revelstoke. As a result, it is very likely that the swing section of this bridge was never actually used.
This 700 foot steel bridge is built of three sections, two truss sections and the movable section. The bridge rests on five mortared stone piers in the Columbia.
The best view of the bridge is from where we took these pix. Follow Old Mill Rd. south off Broadwater Rd., which is a bit east of the north end of the Castlegar-Robson bridge. Drive under the railroad bridge to a parking lot.
This will also get you to the Waldie Environmental Reserve.
For the benchmark hunters, 470J is in the other(south) end of the bridge.
Parking Coordinates:: N 49° 19.859 W 117° 39.730
Date Built: 01/01/1902
Length of Span:
Approx. 700 feet
www: Not listed
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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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