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Key Facts |
Bridge Name | Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
| Southern Michigan Railroad Bridge | Truss | Railroad (Southern Michigan Railroad Society) | Lenawee County, MI | Rural (South of Tecumseh) | River Raisin |
The Raisin River has a couple very interesting deck trusses, this being one and the Adrian and Blissfield Railroad Bridge being the other. There are two Tecumseh Railroad Bridges, one to the north of town and the other to the south. The one to the north is a wooden structure. The wood bridge is old also, having been built around 1900, but I do not feature wooden structures on this website. This bridge, south of town, is the bridge of focus for this website, as a beautiful truss bridge.
This rail line is owned by the Southern Michigan Railroad Society, who run historic train rides on this bridge and railway. The railway was abandoned, and concerned citizens formed the society to preserve the track and run historic trains on it. The railway itself is historically significant as the second railroad built in Michigan. I personally think this is awesome what has been done here! So often when a rail line is abandoned, the line is turned into a rails-to-trails path and the historic bridges on the line are henceforth historically trashed through the addition of ugly wooden guardrails and the removal of the tracks. With the Southern Michigan Railroad Society, the bridge can continue to be enjoyed by people and be used the way it was built to be used - carrying trains. Visit their website to learn more about the rides they offer.
The bridge itself is a beautiful seven panel pin connected Pratt deck truss. It features one deck plate girder approach span to the north. To the south, it has two deck plate girder approach spans. The bridge was built by the Detroit Bridge and Iron Works in 1896. The bridge sits on beautiful, very tall, stone abutments. The main deck truss span also sits on stone piers. A trussed "trestle-like" support is present for the deck plate girder approaches at the south end of the bridge. V-lacing and lattice is present on various parts of the bridge, adding to the beauty of the bridge.
As you can tell from my photos, the only suitable time to photograph this bridge is in the winter. There are just too many trees to photo this bridge in the summer effectively.
