I have seen double-deck bridges: the lower deck rail and the upper deck highway. Has any one seen both decks rail? Are there photos or books on them? Thanks, JerryK
I guess if you’d consider Portland OR Max light rail system as rail the Steel Bridge across the Willamette River would qualify: Max on top, along with buses and automobiles, and Amtrak, etc., below. But maybe you have in mind bridges where upper and lower levels are exclusively rail, with no cars, trucks or buses on either.
Yes, strickly rail on both decks, thanks anyway.
There is at least one in Kansas City. Don’t know the river or railroad for sure, but it’s old and used to have double track below and double above. The top level is now only single track with a slow speed limit. Both lawer tracks are in normal use. It is a unique looking bridge.
The MacArthur bridge in Saint Louis was once a double deck bridge with the railroad below and the highway above. However, it is not used for a highway today, as some of the highway portions of the bridge have been destroyed. Amtrak’s Texas Eagle uses this bridge over the Mississippi River. I do not know of any pictures.
The Huey Long bridge in New Orleans is a double deck bridge with a railroad below and the highway above. Amtrak’s Sunset Limited uses this bridge over the Mississippi River. I have actually seen a picture in one of Amtrak’s travelogue magazines, so there are bound to be many available on the web if one uses a search engine.
The PRR’s Fort Wayne Bridge that crosses the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh was built as a two-level all-rail bridge. The upper deck tracks were used to enter the PRR’s main Pittsburgh passenger station, while the lower level tracks fed into the large Smallman Street produce yards and the old PRR freight station in Pittsburgh’s Point District.
The bridge is adjacent to Pittsburgh’s convention center and the upper level is still heavily used by NS(Conrail) and Amtrak. The tracks on the lower level were taken out of service - I believe in the '70s - as the produce yards were abandoned for a redevelopment project, but the steelwork remains.
Jim
Roseau, MN
Visit www.livetrains.com and you can see at the Ft. Madison web cam the world’s largest double-deck swing span operate.