Richmond Road bridge, Beachburg sub - Nepean, ON
Posted by: 
elyob
N 45° 19.846 W 075° 48.946
18T E 436076 N 5020019
For best viewing, go behind the Metro grocery store at 1811 Robertson Road.
Waymark Code: WMRKFM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 07/04/2016
Views: 6
Before the bridge was built in 1970, there was a level crossing here with vehicle traffic along Richmond Road. The busy Canadian National Railway (CN) Beachburg subdivision was a trans-continental mainline and needed a bridge here. By 2016, the Beachburg sub has been abandoned west of Nepean Junction. At Nepean Junction these rails connect with the otherwise isolated Renfrew subdivision.
This bridge was built wide enough for two sets of tracks. However, another set of tracks was not put in place. Immediately west of the bridge, there was a switch for a parking track built on a remnant of the Carleton Place sub (abandoned 1990). Those tracks were still in situ in 2014. Immediately east of the bridge there was a switch for a passing track that had been used when Bells Corners was still a station stop.
This section of the Beachburg sub dates back to 1915. When the Beachburg sub was measured from Hurdman, this crossing of Richmond Road (then known as Ontario highway 15) was at milepost 11.65.