E&N Mile 39.3 Cowichan River Bridge - Duncan, BC - Railroad Bridges on Waymarking.com

The following is from HistoricBridges.org:

This bridge is a Whipple through truss with all compression members being Phoenix columns. Phoenix columns, a distinctive and patented type of built-up beam made by the Phoenix Iron Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, are exceedingly rare in the United States, and unheard of in Canada. To date, this is the only identified example of a bridge with Phoenix columns in Canada.

Other features of this bridge, including cast iron pieces at the connections and portal bracing, as well as the use of pinned connections are also rare in Canada, particularly in British Columbia. The presumed pre-1900 construction date also makes it stand out among heritage bridges in Canada. Because pre-1900 bridges are more rare in Canada than the United States, Whipple truss bridges, having been pretty much confined to the pre-1900 period, are far more rare in Canada than they are in the United States, although even the United States considers Whipple truss bridges to be rare as well.

However the most unusual and noteworthy feature on the bridge aside from the use of Phoenix columns is that the design of the bridge has four truss lines. The arrangement of the truss lines on the bridge comes in the form of a pair of trusses on each side of the tracks. This bridge is the only known surviving example of a Phoenix column truss bridge with four truss lines.

The bridge appears to retain good historic integrity and it remains in use on a railroad line, something very few Phoenix column truss bridges can claim today.

Given this broad, multi-level historic significance it is clear that this bridge should be considered one of the most historically significant heritage bridges in Canada.

A bridge inspection report by the Ministry of Transportation states that the bridge is 219 feet long, 30 feet tall (above the abutments), and 23 feet 3 inches wide. The bridge is supported by stone masonry block abutments with concrete footings built in 1892. While the current bridge was erected in 1909, the trusses were actually fabricated in 1876 and were previously used on a bridge over the St. Maurice River in Quebec. To view the bridge, you can park at the former Malaspina University-College nearby and walk behind the buildings.

Bridge Type: Truss Bridge Usage: Railroad Moving Bridge: This bridge is static (has no moving pieces)

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/31/2022 weslake1 visited it 01/27/2019 madill visited it

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