Fire engulfs CP Rail bridge in Revelstoke, B.C. - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

The first bridge to be built at Revelstoke was a wooden truss affair built in essentially the same location as the present bridge. Wood was used on many bridges and trestles during the construction of the railway as a cost saving measure, using local wood. All were later replaced by steel truss and girder bridges when finances became available. This was one of the replacement bridges, an 8-span girder bridge 1,122 feet in length. Its construction date unknown, it is supported by seven concrete piers in the river and concrete abutments at each end.

Given that this bridge is on the main line of the CPR it makes a great train watching location. One may park on the south bank of the Columbia to the east of the bridge and leisurely watch the long trains pass by while drowning worms in the Columbia. The CPR marshalling yards are on the far end of town. There they put together trains for the climb eastward over Rogers Pass and the continental divide, adding pusher engines to the longer trains. The pushers are removed from trains west bound from Revelstoke as the grades from here to Vancouver are much less steep.

I don't know how, but in 2013 someone managed to set a steel bridge on fire. This bridge, to be specific. Naturally, since it was (is) a 1,000 foot plus railroad bridge, the event caught the attention of news media. The CBC News article on the event is reprinted below. Watch the video here.

Fire engulfs CP Rail bridge
in Revelstoke, B.C.

CBC News Posted: May 05, 2013 11:27 AM PT
It took firefighters two hours to battle a large fire that tore through a Canadian Pacific Railway bridge on the outskirts of Revelstoke, B.C., Saturday night.

The fire began around 7 p.m. PT and witnesses say about a third of the bridge over the Columbia River was in flames.

There was no train on the bridge at the time.

Debbie Ife lives just across the way from the bridge.

"The smoke was just black and billowing. We had a breeze that happened to be blowing it down the river," she said.

The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage is still unknown, a Canadian Pacific Railway spokesperson said.

Officials expect to reopen the bridge Sunday, but said they don't yet know what time that will happen.
From the CBC News