The Bridge Into Beaumont
After a stop at Vidor for maintenance before beginning its trip on UP trackage rights, CP 2816 rolls over the Neches River and into Beaumont at control point Station 14. This is former KCS trackage, the east end of double track that stretches through Beaumont.
The lift bridge here was built by KCS in 1941, with MP trains operating over it from trackage rights obtained in 1905. In 1967, a large realignment of the railroads in Beaumont resulted in SP abandoning their nearby trackage and bridge over the river, consolidating all rail traffic over the single-track KCS span here. In the present, this is one of the largest rail bottlenecks in Texas and TxDOT is actively studying adding a second, parallel lift bridge to add capacity across the river.
B40B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Calgary, AB to Mexico City, CDMX)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Beaumont, TX
May 25th, 2024
The Bridge Into Beaumont
After a stop at Vidor for maintenance before beginning its trip on UP trackage rights, CP 2816 rolls over the Neches River and into Beaumont at control point Station 14. This is former KCS trackage, the east end of double track that stretches through Beaumont.
The lift bridge here was built by KCS in 1941, with MP trains operating over it from trackage rights obtained in 1905. In 1967, a large realignment of the railroads in Beaumont resulted in SP abandoning their nearby trackage and bridge over the river, consolidating all rail traffic over the single-track KCS span here. In the present, this is one of the largest rail bottlenecks in Texas and TxDOT is actively studying adding a second, parallel lift bridge to add capacity across the river.
B40B (Final Spike Steam Tour; Calgary, AB to Mexico City, CDMX)
CP H1b 4-6-4 #2816
CP SD70ACU #7013
CP FP9A #1401
CP FP9A #4107
Beaumont, TX
May 25th, 2024