Are there any examples in the US where a railway goes over a dam, such as a reservoir dam as opposed to a deep hydro. I suppose the idea that you wouldn’t want to shake a dam apart would make the answer a big ‘no’, but I’m still wondering.
Yes, there is at least one on the east coast and I happen to live right near it. The railroad travels along the face of the dam. It was built to prevent further flooding after the area was hit with a disastrous flood in 1955. Here are some photos of mine from that area:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=80829 - in this photo you can see the side of the dam and a bridge which spans a large overflow.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=80830 - this view shows the Naugatuck River which flows through a part of the dam.
This angle, http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2003072719153516171.jpg&order=byposter&page=37&key=miketv , shows an overview of the ROW on the face of the dam.
EDIT: A couple more photos-
http://www.geocities.com/guilford_350/naug23.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/guilford_350/naug24.jpg
I believe that practice is generally frowned upon as a train would impart significant vibration to a structure under a tremendous amount of tension and compression. I suspect that if you find an example speeds will be severly restricted like 1-2mph.
I have seen photos of railways used during CONSTRUCTION of a dam.
I know of dams that have had railway lines installed during the construction phase and used for a few years after - a reservoir complex near me (the Elan valley - http://history.powys.org.uk/history/rhayader/elanmenu.html ) had a fairly large rail network including a connection to the main line when it was constructed in the late 1800s. There’s a few bridges left and the trackbed is used as a footpath/cycle track, though the lines were lifted shortly after the dams were completed. I’d guess that there would be too much weight and vibration from trains if they tried to have a normal operational rail line over a dam - construction railways seem to be commonplace though. Hope this is of interest!
Yes it is, especially the photo of that most gorgeous structure!
Glad you like them [:)] My favourite’s probably Craig Goch dam - I have a photo of it in the lounge that I took one sunny day in June when nobody else was up there (as opposed to later in summer when the area’s packed!). I’ve also seen the ruins of one of the big houses flooded when the dams were built - low water levels in late 2003 allowed you to wander round on the reservoir bed. Very sticky mud down there!
I believe the old Illinois Central Louisville KY branch (now spun off to a short line)crosses over the Tennessee River on the top of a dam which creates Kentucky Lake. Remember seeing a pix years ago of an IC steam powered freight running over the dam, posssibly in Trains Mag.