A River Turnstile

[AlanLichty]

There is an antique railroad turnstile along the Lewis River in SW Washington that is an interesting specimen:

The turnstile mechanism is mostly intact although lacking maintenance and a motor:

For those who might wish to explore the old structure more closely be forewarned that the tracks on the bridge are actually still active:

In this case the Amtrak Talgo trains slow down to about 45mph for the bridge before heading back up to cruising speeds once over the span. There are two sets of tracks on the bridge and I have seen trains going both directions across the bridge at once. Sadly about once every two or three years someone gets killed while out on the bridge when a train comes through in spite of a lot of warning signs and No Trespassing signs all over both ends of the bridge.

C&C always welcome.

 

[Ben Egbert]

That's a neat old bridge Alan, can you imagine hand cranking it? These bridges were built to allow boat traffic through I think, now that the bridge is no longer operable, what do tall boats do?

Nice job capturing it.

 

[AlanLichty]

That's a neat old bridge Alan, can you imagine hand cranking it? These bridges were built to allow boat traffic through I think, now that the bridge is no longer operable, what do tall boats do?

There are no longer docking facilities upstream for things that don't fit under the bridge. There used to be sawmills upstream from here and the river was navigated by flat bottom boats for transporting lumber. At low tide the river probably isn't more than 15-20' deep under the bridge. I have paddled this area and quite a ways upstream from here (both forks) in a canoe. The Lewis River dumps into the Columbia River about a mile downstream from here.

 

[Ben Egbert]

I have stayed at the Lewis River Inn in Woodland a couple times while visiting the Wildlife Refuge nearby. It can't be far from this bridge.

 

[AlanLichty]

I have stayed at the Lewis River Inn in Woodland a couple times while visiting the Wildlife Refuge nearby. It can't be far from this bridge.

You are correct:

I have paddled as far as the I-5 bridge on the main fork and past La Center on the East Fork.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Yes Ridgefield NWR, I had forgotten the name. I have a bunch of great blue heron shots from there.,

 

[JimFox]

Hey Alan,

What a cool old bridge! I like ones like these that actually moved at one time.

Jim

 

[BarryHamilton]

Something you don't see every day! Gotta love those old structures. Nicely done, Alan.

 

[Ann S]

Nice set. There's a certain charm in these old structures.