Winona Rail Bridge, Railway swing bridge in Winona, Minnesota, US
The Winona Rail Bridge is a railway crossing that spans 847 meters across the Mississippi River, linking Minnesota to Buffalo County in Wisconsin on a single track. The structure features a movable swing span that could rotate to permit river traffic to pass through.
The bridge was built in 1899 by the Chicago & North Western Railway and marked one of the first rail crossings of the Mississippi River north of Dubuque. The structure combined Pratt truss design with stone and concrete foundations.
The bridge represented a critical advancement in Midwestern transportation infrastructure, enabling the first train crossing of the Mississippi River north of Dubuque.
Access to the bridge is along the established rail lines, and visitors can view the structure from nearby riverbank areas. Afternoon light offers the best conditions for viewing the engineering details and taking photographs.
The most notable feature is the 356-foot swing span that rotated sideways to let river boats pass before rail traffic took over the channel. This rotating mechanism was an engineering solution that allowed two different types of traffic to share the same crossing point.
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