MTFCA Forum

Today’s forecast did not look promising for the downtown parade. Predictions and radar were showing heavy rain almost up to the 10 am start time.
Since I was leaving from Sam Atkinson’s house, 25 miles from the starting point, we had to decide to go or not. The decision not to go had been made and as I was heading to my truck to leave, the rain stopped and we decided to try to go. We got to the stating spot with minutes to spare, but no rain. One other STL club member, Dave Becker, was waiting for us. After the parade, we did drive over the Eads bridge as it is celebrating its 150th anniversary. The bridge is very interesting visually from every vantage point, except the drivers seat. We were hoping for something more, but we can say we celebra”T”ed in our own way.

Happy 4th.

A girl I knew in a suburb of St. Louis once told me that she had done a history paper about the Eads Bridge in high school. She said that it was because of the bridge that the railroad gauge east and west of the Mississippi is the same. Don't know if it's true, but makes a nice bit of Eads Bridge trivia...

Lincoln signed legislation setting standard gauge at 4' 8½". Today it's allowed to vary 1½". The UP and the Central Pacific used the same gauge when the transcontinental railroad was completed in May of 1869. Construction on the Eads Bridge began in 1867 and took seven years to complete. The bridge was dedicated on July 4, 1874 and opened to railway traffic the same day. By the time construction of the bridge started the gauge horse was already out of the barn.

Steve Jelf wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 06, 2024 4:11 pm

.... The bridge was dedicated on July 4, 1874 and opened to railway traffic the same day. By the time construction of the bridge started the gauge horse was already out of the barn.

If I had any idea where she was these days, I'd let her know.......