Transcript
Tulip Trestle Bridge
Greetings, today we are going to visit the Tulip Trestle Viaduct in Greene County Indiana. It is a railroad bridge that, when completed in 1906, was the largest railroad bridge in the United States.
First, the raw statistics. The bridge is 2,307 feet long and 157 feet off the ground, at its highest point. It has 17 - 75-foot deck plate girder spans. These alternate with 18 - 40-foot deck plate girder spans. The west end of the bridge has 2 - 50-foot spans and 2 60-foot spans on the east end. The bridge, if placed on a gigantic bathroom scale, would weigh 2,895 tons. The cost to build the bridge was $246,504, which would be $212,000,000.00 in 2024 dollars.
The American Bridge Company of New York, New York fabricated the steel parts and the Strobel Steel Construction Company of Chicago, Illinois constructed it. The Indiana Southern Railroad while the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Company provided secret financing. The Collier Bridge Company performed the concrete work. Italian immigrants provided the bulk of the labor to build the bridge. Steel workers received 30 cents an hour while common laborers made 15 cents an hour. This would be equivalent to about $7.62 for the steel workers and $3.80 for the laborers. The construction company hired about 50 teams of horses to perform the heavy work. The teams received $3.50 per day while the drivers were paid $1.50 per day. This would be about $567 and $243 respectively in 2024 dollars.
Construction began with a ground-breaking ceremony on May 22, 1905. Workers finished the bridge in December 1906. It was the third longest railroad bridge in the world at the time. During the construction phase families would come out from the cities to picnic and watch the progress of the bridge. The bridge was constructed to carry the coal produced in Greene County to market places in cities like Chicago and New York. The bridge carries the railroad over Richland Creek and CR-480 East.
Still in use, the bridge is still and impressive sight for rail buffs. It is on County Road 480. From Solsberry, travel west on County Road 420 N past 800E. CR 420 eventually becomes County Road 400N, then 375N. This road eventually becomes Verde Valley Road, still traveling west. After crossing Richland Creek, turn right on County Road 480. Turn right. The bridge will be on the left.
While visiting the bridge you can lunch at the Yoho General Store in Solsberry and tour the unique Sculpture Garden. Information about these sites are found in my books, Shakamak State Park and South Central Indiana Road Trips.
You can find these books on my website, www.mossyfeetbooks.com. There are links to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple as well as many other online book sellers. You can also purchase the books direct from me. Residents of southeastern Indiana can find a large selection of my books at the Walnut Street Variety Shop on George Street in downtown Batesville, Indiana.
Podcast - Tulip Trestle Viaduct