Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1
Encyclopedia
The Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1 or BNSF Railway Bridge 5.1, also known as the St. Johns Railroad Bridge or the Willamette River Railroad Bridge, is a through truss
railway bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River
in Portland
, Oregon
, United States. Built by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
(SP&S) and completed in 1908, it was originally a swing-span
bridge, and its swing-span section was the longest in the world at the time. However, 81 years later the main span was converted from a swing-type to a vertical-lift type, in order to widen the navigation channel
. The lift span is one of the highest and longest in the world. The bridge consists of five sections, with the two sections closest to the bank on each side fixed.
The BNSF Railway
owns the bridge, and the 5.1 denotes the distance in miles from Portland's Union Station or from the nearby North Bank Depot
(or Hoyt Street Depot), which was the Portland terminus of SP&S passenger service coming via this bridge until 1922. The bridge's two tracks are used by freight trains of BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad
and by Amtrak
passenger trains. Of 11 bridges across the Willamette River within the city of Portland, it is the sole rail-only bridge and the only bridge not open to the public. It is located at river mile 6.9.
(SP&S), as part of construction of a new line between Vancouver, Washington
and Portland. SP&S was formed jointly by the Northern Pacific Railway
and Great Northern Railway, originally as the Portland & Seattle Railway, to build and ultimately operate new railroad lines from Portland to Seattle and Portland to Spokane
, but was renamed Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway—in early 1908, before opening any track sections—after construction of the Portland–Spokane line got under way before the Seattle line. The planned new railroad was commonly referred to as the "North Bank road" (road being short for railroad or railroad line), or North Bank line, because the Seattle line would follow the Columbia River
's north bank as far as Kelso
and the Spokane line would also follow the north bank, running east from Vancouver. East from Portland, the south bank of the Columbia already had a rail line, owned by the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company
(later absorbed by Union Pacific Railroad
).
(now known as BNSF Railway Bridge 9.6) and the Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge
. Northern Pacific hired bridge engineer Ralph Modjeski
in 1905 to design all three. Modjeski's designs called for all three to use swing spans for their opening sections. However, for the Willamette crossing, this recommendation was met with resistance by some. River boat pilots were concerned that a swing span, which requires a center pivot pier, would leave too-narrow a navigation channel for the large ships that used this section of the river. At that time, Portland's Steel
, Burnside
, Morrison
and Madison Street bridge
s were all swing-type, with center pivot piers seen by boat pilots as inconvenient obstacles. A committee of Port of Portland
officials recommended that a bascule-type
draw span be used instead of a swing span for the Willamette River crossing. However, the original recommendation for a swing span was ultimately accepted.
Construction of the Willamette River bridge began in August 1906. Its swing-span section was the longest in the world, with a length of 521 feet (158.8 m) or 524 feet (159.7 m). To either side of the opening span are two 269 feet (82 m) fixed truss spans
and one 80 feet (24.4 m) deck plate girder
approach span.
Overall, the construction took more than two years. Structural work was completed in July 1908, and the first test swing of the center span was accomplished by a tugboat
pushing on it, as the heavy machinery for that purpose had yet to be installed. Problems with the supply and installation of parts of the machinery for turning this world's-longest swing span caused a delay of a few months, and not until October was the span turned for the first time under its own power. The first train crossed on October 23, 1908, and the bridge opened for regular use in November. The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
's first scheduled passenger train on the new line into and out of Portland operated on November 17, 1908, and the terminus in Portland was the North Bank Depot
on N.W. Hoyt Street at 11th Avenue, rather than Union Station. SP&S service moved to Union Station in 1922.
The total weight of the swing span was around 4.6 million pounds, including 400,000 pounds for the machinery. In the event of a power outage, the bridge's swing span could still be turned, using a 165-hp, four-cylinder back-up generator to power the electric motors. The drum on which the span pivoted was 42 feet (12.8 m) in diameter.
Ownership and operation of the bridge passed to the Burlington Northern Railroad
(BN) in 1970, when SP&S, Northern Pacific and other railroads merged to form BN. At the end of 1996, BN merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
(Santa Fe), becoming the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
(officially shortened to BNSF Railway in 2005).
container ship
, the m.v.
Marie Bakke. The ship hit the downstream end of the swing span, which had been in the fully open position; that was its normal position, as the span was closed only when trains needed to cross. Repairs took seven weeks, not being completed until January 1979. Meanwhile, BN and Amtrak trains had to be rerouted via Union Pacific tracks and across the Steel Bridge
to reach the west side of the river. BN filed suit against the shipping line that owned the vessel, charging negligence
and seeking damages
, and ultimately reached an out-of-court settlement under which it received about $3.5 million from the shipping company.
On New Year's Eve 1983, at about 10:25 p.m., two locomotives heading a BN freight train plunged into the river through the open swing span, resulting in the deaths of two crew persons. It was the worst train-related accident in the bridge's history. The cause was determined to have been human error, that the train crew had passed a red signal
.
, and it led to Congressional
approval of a $38 million grant to pay for the work. Conversion to a vertical lift permitted the central pivot pier to be removed, greatly widening the navigation channel. In addition to increasing safety, the wider clearance would allow larger ships to reach the Port of Portland
's then-new (1978) dry dock facility for ship repair and rebuilding at Swan Island, and Port officials cited both of these benefits in their support of the planned change. After design and engineering were completed, a $28 million contract was awarded in May 1987 to Portland-based Riedel International Inc. to actually carry out the work. The Coast Guard financed most of the cost of the conversion, but Burlington Northern paid about 3 percent of the cost.
In order to minimize disruption to both river traffic and rail traffic, the project was carefully coordinated to allow the actual change to be made over just 72 hours. This work began on August 8, 1989, with removal of the 81-year-old swing-span section, and was completed on August 11. The now-disused pivot pier was removed by dynamite
blasting three months later, after the fall fish run
, and with that final step the navigation channel was widened from 230 feet (70.1 m) to 497 feet (151.5 m).
The 516 feet (157.3 m) long lift span is one of the longest vertical-lift spans in the world and is also the fourth highest in the world. When fully raised, it provides vertical clearance of 200 feet (61 m) at low water. The new lift span weighs 7900000 pounds (3,583,379.7 kg). It is made of weathering steel, which is designed to rust naturally and thus turn a reddish brown. However, the remainder of the bridge, the fixed spans dating from 1908, are painted silver. This has given the rebuilt structure two distinct colors, and the unusual combination has been called unattractive by some.
.jpg)
The bridge carries two tracks across the Willamette River and is used by freight trains and Amtrak
trains. Although BNSF Railway
owns and controls the bridge, the company is required to allow access to other railroads, under a law already in force by 1906 allowing common use of railway bridges across navigable waterways. Signals on both approaches prevent trains from entering the bridge when the lift span is up, but as a precaution, all trains are still required to radio the bridge tender to obtain permission to cross.
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
railway bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States. Built by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River....
(SP&S) and completed in 1908, it was originally a swing-span
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
bridge, and its swing-span section was the longest in the world at the time. However, 81 years later the main span was converted from a swing-type to a vertical-lift type, in order to widen the navigation channel
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
. The lift span is one of the highest and longest in the world. The bridge consists of five sections, with the two sections closest to the bank on each side fixed.
The BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
owns the bridge, and the 5.1 denotes the distance in miles from Portland's Union Station or from the nearby North Bank Depot
North Bank Depot Buildings
The North Bank Depot Buildings, located in central Portland, Oregon, United States, are a pair of buildings formerly used as a freight warehouse and passenger terminal for the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway...
(or Hoyt Street Depot), which was the Portland terminus of SP&S passenger service coming via this bridge until 1922. The bridge's two tracks are used by freight trains of BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
and by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
passenger trains. Of 11 bridges across the Willamette River within the city of Portland, it is the sole rail-only bridge and the only bridge not open to the public. It is located at river mile 6.9.
History
The original, swing-span bridge was built in 1906–08 by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle RailwaySpokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River....
(SP&S), as part of construction of a new line between Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
and Portland. SP&S was formed jointly by the Northern Pacific Railway
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
and Great Northern Railway, originally as the Portland & Seattle Railway, to build and ultimately operate new railroad lines from Portland to Seattle and Portland to Spokane
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, but was renamed Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway—in early 1908, before opening any track sections—after construction of the Portland–Spokane line got under way before the Seattle line. The planned new railroad was commonly referred to as the "North Bank road" (road being short for railroad or railroad line), or North Bank line, because the Seattle line would follow the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
's north bank as far as Kelso
Kelso, Washington
Kelso is a city in southwest Washington State, United States, and is the county seat of Cowlitz County. At the 2010 census, the population was 11,925. Kelso is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 102,410. Kelso shares its long western border...
and the Spokane line would also follow the north bank, running east from Vancouver. East from Portland, the south bank of the Columbia already had a rail line, owned by the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company
Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company
The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company was a railroad that operated a rail network of of track running east from Portland, Oregon, United States to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho...
(later absorbed by Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
).
Design and construction
The new Portland–Vancouver rail line also included two other major bridges, the Columbia River Railroad BridgeBurlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6
Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 9.6 or BNSF Railway Bridge 9.6, also known as the Columbia River Railroad Bridge, is through truss railway bridge across the Columbia River, between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, owned and operated by BNSF Railway...
(now known as BNSF Railway Bridge 9.6) and the Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge
Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge
The Oregon Slough Railroad Bridge, also known as the BNSF Railway Bridge 8.8, is a swing-span, through truss bridge in Portland, Oregon, United States. Currently owned and operated by BNSF Railway, it crosses a distributary of the Columbia River known as North Portland Harbor and historically as...
. Northern Pacific hired bridge engineer Ralph Modjeski
Ralph Modjeski
Ralph Modjeski was a Polish-born American civil engineer who achieved prominence as a pre-eminent bridge designer in the United States.-Life:...
in 1905 to design all three. Modjeski's designs called for all three to use swing spans for their opening sections. However, for the Willamette crossing, this recommendation was met with resistance by some. River boat pilots were concerned that a swing span, which requires a center pivot pier, would leave too-narrow a navigation channel for the large ships that used this section of the river. At that time, Portland's Steel
Steel Bridge
The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic and light rail , making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world...
, Burnside
Burnside Bridge
The Burnside Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.-Design:Including approaches, the Burnside has a total length of and a center span. While lowered this span is normally above the river. The deck is made of concrete, which contributes to its being one of...
, Morrison
Morrison Bridge
The Morrison Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon.The original Morrison Bridge was a wooden truss swing span bridge completed on April 12, 1887 as the first Willamette River bridge in Portland and the longest bridge west of the Mississippi River...
and Madison Street bridge
Hawthorne Bridge
The Hawthorne Bridge is a truss bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, joining Hawthorne Boulevard and Madison Street. It is the oldest vertical-lift bridge in operation in the United States and the oldest highway bridge in Portland...
s were all swing-type, with center pivot piers seen by boat pilots as inconvenient obstacles. A committee of Port of Portland
Port of Portland (Oregon)
The Port of Portland is the port district responsible for overseeing Portland International Airport, general aviation, and marine activities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the United States....
officials recommended that a bascule-type
Bascule bridge
A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic....
draw span be used instead of a swing span for the Willamette River crossing. However, the original recommendation for a swing span was ultimately accepted.
Construction of the Willamette River bridge began in August 1906. Its swing-span section was the longest in the world, with a length of 521 feet (158.8 m) or 524 feet (159.7 m). To either side of the opening span are two 269 feet (82 m) fixed truss spans
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
and one 80 feet (24.4 m) deck plate girder
Plate girder bridge
A plate girder bridge is a bridge supported by two or more plate girders. The plate girders are typically I-beams made up from separate structural steel plates , which are welded or, in older bridges, bolted or riveted together to form the vertical web and horizontal flanges of the beam...
approach span.
Overall, the construction took more than two years. Structural work was completed in July 1908, and the first test swing of the center span was accomplished by a tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
pushing on it, as the heavy machinery for that purpose had yet to be installed. Problems with the supply and installation of parts of the machinery for turning this world's-longest swing span caused a delay of a few months, and not until October was the span turned for the first time under its own power. The first train crossed on October 23, 1908, and the bridge opened for regular use in November. The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway
The Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway was a United States-based railroad incorporated in 1905. It was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank of the Columbia River....
's first scheduled passenger train on the new line into and out of Portland operated on November 17, 1908, and the terminus in Portland was the North Bank Depot
North Bank Depot Buildings
The North Bank Depot Buildings, located in central Portland, Oregon, United States, are a pair of buildings formerly used as a freight warehouse and passenger terminal for the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway...
on N.W. Hoyt Street at 11th Avenue, rather than Union Station. SP&S service moved to Union Station in 1922.
The total weight of the swing span was around 4.6 million pounds, including 400,000 pounds for the machinery. In the event of a power outage, the bridge's swing span could still be turned, using a 165-hp, four-cylinder back-up generator to power the electric motors. The drum on which the span pivoted was 42 feet (12.8 m) in diameter.
Ownership and operation of the bridge passed to the Burlington Northern Railroad
Burlington Northern Railroad
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....
(BN) in 1970, when SP&S, Northern Pacific and other railroads merged to form BN. At the end of 1996, BN merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
(Santa Fe), becoming the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
(officially shortened to BNSF Railway in 2005).
Accidents
The bridge sustained heavy damage on October 29, 1978, when it was struck by a NorwegianNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
container ship
Container ship
Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...
, the m.v.
Merchant vessel
A merchant vessel is a ship that transports cargo or passengers. The closely related term commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire...
Marie Bakke. The ship hit the downstream end of the swing span, which had been in the fully open position; that was its normal position, as the span was closed only when trains needed to cross. Repairs took seven weeks, not being completed until January 1979. Meanwhile, BN and Amtrak trains had to be rerouted via Union Pacific tracks and across the Steel Bridge
Steel Bridge
The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic and light rail , making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world...
to reach the west side of the river. BN filed suit against the shipping line that owned the vessel, charging negligence
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
and seeking damages
Damages
In law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
, and ultimately reached an out-of-court settlement under which it received about $3.5 million from the shipping company.
On New Year's Eve 1983, at about 10:25 p.m., two locomotives heading a BN freight train plunged into the river through the open swing span, resulting in the deaths of two crew persons. It was the worst train-related accident in the bridge's history. The cause was determined to have been human error, that the train crew had passed a red signal
Signal passed at danger
A Signal passed at danger , in British railway terminology, occurs when a train passes a stop signal without authority to do so. It is a term primarily used within the British Railway Industry, although it can be applied worldwide.-Categories of SPAD:...
.
Rebuilding as vertical-lift bridge
The center swing span was replaced by a vertical-lift span and towers in a two-year project completed in 1989, funded primarily by a federal grant. Prior to this change, numerous ships had struck the bridge over the years, the worst incident being the 1978 one described above, and the bridge's center pier ultimately was deemed an impediment to river navigation. That assessment was made by the U.S. Coast GuardUnited States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
, and it led to Congressional
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
approval of a $38 million grant to pay for the work. Conversion to a vertical lift permitted the central pivot pier to be removed, greatly widening the navigation channel. In addition to increasing safety, the wider clearance would allow larger ships to reach the Port of Portland
Port of Portland (Oregon)
The Port of Portland is the port district responsible for overseeing Portland International Airport, general aviation, and marine activities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the United States....
's then-new (1978) dry dock facility for ship repair and rebuilding at Swan Island, and Port officials cited both of these benefits in their support of the planned change. After design and engineering were completed, a $28 million contract was awarded in May 1987 to Portland-based Riedel International Inc. to actually carry out the work. The Coast Guard financed most of the cost of the conversion, but Burlington Northern paid about 3 percent of the cost.
In order to minimize disruption to both river traffic and rail traffic, the project was carefully coordinated to allow the actual change to be made over just 72 hours. This work began on August 8, 1989, with removal of the 81-year-old swing-span section, and was completed on August 11. The now-disused pivot pier was removed by dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
blasting three months later, after the fall fish run
Fish migration
Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousands of kilometres...
, and with that final step the navigation channel was widened from 230 feet (70.1 m) to 497 feet (151.5 m).
The 516 feet (157.3 m) long lift span is one of the longest vertical-lift spans in the world and is also the fourth highest in the world. When fully raised, it provides vertical clearance of 200 feet (61 m) at low water. The new lift span weighs 7900000 pounds (3,583,379.7 kg). It is made of weathering steel, which is designed to rust naturally and thus turn a reddish brown. However, the remainder of the bridge, the fixed spans dating from 1908, are painted silver. This has given the rebuilt structure two distinct colors, and the unusual combination has been called unattractive by some.
Operation
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
trains. Although BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
owns and controls the bridge, the company is required to allow access to other railroads, under a law already in force by 1906 allowing common use of railway bridges across navigable waterways. Signals on both approaches prevent trains from entering the bridge when the lift span is up, but as a precaution, all trains are still required to radio the bridge tender to obtain permission to cross.