April 6, 2019 – Union Pacific 8161 leads a mixed freight over the Mississippi River on the Thebes Bridge at Thebes, Illinois as it makes its way south on UP’s Chester Subdivision.
According to Wikipedia: The Thebes Bridge is a truss bridge carrying the Union Pacific Railroad (previously carried the Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific, in a joint operation) across the Mississippi River between Illmo, Missouri and Thebes, Illinois. It is owned by the Southern Illinois and Missouri Bridge Company, now a UP subsidiary.
The Southern Illinois and Missouri Bridge Company was incorporated in Illinois on December 28, 1900 to own the bridge and 4.64 miles (7.47 km) of connecting rail line. It was initially owned equally by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad, Illinois Central Railroad, Missouri Pacific Railway, St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, and St. Louis Southwestern Railway.
The designer of the bridge was Polish-American engineer Ralph Modjeski. The Missouri Pacific and SLIM&S merged in 1917, and in 1945 the C&EI sold its 1/5 share to the Missouri Pacific, giving the latter company, since merged into the UP, a majority interest. – #jimstrainphotos #illinoisrailroads #trains #nikond800 #railroad #railroads #train #railways #railway #uprailroad #unionpacific