Winona Railroad Trestle Emergency Replacement Project 

This is the way it should be all the time.

What a brilliant story. It goes to show what can be done in times of need. Congratulations to all involved in this project.

I worked for Union Pacific Railroad and back in the late 1970s a 180ft long bridge burned . I manned the light trailers working 24 hour days for 6 days . Bridge gangs working from each end of the bridge in the construction of the new bridge . It took 5 days to build the 55 foot tall bridge , the bents were built on a table constructed by the crews and as each bent was completed a bridge crane would set it in place . Connecting timbers were set in place and track crews laid the ties and rails . The south bound train that discovered the burnt bridge stopped less than a foot from the edge of the stable track . When the rail was cut it jumped straight up hitting the torch and almost pulling the welder into the creek bed . Scared the man and we held onto his legs and jerked him back when he cut the other rail scratching his face in the ballast but he was glad we kept him safe . It was a site to see the bridge rebuilt . I was a mechanic on the track working equipment and I kept the light plants running at night and maintained the cranes and equipment during the days . Really interesting video .

Somebody contact Grady from Practical Engineering. I hear civil engineering projects, like railroad bridges, gives him piles of excitement.

Good job getting that bridge up & running again in such short time.

Well done to WSDOT and all the other agencies and businesses involved.

This is a good example what America can still achieve, if everybody unites and works together constructively!

2 months and the Gov't was involved, I'm impressed. great job

Outstanding. A perfect example of how government should work for the people.

Project well done 👍

What an amazing story, I'm so glad I clicked on this! I've been watching man's Ingenuity in making different repairs around the country quickly! The bridge in Philadelphia repair it in 27 days, Baltimore Harbor opened only Weeks Later! An American can do anything if they set their mind to it!!

This is an amazing story that the entire country needs to hear about. WOW Washington. What an accomplishment! Congratulations!!!

Hats off to WSDOT, WATCO, and everyone else involved. You guys showed off that we still have the capacity to build things properly the way we used to.

Anything is possible when you work as a team. What a great job they did!! and in only two months, incredible

Nice work fellas, from Sydney Australia.

A project like this can be completed quickly when everyone works together. That doesn't always happen!!

A fantastic story that made my day ! Tip o' the hat to everyone who worked on the project. GREAT JOB !!

In Northern Alberta when an important rail bridge burned down (arson) the railway had a replacement bridge up and running in two weeks. The bridge was slightly larger than this one.

That type of collaboration should be instituted for our entire rail infrastructure. Kudos to the state, farmers and government offices for making this happen by expediting this project forward so quickly.

i love infrastructure and i love trains and i want to visit Washington

Well done folks!

This happened because Americans can do anything when they set their minds to a project! Great work everybody!

Great work every one. This is amazing work, and a moving story. Almost had me tearing up.

This is really something to be proud of. Bravo ladies and gentlemen, very well done. You’ll be proud of this your entire life.

Remarkable! Virtually unheard of cooperation and coordination. Kinda makes one proud.

Proof that there are people in this country that can outperform the best of them. Well done to ALL!

Congrats to everybody involved in this project! Strong work!!!

Now that’s a heart tugging story. Thanks to all that got this project done. Very nice story of people coming together for great cause.

That story actually gives me hope. :)

I am a heavy highway carpenter. There are still some hard working America's left .we are even seeing some of the younger generation stepping up .I am 5th generation Oregonian. My family lived there as a territory. Washington is a great neighbor. Good to see people working together.

This goes to show how fast they can actually do things. Especially when everyone gets together and there's no red tape putting unnecessary blockages in a way.

Two months to reopen the line. In the olden days, the railroad would have built an earthen shoe-fly around the bridge site with some culverts in the bottom to let the creek run, and then built the proper bridge next to it while trains kept moving. Could have possibly gotten the trains moving sooner if grain storage was really a concern.

Glad to see this railroad is back up and running. At least when the fire happened, it allowed the construction crew to build a new and stronger bridge to replace the old wooden one. Who knows how long that wooden bridge has been there. It's also impressive to see how little time it took to build the new bridge.

Nice new bridge❤👍 Amazing team!👍 I will be together with people like you!👍

I used to work in Pullman/Moscow and boy do they grow a lot of wheat out there! Great video!

That is a testament to what is possible when people get together to solve a problem. Imaging what we could do as a nation if we all got together to solve problems.

Amazing when people come together to get something done in a hurry to make sure the farmers got there crops to market. Have a great day be safe

Amazed a 10 year long feasibility survey wasn’t conducted like every other railway project

This is America at our greatness! Thank you all.

wonderful to have people work together in a forward harmony.

Amazing! Good job!

Our rail workers are a blessing❤🧑‍🔧

its cool how they implemented a few design elements from the old trestle

Impressive work! 👍

We have WATCO in Rhinelander Wi., glad to have them. Great video with a happy outcome!

Great work restoring this necessary trestle. They're called covered hopper cars, not container cars. Two completely different things

thanks for making such complex topics approachable and fun!

Makes it sound like a miracle. It's just another day on the railroad.

This is a work to be proud of! I sat amazed by the 'Lego bridge' being put together! I told my son I was 'nerding big time!'

I live in a small town with a major CN line. A few years ago they replaced the old wooden trestle over the river in town. They used four prefab concrete sections that were cured for months off site. The bridge wasn't faulty, but any repairs would close the track for days, to weeks. They cut out one half of the bridge, leaving the second track to handle any traffic, including Amtrak. They rebuild the piers at either end, and reinforced the pylons in the river. They then lowered one half the bridge in, with ballast in it, and then the second half, also with ballast. They then put in the track, welding it together. They then filled the rest of the ballast to have it be even with the rest of the track. Once that new bridge as secure they repeated the procedure on the other track. It took less than a day. Now they don't have to worry bout bridge maintenance since it's ballast. They just continue with the regular MOW work. Quite a remarkable feat.

Another “IRON HORSE “story, it is what built our country and forever keep it moving, thanks for sharing …

Thanks for a great video showing what grit & determination can accomplish. I think there may be a slight error in the text, at 0:29 or so you refer to "container cars" but grain is moved in covered hopper cars,, in railroad parlance, containers are the intermodal boxes that can moved between truck, train or ship to reach destination.

That is a great example of the embodiment of T.E.A.M. work. Together Everyone Achieves More. Put politics aside, and work toward the greater good. Imagine how many issues could get resolved if we went BACK to this.

Well done everybody. Well done.

As a retired Bridgeman, we rebuild Bayou Canot bridge in 9 days basically the same way. It was the worst derailment involving Amtrak so far.

Nice to see a government agency operate with urgency. Great job here!

Nice, good work, bridge railroad replacement.

Nice bridge. Simple pile bent design as it was before with some upgrades in materials.

That is awesome! Wow!

Great to see that people can come together in a time of need to fix an issue

It shows what can be done. The Empire State Building was 14 months from ground-breaking to occupancy. (Fixing pot-holes takes about nine months.) Great story!

Bravo! Looks well done..

Miraculous that a governmental bureaucracy could move this quickly, well done.

It seems like a fairy tale, bureaucrats working together with private interests to get anything done. Great effort and story.

WOW, outstanding job guys, way to get shit done and keep this country going, ‘Merica! (Watching from Florida).

That Trestle Train Bridge fire reminds me of the One in Sherwood Oregon.

Good, fast, cheap. Pick two. Nice work on this project, and thanks for the video!

What an amazing feat of endeavor by all involved!

Wow, when people and government work together !

This shows we can get it done when we have to. Now for a couple of coats of high zinc paint on the pilings. Good job.

2 months, that is pretty amazing!

Amazing what we can accomplish when we put our differences aside and work together for the common good.

people working ,paying taxes, running businesses and working together to take care of themselves. no time for beaurocratic b.s. push it forward and get it done.great to see . cheers from N.Y.C.

A big 👍👍👍👍 to all of you that made this happen

rail infrastructure can be repaired much faster than road in most cases.

It's amazing something like this can happen when there's money to be made.

Its interesting to see these kinds of bridges become more common. My local shortline made something similar in abt 2 weeks but used standard I Beams instead of concrete for the decking.

This shows you what can be done, and how quickly, if the will is there. Congratulations to all involved.

What an amazing comeback from the tragedy of wild fire to get back to transport the grain and fertilizer is awesome.... This is what makes great people and progress in America! 😊😊

Impressive work especially in the respect of the short time used for the repair.

Nice ending, sometimes good does occur. Nicely done!

Looks like this emergency bridge is WAY nicer then the one that burned down

Hello beautiful people, be proud of your country, I have admired it since I was a child, maybe I will never be able to go and live there, but I really tell you that God is in every part of the United States and he wanted that country to be what it is today. Thanks to every human being who came there to colonize and then from different places in the world, I can only say blessings and continue loving your beautiful country, thank you. - Hola gente hermosa, estén orgullosos de su país, lo he admirado desde que era un niño , quizás jamás pueda ir y vivir ahí, pero de verdad les digo que Dios está en caca lugar de EEUU y quiso que ese país sea lo que es hoy gracias a cada ser humano que llegó ahí a colonizar y después desde distintos lugares del mundo, sólo puedo decir bendiciones y sigan amando a su hermoso país, gracias.

Nice to see a feel-good story on here of people banding together to resolve an issue like this. 😊

Great job WSDOT!

Congratulations. A great example of government and business working quickly to solve problems.

Nice fast construction when needed and a bridge that can now withstand any wildfire!

Bravo Zulu to the men and women of our railroad infrastructure..

Fantastic job folks🇺🇸👍

That's a beautiful bridge.

Considering that Insley is governor this is an amazing accomplishment. WSDOT are the heroes.

Fantastic Achievement!

Nicely crafted video and great story. Things can be done quickly sometimes. I-5 bridge rework in Mt Vernon comes to mind.

Amazing how well and quickly things can be done on the "right" side of the state.

Thank you for sharing!

2 months of planning and 1 month of building for an entirely new bridge, this shows what we can do when we're motivated to get stuff done. Hopefully other rail projects in the future can look at this and adopt some time-saving measures from it.

Was this part of the former Camas Prairie Railroad? Excellent job by all involved, and a welcomed change to see local interests and big government working together! Kudos to all!

Kudos to all involved Great story.

WOW good Job WSDOT.

Amazing Job, well done 🎉