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Notable regional
railway bridges and structures: some spectacular
Photo descriptions
and credits at bottom of page.
Because timber was so plentiful in Western Canada, most of the first
railway bridges in Central Alberta and western Canada generally were made of wood. Some trestles
were spectacular in their length and height, some as long as 4,000
feet. As the railways became more established, they either filled
the ends of the bridges with earth or replaced the wood with steel.
Some bridges were redesigned after being washed out or damaged by
ice jams in the spring.
 ACR/CPR Mintlaw Steel Trestle
takes a look at the longest steel trestle at 644
metres (2,112 ft.) that has been abandoned but still relatively
intact, but relatively unknown, in western Canada. Crossing the Red
Deer River southwest of the city of Red Deer, it is currently owned
by Red Deer County (along with the adjacent right of way) and may
one day be used as part of a regional recreational trail. It was
initially built by the Alberta Central Railway (ACR) in 1912 to link
Red Deer with Rocky Mountain House and beyond but was taken over by
Canadian Pacific when the ACR went bankrupt. The last train on the
bridge was in 1981 and the line was abandoned in 1983.
Railway Bridges of Central Alberta
Aside from the Mintlaw steel trestle, Central Alberta
has currently, or has had in the past, a number of spectacular
railway bridges. This section explores the more note-worthy of the
region.
 The
former 92-metre (300 ft.) 2-span steel truss CPR bridge (built in
1908 to replace a wooden bridge and abandoned in 1991 after the
relocation of the downtown rail yards) across the Red Deer River in
the city of Red Deer has been declared an historic resource and is
currently part of the city's popular river trail system as well as
the Trans Canada Trail.
 A
spectacular curved wooden trestle was built across the Blindman
River valley just north of Red Deer by the Canadian Northern Western
Railway in 1911 estimated at 550 metres (1,800 ft.). Most of the
bridge has been earth-filled and much of the timber has been
replaced by steel. It is currently an active 200 metre (650-ft.) CNR
bridge linking Red Deer and the Joffre petrochemical plants with
Mirror and Rocky Mountain House.
 Another
bridge downstream on the Red Deer River is the Ardley bridge built
by the Grand Trunk Pacific in 1911 as a wooden structure but again
has been earth-filled and timber replaced by steel. This is an
active 365-metre (1200 ft.) CNR bridge along the
Calgary-Mirror-Edmonton line.
Several other bridges explored in this section currently cross
various water bodies and roadways in the region including the North
Saskatchewan River bridge at Rocky Mountain House and the CNR Briggs
ravine timber bridge.
 Some
long-gone bridges are also mentioned - the Battle River Bridge at
Duhamel, a 1200-metre (4,000-ft.) curved timber bridge built in 1910
and dismantled in 1924 as a result of the creation of the Canadian
National Railways, the CNR bridge at Red Deer built in 1920 over the
Red Deer River and abandoned in 1941 as a result of spring washouts,
the Alberta Central bridge across the CPR and Waskasoo Creek in Red
Deer built in 1911 but removed shortly after and the Horse Guard and
Medicine River valley ACR/CPR timber and steel bridge built in 1911
near Eckville, mostly earth-filled over time and removed prior to
1980.
Alberta's Largest Railway Bridges
This section ranks ten of the longest significant
railway bridges within the province. The Mintlaw steel trestle comes
in at No. 6 but is the 4th longest of its type. The three bridges
similar to the Mintlaw bridge but significantly longer and still
active are the CPR Lethbridge Viaduct, the CNR Fabyan Viaduct
near Wainwright and the newer CNR Wapiti River Bridge near Grande
Prairie. Other large bridges in Alberta include the Edmonton
High Level Bridge, the mostly timber Rochfort treste near
Mayerthorpe and the Peace River bridge. This section also includes
13 other significant railway bridges of which five are in Central
Alberta. In addition, three bridges no longer in existence are
profiled.
50 Longest Railway Bridges of Western Canada
This section ranks 50 of the longest railway bridges in Western
Canada as best as can currently be determined as there is no known
registry of Canadian railway bridges. The Mintlaw steel trestle
comes in at No. 11 overall but No. 4 in steel trestles. Five of the
longest bridges are in Central Alberta of the 22 within Alberta.
Seventeen are in B.C., eight are in Saskatchewan and three are in
Manitoba.
28
Highest Railway Bridges of Western Canada
The section ranks the 28 highest railway bridges in Western Canada
as best as can currently be determined considering the height of
several significant bridges are unknown and there are questions in
how height is calculated. Based on current information, the Mintlaw bridge comes in at No.
22. Three of the 28 are in Central Alberta. Fifteen are in Alberta,
eight are in B.C., three in Saskatchewan and two in Manitoba.
Notable Railway Structures in Central Alberta
Photo descriptions and credits:
aerial view of ACR/CPR
Mintlaw steel trestle (Paul Pettypiece 2007);
CPR steel truss bridge at Red Deer 1908-1990 (Paul Pettypiece 2011);
current CNR Blindman River bridge at Burbank (Paul Pettypiece 2011);
current CNR Ardley bridge over Red Deer River (Paul Pettypiece 2011);
Duhamel Grand Trunk Pacific timber trestle bridge near Camrose circa
1912
This page still a work in progress
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