SW-AS-012 Statewide

MKT Railroad: Sedalia to Clinton 1991

This is a survey of the MKT Railroad corridor from Sedalia to Clinton.

The following survey does not have traditional survey forms, and instead features a small report highlighting 15 specific resources.

Jennifer Perritt Seasonal Digitization Archivist Missouri State Historic Preservation Office July 16th, 2018

SIJRVEY OF THE MISSOURI, KANSAS & TEXAS RAILROAD ABANDONMENT CLINTON TO SEDALIA, MISSOURI

Forward: The objective of this report is to evaluate those cultural resources

owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, that are located within the right-of-way

proposed for abandonment, for their significance in accordance with the

Criteria of Eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic

Places. Reclommendations of eligibility follow the inventory and analysis of

resources. h special introductory section on bridges was prepared in the

report "Cultural Resources Along The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad

Abandonment, Sedalia to Machens, Missouri" and will not be rewritten here. A

similar introductory section on plate girders will be attached to the report.

Differing from the "MK&T Railroad Abandonment Sedalia to Machens" ( 1986), only

one true bridge was located on this route compared with twenty-two on the

earlier abandonment. There were no depots, roundhouses (turnaround) or other

railroad maintenance buildings located on the Clinton to Sedalia abandonment

route. The streams and obstacles normally crossed by bridges were crossed by

trestles and plate girders in this section. In the prior survey, trestles,

girders, and culverts were not mentioned as they were insignificant and/or of

an unknown provenience. The trestles and culverts on this route will be

treated in the same manner. Several of the trestles are significant as to size

and form, but the date of construction was not known and the wood utilized in

these constructions appeared to be recently milled, indeed remnants of earlier

trestles were present adjacent to the current structures. Although not

considered eligible for National Register listing these trestles will be

enumerated at the end of this section. Culverts were not documented as they

lacked engineering significance and were unlikely to retain their association

with the original construction of the route or significant historic periods of

development (of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad.

In the evaluation of the Sedalia to Machens Missouri, Kansas & Texas

Abandonment route the railroad bed was not evaluated as a structure. The route

was seen as an historically, significant railroad line, but no assessment was

made of the historicity of the roadbed itself. In a similar manner to

trestles, it was assumed to have been upgraded constantly over time and, hence,

to lack sufficient integrity for National Register listing by particular

section or in total. The Clinton to Sedalia stretch has an extremely high

railroad bed across its entire route. This height may make the roadbed a

significant engineering structure. When seen from the perpendicular at river

crossings, the roadbed seems to have grown over time. One sees a progression

of abutments which have grown taller and in some instances wider over time.

This continual raising of the bed makes it not only more imposing but probably

more easily maintained. The water crossings are less susceptible to being

washed out by rising streams and the bed itself probably is more level (less

grade variance) than when initially constructed. More research is needed to

evaluate this structural significance but the Clinton-Sedalia Missouri, Kansas

& Texas route appears to represent a mature railroad bed.

Survey Results

Milepost 229.30 - The MKT Railroad Plate Girder 111 over Highway 65, Sedalia,

Pettis County. This girder was apparently built in 1969 when the highway was

widened. ,It is not exceptionally significant and thus of too recent

construction for National Register listing. According to the Union Pacific

Railroad it is composed of three plate girders arranged in a through girder,

configuration of 32 feet each. Visual evidence, however, indicates that the

middle girder is longer than the two outside spans. (See photo # I )

Milepost 234.2 - MKT Railroad Plate Girder 112 spanning the Camp Branch of Flat

Creek, Pettis County. This single span plate girder was built by the King

Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1909. It is in a deck girder

configuratio~l on abutments that have been raised. The eastern abutment appears

to have been original constructed of ashlar laid, rough-cut limestone with a

boured concrete (later) abutment and wings superimpose upon it. The west

abutment is a poured concrete abutment. The girder appears to be in its

original location and has suffered no alterations that diminished its

integrity. (See photo /I2 a,b,c.)

Milepost 237.4 - MKT Railroad Trestle !I3 spanning the Basin Fork Branch of Flat

Creek, Pettis County. This five-panel trestle also demonstrates the raising of

the railroad bed by the east (right original) abutment was cut from the bedrock

exposed by the stream. Its western cohnterpart is a pier' made of cyclopean cut

rock laid in an ashlar pattern. Because of the uncertain date of the

construction the trestle is not considered eligible for listing on the National

Register. The piers and abutments with the progressional raising contribute to

the theme of a mature railroad line. (See photo 113, a'& b)

Milepost 237.85 - MKT Railroad Trestle !I4 spanning an unnamed seasonal creek in !

Pettis County. This small five-panel ballast, deck trestle has little historic

significance. The materials of the trestle and abutments demonstrate no

particular age or significance. . (see photo # 4 )

Milepost 240.1 - MKT Railroad Trestle #5 crossing an unnamed seasonal stream in Pettis County. It is a four-panel open-deck trestle which has no obvious

historical significance. (see photo 115)

Milepost 241.6 - MKT Trestle 116 spanning Basin Fork Creek in Pettis (or perhaps

~ e n r ~ ) County is a five-panel open-deck timber trestle. Stumps from an earlier

trestle are still visible leading one to believe that this trestle is less than

50 years old and hence non-historic. (see photo f16)

Milepost 247.4 - MKT Girder H7 spanning the Chicago and Rock Island Line in the vicinity of Windsor in Henry County. This girder's bridge plaque states that

it was fabricated in North Milwaukee by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company

in 1925. The bridge abutments are seemingly intact and made of concrete

whether they are post-1925 replacements is not known. It is in the through,

plate girder configuration. (See photo 117, a & b)

Milepost 249.7 - MKT Railroad Trestle #8 crossing a branch of the Tebo Creek is

a nine-panel open-deck, timber trestle. This like Trestle #3, shows the

constantly rising level of the roadbed. Photo i!8b shows a stone pier from a

previous bridge or girder and a raised concrete pier above it which in turn was

raised again by a pier top. Like all the other trestles all the wooden members

appear to be of recent vintage. (See photo 118, a & b)

Milepost 250.9 - MKT Railroad Trestle !I9 crossing an unnamed seasonal stream

off the East Fork of Tebo Creek is a ballast deck, timber trestle with wooden

endams. Nothing on this bridge appears to be historic. (See photo #9)

Milepost 1125% - MKT Railroad Girder !\lo crossing an unnamed seasonal stream off

of East Fork of Tebo Creek is a girder of unknown manufacture with concrete

abutments. Although the girder is of obvious age it appears to be a reused

member of a larger bridge rather than a designed girder. The bridge is in the

deck girder configuration. Nothing about the bridge indicates historic

significance, the concrete abutments sit upon a timber base which leads one to

assume that this is of recent construction. (See photo #lo)'

Milepost 254,,7 - MKT Railroad Plate Girder #ll crossing the Middle Fork Branch

of Tebo Creek in Henry County was built by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron

Company in 1925. It is in the through plate girder configuration and appears

to be relatively intact. It is the longest girder at 104 feet in length. (See

photo #11, a, b, c, d, & e)

Milepost 255.9 - MKT Railroad Trestle 1/12 crossing a seasonal stream (Sand

Creek Drainage) is an eleven-panel open-deck trestle 156 feet in length. It

appears to be of recent construction as remains of a former trestle are still

visible. (See photo 1/12)

Milepost 256 - MKT Railroad Bridge H13 crossing Sand Creek. It is the only

truss bridge on this portion of the line. It is a Warren Truss in the pony

configuration. It was constructed in 1926 by the American Bridge Company.

Unusual in its design resembling a camelback bridge as it has exactly five

slopes to its polygonal top chord, but its Warren configuration defies this

typology. (see photo t13, a, b, c, & d)

Milepost 259.1 - MKT Railroad Girder !\I4 crossing the West Fork of the Tebo

Creek is a deck-plate-girder with a supporting middle pier. The Union Pacific

railroad lists is as 51 and one-half feet in length, visual evidence makes it

appear to be perhaps twice that length. The bridge plaque states that it was

fabricated by the Virginia Bridge and Iron Company of Roanoke, VA in 1925. It

appears to be intact. (see photo #14, a & b)

Milepost 260.5 - MKT Railroad Trestle /I15 crosses a seasonal branch of West

Fork of Tebo Creek in Henry County. It is ballast-deck timber trestle of four

panels. There is nothing to indicate that it is not of recent construction.

(See photo #15)

Evaluation

In the Clinton to Sedalia section of the MKT Railroad abandonment corridor

there were four plate girders and one bridge of sufficient engineering

significance to demonstrate their potential for listing on the National

Register of Historic Places. They all met the engineering requirements

necessary to span the diminutive streams and railroad crossing of the route and

while not as impressive in height, length, or complexity as the bridges on the

former abandonment route they equally served their function.

The lone bridge, MKT Railroad Bridge #13, is a Warren, Polygonal Chord,

Pony-Truss bridge. It has four panels and its top chord has five slopes. The

bridge is placed on two matched concrete abutments of undetermined age.

Constructed in 1926 by the American Bridge Company, it demonstrates "main

stream" rather than "the cutting edge" of short span bridge engineering. Its

connections are riveted rather than welded. A technology that dates to the

early 20th century. It uses solid rolled steel rather than latticed members

which was the common practice of the time, but probably not the state of the

engineering art. It is quite different from the pony truss bridges on the

original MKT Abandonment Route. It represents the rapid technological

improvements that were made in just over a quarter of a century. Its 1926

construction date matches the three previously surveyed bridges fabricated by

the American Bridge Company although they are much larger through-trusses (#lo,

1/13 & 121). This leads one to 'think that the company must have won the bid for

bridges in 1926. Although not as impressive as a custom designed bridge by a

Waddell or a Morrison it is a good representative example of a short-span,

metal truss bridge at the time of construction.

Pour plate girders have potential for National Register eligibility. Two are

in the through girder configuration and two are now in deck-girder

configuration. All were built in the early twentieth century.

The earliest, MKT Girder 112, is in the deck girder configuration and is sixty

feet in length. Its configuration was probably adapted from a through girder

configuration when the roadbed was raised. It was fabricated by the King

Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio in 1909. King Bridge Company was, in 1884,

the largest highway bridge works in the United States. They also have

fabricated numerous railroad bridges from the company's founding in 1858. It

is the earliest example of a plate girder on the abandonment. It is very

ordinary in its length, height, and width. Its location on the Camp Branch is

picturesque, but more importantly seemingly unaltered except for the general

raising of the railroad bed.

MKT Plate Girder N7 is in the through-girder configuration and is also sixty

feet in length. It was fabricated by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company in

1925. Little is known about this company except that two other bridges (116 and

1/20) on the earlier surveyed Sedalia to Machens abandonment were built by them

and these were also constructed in 1925. One other girder on the current

abandonment route was also fabricated by them. Its abutment shows no signs of

alterations. It is not known whether they are original or replacements. The

girder appears to retain its integrity.

Perhaps the most impressive of the girders is MKT Railroad Plate Girder #11.

It is 104 feet in length and this is in an unsupported clear span. While this

is a frequent occurrence in today's engineering technology it must have been

near the technological length limit in 1925. As in girder #7, it was

fabricated by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company. Both abutments appear to

have been raised as they have limestone bases covered (raised) with concrete.

With this exception, there appears to have been no loss of integrity.

The last of the plate girders of significance, MKT Plate Girder #14, is in the

deck-girder configuration. This apparent alteration from a through-girder

configuration appears to have been the only alteration. The owner, Union

Pacific Railroad, states its length as fifty-one and one-half feet. This is

probably the clear span length. It is stated as 2-51'6" and as this girder has

a central concrete pier for additional strength, the actual length may be 103

feet. This girder was fabricated by the Virginia Bridge and Iron Company of

Roanoke, Virginia. Little is known about this company, except that it was the

fabricator of many highway bridges in Virginia and one of the largest of late

19th early 20th century bridge fabricators in Virginia. The girder retains its

integrity and there is no indication of alteration, except for its

configuration change.

This evaluation was performed to indicate the potential eligibility for listing

on the National Register of Historic Places further study would be required to

document their significance and place them in the National Register. Two

girders and eight trestles were.not thought to be significant.

Girders

Girders have been used in connection with railroads practically from their

beginning in the United States. Originally, they were made from iron, then

steel, and are now frequently constructed of reinforced concrete. A definition

of a girder is "Any large beam especially if built of steel plates, which acts

as a primary support, usually receiving loads from floor beams and stringers."

Girders have received little attention from historians of engineering as plate

girders generally have short spans and required little engineering design. In

very short spans they can deliver great strength with comparatively little

cost. They have the advantage of unlimited overhead clearance as do pony

trusses, but delivered more strength and rigidity in short spans.

Until the Twentieth Century they cost more than pony trusses when used to span

more than 60 feet. Twentieht Century improvements in metallurgy allowed for

less expensive rolled steel bridging members and also for improvements in shop

and field riveting making longer spans possible. These advancements plus

improved welding techniques made girders useful in longer spans as well as more

economical. The significant girders on the MKT Clinton to Sedalia Abandonment

Route are plate girders. Another type of girder is continuous, which is

literally a beam. There are, today, many types of girders made in different

manners that are either continuous or bear their loads as if continuous. Plate

girders have been made obsolete by the engineering community and will gradually

disappear. Because of this gradual disappearance plate girders need to be

studied by historians and need to be preserved on this abandonment route.

A plate girder may appear in two configurations. Por the purpose of this

report they will be called through and deck.

A through-girder will have the roadbed pass "through" the girder

making the girder act as a through or pony truss bridge.

A deck-girder utilizes the plate girder as a beam. This configuration is

comparable to a deck truss in bridge engineering.

IfKT Girder 5 1 P h o t o 1

MRT Girder / I2 P h o t o 82a

MKT G i r d e r 8 2 Photo # 2 b

MKT Girder /I2 P h o t o # 2 c

MKT T r e s t l e # 3 P h o t o 8 3 a

MKT Trestle # 3 Photo # 3 b

MKT T r e s t l e / I4 Photo f 4

MKT Trestle 8 5 Photo a 5

MKT T r e s t l e !I6 Photo U6

MKT G i r d e r / i 7 Photo # 7 a

MKT Girder # 7 Photo # 7 b

MKT ~ r e s t l e /I8 P h o t o 8 8 a

MKT Trestle 8 8 Photo 118b

MKT T r e s t l e /I9 Photo /I9

MKT G i r d e r /I10 Ph o t o /I10

MKT Girder i l l 1 P h o t o t l l a

MKT G i r d e r /I11 P h o t o #lib

MKT G i r d e r /I11 P h o t o # l l c

MKT Girder #11 Photo #lid

MKT G i r d e r # I 1 P h o t o #lie

MKT T r e s t l e / I 1 2 P h o t o 1/12

M K ' I ' B r i d g e / / 1 3 I J h o t o 1'32

M K T B r i d g e / / I 3 P h o t o # 1 3 b

MKT B r i d g c # I 3 P h o t o W13c

MKT B r i d g e i t 1 3 I ' h o t o 1113tl

MK.1' Girder # I 4 P h o t o i l l f t n

MKT G i r d e r # 1 4 P h o t o W 1 4 b

Photo / I 1 5 - -