A sidebar accompanying this photo in the book
Steam Along The Boundary declares this bridge to have been "
newly built" when the photo was taken, hence it was taken in 1902. Note the scraps of scaffolding at the foot of the pier supporting the movable span and the waste rock below the two landward piers. Both photos were taken from the north (left) bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the eastern end of the bridge, looking southwest.
Though not hugely active, this spot provides for great photo ops when a train should happen by, as it passes over a 1902 truss bridge with a swing section at the near end of the bridge. This is possibly the only movable bridge in the Kootenays. At least we know of no others. However, there was no longer a need for river traffic south of Castlegar and the sternwheelers ran only north from Castlegar, as far north as Revelstoke. As a result, the swing section of this bridge was used exactly once, to our knowledge. However, there was no longer a need for river traffic south of Castlegar and the sternwheelers ran only north from Castlegar, as far north as Revelstoke. As a result, the swing section of this bridge was used exactly once, to our knowledge.
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, then to Midway, 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.
CPR Columbia & Kootenay Bridge
...Contracts were let for an impressive bridge over the Columbia at Sproat's Landing about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) south of Robson. John Gunn of Winnipeg won the contract for the foundations and piers, and H. W. D. Armstrong was the resident engineer in charge of the construction. It became an enduring landmark on the Columbia.
Often temporary bridges were built with the intention that they would be replaced in a few years with permanent structures, but this bridge was built to last. The depth of water at the bridge site varied from a minimum of about 25 feet (8 m) at low water to 35 or 40 feet (10-13 m) during the peak of the spring runoff. Beautifully crafted masonry piers and abutments were built to support, from west to east, a 55-foot (16.75-m) girder span, the two 204-foot (62.2-m) steel truss spans, a swing span providing openings of 54 feet (16.5 m) on each side and two more 55-foot deck girders that completed the structure. The swing span was necessary to permit continued steamer navigation on the river although, after the construction of the railway between West Robson and Trail, large vessels seldom operated south of Robson. On the east side an approach of 2000 feet (610 m) was needed including a 1400-foot (425-m) trestle that was filled almost immediately with material excavated on the western approach near the Castlegar station. The bridge was opened in March 1902.
The CPR spent some $4,500,000 to complete this very rugged piece of railway into the Boundary District, mainly to move the ores from the new mines to their recently purchased Trail smelter and at the same time supply the cities, mines and smelters of the mining communities with the large volumes of coal, lumber and other products they needed. With coal mines developing in the Crowsnest Pass, the possibility of supplying the mines and smelters with CPR-hauled coal and coke was particularly promising. Every 10 tons of ore required at least one ton of coke for smelting, and coal was needed for many power plants in the mines and smelters, although the smelters used hydroelectric power whenever available. In this way, loaded coal and coke trains were operated westbound to the mines, and ore, matte or blister copper was shipped east. Passenger trains carried miners, businessmen, families and visitors to the rapidly growing communities in the Boundary District. However, other smelters were under construction and other railroads were developing plans to tap the massive tonnages of ore in the region. The CPR's monopoly in the Boundary was nearing its end and a new era of intense competition was about to unfold.
From the book "Steam Along The Boundary" ISBN: 978-155039-158-9
