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Photo, Print, Drawing Bismarck Bridge, Spanning the Missouri River, Bismarck, Burleigh County, ND BNSF Railway, Bismarck Bridge

View 8 images in sequence.
[ Photos from Survey HAER ND-2  ]

More Resources

View 8 images in sequence.
[ Drawings from Survey HAER ND-2  ]
[ Data Pages from Survey HAER ND-2  ]
[ Photo Captions from Survey HAER ND-2  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Bismarck Bridge, Spanning the Missouri River, Bismarck, Burleigh County, ND

Other Title

  • BNSF Railway, Bismarck Bridge

Names

  • Historic American Engineering Record, creator
  • Morison, George S.
  • Parkhurst, H. W.
  • Saulpaugh, George
  • Saulpaugh, Thomas
  • Rust & Coolidge
  • Detroit Bridge & Iron Works
  • Northern Pacific Railroad
  • Billings, Frederick
  • Modjeski, Ralph
  • Northern Pacific Railway
  • Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
  • BNSF Railway
  • Chanute, Octave
  • Erie Railroad
  • Morison, Fields & Company Bridge Builders
  • Corthell, Elmer L.
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
  • McKinley, William
  • Union Pacific Railroad
  • Modjeski & Masters
  • Winston Brothers
  • Bellows, Fogarty, and Company
  • Thompson, Charles W.
  • Mitchell, Thomas J.
  • American Bridge Company
  • Great Northern Railway
  • Johnson, Edwin Ferry
  • Bismarck, Otto von
  • Fuller, William H.
  • Pearson, E. J.
  • Peck, Ralph B.
  • Capital Steel Company
  • Saulpaugh and Company
  • U.S. Coast Guard, sponsor
  • Jacobs Engineering, contractor
  • SEARCH, contractor
  • Price, Lori Durio, project manager
  • Angel, Aimee Ross, historian
  • Kong, Kenny, field team
  • Herling, Bryan, delineator
  • Jacobson, Ron, photographer
  • Marston, Christopher H., editor
  • McPartland, Mary, transmitter
  • Rodriguez, Marcos, III, transmitter

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1968

Headings

  • -  railroad bridges
  • -  railroad industry
  • -  steel truss bridges
  • -  transportation
  • -  Whipple trusses
  • -  bowstring trusses
  • -  granite piers
  • -  caissons
  • -  Pennsylvania through trusses
  • -  Pratt trusses
  • -  Warren trusses
  • -  concrete girders
  • -  steel bents
  • -  North Dakota--Burleigh County--Bismarck

Latitude / Longitude

  • 46.818149,-100.826727

Notes

  • -  For additional documentation, see also Nebraska City Bridge (HAER NE-2).
  • -  Significance: The Bismarck Bridge was the first bridge constructed across the Missouri River in the Dakota Territory and a major crossing on the Northern Pacific Railway or Railroad (NPRR) connecting Lake Superior with the Puget Sound. The NPRR recruited George Shattuck Morison as the lead engineer to oversee and design the bridge. Construction of the bridge was initiated in 1880 and took approximately three years to complete. Morison employed three 400'-long Whipple through trusses placed atop four massive granite piers to cross the Missouri. Between 1905 and 1906, under the design and supervision of Ralph Modjeski, the original superstructure was replaced with Pennsylvania through trusses to handle heavier locomotive models. Unique in that it retains elements from master engineers Morison and Modjeski, the over 1,500'-long bridge has carried rail traffic for the NPRR and its successor the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) from 1883 until its eventual replacement in 2027.
  • -  Survey number: HAER ND-2
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1880- 1883 Initial Construction
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1905-1906 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1980 Subsequent Work
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1991 Subsequent Work

Medium

  • Photo(s): 28
  • Measured Drawing(s): 8
  • Data Page(s): 33
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 4

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HAER ND,8-BISMA,3-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • nd0023

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HAER ND,8-BISMA,3-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

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    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
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    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
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  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

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  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
    • Make note of the Call Number listed above.
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Access to Originals

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  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

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      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
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  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, Creator, George S Morison, H. W Parkhurst, George Saulpaugh, Thomas Saulpaugh, Rust & Coolidge, Detroit Bridge & Iron Works, et al., Jacobson, Ron, photographer. Bismarck Bridge, Spanning the Missouri River, Bismarck, Burleigh County, ND. Burleigh County North Dakota Bismarck Morton County Mandan, 1968. editeds by Marston, Christopher H, translateds by Mcpartland, Marymitter, and Rodriguez, Marcos, Iiimitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/nd0023/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, C., Morison, G. S., Parkhurst, H. W., Saulpaugh, G., Saulpaugh, T., Rust & Coolidge [...] Herling, B., Jacobson, R., photographer, Marston, C. H., ed. (1968) Bismarck Bridge, Spanning the Missouri River, Bismarck, Burleigh County, ND. Burleigh County North Dakota Bismarck Morton County Mandan, 1968. McPartland, M. & Rodriguez, M., transs Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/nd0023/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, Creator, et al., photographer by Jacobson, Ron. Bismarck Bridge, Spanning the Missouri River, Bismarck, Burleigh County, ND. ed by Marston, Christopher H, trans by Mcpartland, Marymitter, and Rodriguez, Marcos, Iiimitter Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/nd0023/>.