Fun4me
Active member
I finally made a trip I’ve been wanting to take for a while. I took my LRD to the historic Wabash Cannonball Bridge that spans the Wabash River between St. Francisville, IL and Vincennes, IN. This unique railroad bridge was built in 1897 and abandoned in 1965. A local farmer bought the bridge in 1970 and converted it for vehicular traffic as a single lane toll bridge. It’s about 20 miles either up or down river to the nearest bridge.
The ties were left in place, the rails were removed and used as guardrail posts, and planks for cars were put in place. For the $2.00 toll paid on the Illinois side of the river you can now cross the 1441’ long multi span bridge. At one time the 235’ center span could be operated by hand to swing 90 degrees to allow paddle boats to pass.
There are no traffic signals, so before you cross you turn on your headlights to alert any oncoming traffic that you’re headed across. It was an exhilarating experience listening to the creaking planks even under the weight of the little Trail.
If interested, lots of detailed videos, photos, and histories are available on Google.
The ties were left in place, the rails were removed and used as guardrail posts, and planks for cars were put in place. For the $2.00 toll paid on the Illinois side of the river you can now cross the 1441’ long multi span bridge. At one time the 235’ center span could be operated by hand to swing 90 degrees to allow paddle boats to pass.
There are no traffic signals, so before you cross you turn on your headlights to alert any oncoming traffic that you’re headed across. It was an exhilarating experience listening to the creaking planks even under the weight of the little Trail.
If interested, lots of detailed videos, photos, and histories are available on Google.
