The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-03-14
TWO GREAT BRIDGES.
The Giant Structures Over the Cut Hank
and Two Medicine.

and Two Medicine.
KA11srELI, March 13- Especial. l.
Among the most attractive and most inn
presaivs sights along the Pacific extension
of the Great Northern through Montana
are the great bridges, the most noted Of
which ara those at Two Medicine and the
Cut Bank. Whom one known that they are
perfectly safe, and that the weight of the
heaviest train ia not the slightest tax upon
their atrength, he can admire than without
a feeling OF timidlty. 1t ia human nature
to contemplate the most awful things that
could possibly happen, and In these
structures there Is plenty OF scope Tor the
Widest flights of imagination. The bridge
crossing tne Cut Bank is the longest by 400
feet, but the enc across the Two Medicine
ID higher by seventy fest. But few people
realize the amount OF material that enters
INTO the construction of such Immense
bridges. The But Bank river il crossed at
a point 1875 miles west of Pacific junction.
The river derives its namn from the nature
of its banks, which riss almost p~erpendieu-
larly on either side. The stream is not 80
very large. but there, 10 every Indication
thnt an immense body of water once
flowed between these banks. Every
Efforts of the engineers to evxae crossing
this river was unavailing ana it was only q
question as to which WAS the best piace to
cross. When tho bridge builders entered
upon their work 3 ehssm 1240 feet vide ana
14o feet deep confronted them. The Job
was commenced January 20. 1871. IN
structure in of wood and iron, there being
100000 feet of lumber and $500 pounds
of wrought iron and q. AGO pounds of cast
iron, in addition to tons of truss rods and
other material, the figures for which are
not given. Sixty-two bents form the up
right supports of the bridge. Tho long
truss span directly over the stream is lgO
- fl1xrr ,~ <.- ~-~ a. IN h Tan
packed post bsnts bolted and sway braced,
fotminR an immense owsr The towers
rest on timber cribs 12x70, built on bed
rock and filed with loose rock. From the top
Of the crib to the top Of graders 1874 feet, while
the track is 140 feet above the surface OF
the water. There are Ave truss spans on
the east side and four on the west. which
ars forty feet long. Others are twenty and
sixteen. Barrels of water are placed every
eighty feet. The bridge is on n tangent and
on an up grade of OBS per cent. Track was
laid across the bridge and the fist train
allowed to pass over April "a, 1892.
Fifty miles further west, or about twelve
mountains, the line crosses the awful abyss
formed by the Two Medicine river. Tbs
track lies along the bank of the river for
soms little distance before the crossing is
made, as ii to avoid it IS long as possible,
and you have ampls time to calculate the
ulRLnnCS you WOulQ bfANel, Nuu Gu6 blllo IT
would take if fate ordained that you should
be preclpitated to the depths below. All
at once tho track makes a turn and you are
in mid air with a stream of water 2l2 feet
below you. There need not be the slight
EST apprehension, however, as to your
safety, as the bridge IL made to bear a
weight SIX times rs great as that Of a string
of locomotives reaching from one end of
the bridge to tbs other, u weight never
reached by the heaviest train. The Two
1891, and the first train crossed it August
much the same plan as the Cat Bank
10 bank, and the highest point is
Der used Was Sl6.s0o feet, while the weight
of iron is CO., OO pounds. exclusive of several
tons of truss roads. The span over the
river is 100 feet long, and the other spans
are twenty and sixteen feet in length. The
long span is supported by towers con-
structed like those in the Cut bank. Two
Medicine bridge in on a tangent and On and
up grade Of one per cent.
There are two other bridges between the
summit ana Kalispell, but they pale into
insignihcance when compared with the two
just described. The first is the crossing of
the fork of the Flathead river, $50 feet
high. and the other is the second crossing
of the Flathead, and is 800 feet long and l40
feet high. Within a short time these
bridges and ~trestles will be replaced with
steel.
This new line of the Great Northern pre-
sents many interesting objects to the trav-
Aler.