Second Narrows Rail Bridge

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The Second Narrows Rail Bridge is a vertical-lift railway bridge that crosses the Burrard Inlet and connects Vancouver with the North Shore. The bridge's south end connects directly to the Thornton Tunnel, which connects it to the main Canadian rail network.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The bridge gets its name from being located at the second narrowing (constriction) of the Burrard Inlet, as opposed to the First Narrows to the west that is adjacent to Stanley Park. The Second in the name is not indicative of it being the chronological successor of the original 1925 bridge, and it is not a delineation between the two above-water crossings currently in service at the location.

The bridge has a maximum speed limit of Template:Convert.<ref name="DH20240709">Template:Cite news</ref>

HistoryEdit

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BackgroundEdit

During the Klondike Gold Rush, there were schemes to build a railway from Vancouver to the Dawson gold fields. The first stage in this would be to bridge Burrard Inlet and then build a railway north. John Hendry floated the Vancouver, Westminster, and Yukon Railway which built a line from Ladner to New Westminster and then to Vancouver via Burnaby Lake. This line was paired with the Great Northern Railway who also wanted trackage into Vancouver.

In the process, various other railroads all became involved in the bridging scheme: the Canadian Northern Railway, Milwaukee Road, and the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. The bridge itself would be owned by the Federal Government as they had control of harbours and shipping, and would lease access to the railways. One of the main reasons was the scarce amount of space on the South Shore of the Burrard Inlet for wharves. Railways wanted to develop the North Shore because the south side was occupied by another railway, the Canadian Pacific. A company was floated, the Burrard Inlet Bridge and Tunnel Company, and contracts were issued to span the tidal bore. At one point, a causeway was planned to dam the narrows and create bridges and wharves that way.

World War I intervened, as did the bankruptcy of all the interested railways. With it went dreams of the bridge and rails up Indian Arm, the Capilano valley, or via Howe Sound. However, the predecessor railways did sign contracts to build a bridge and a new Hotel Vancouver.Template:Citation needed Only after the war with huge increase in funding to improve harbours around the British Empire, partly due to problems associated with wartime shipping, did funds appear for the completion of the 1925 bridge. And so the north shore port became an amalgam of operations with Canadian National, Pacific Great Eastern and Harbour and Wharves Commission all using the bridge when it was not out of service. North Vancouver ferries operated at this time as well.

The essential wartime shipyards in North Vancouver underscored the need for reliable industrial access. Further, the expansion of Lynnterm, Wheat elevators, coal and the sulphur port in the 1960s indicated the growing use of the North Shore.

Original bridge (1925)Edit

File:First Train Over Second Narrows Bridge with Automobiles and Logging Truck.jpg

The original Second Narrows Bridge in 1926

Northern Construction & J.W. Stewart built the first bridge to connect Vancouver with the North Shore over the tidal bore of the narrows. A single-track railway was enclosed inside the bridge trusses, together with a Template:Convert roadway on each side outside of the trusses, and a sidewalk on the east edge of the bridge. Including approaches, the road-rail bridge was about Template:Convert long. At the North Shore, there were Template:Convert of solid embankment, which connected to Template:Convert of trestles, and then a series of two Template:Convert fixed spans. The longest fixed span of Template:Convert was next, which connected to the bascule span that opened for taller marine vessels. A final Template:Convert fixed span was south of the bascule span, and then Template:Convert of trestles connected the bridge to the South Shore.<ref name="E19260305">Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:SS Losmar Hits Second Narrows Bridge.jpg

The SS Losmar after knocking down a span of the Second Narrows Bridge in early 1930

The drawspan was a Template:Convert, single-leaf Strauss bascule design that rotated about its southern support. This span provided Template:Convert of horizontal clearance for taller ships.<ref name="Pratley1934">Template:Harvnb</ref> When in the closed position, the bridge offered a vertical clearance of Template:Convert at high tide.<ref name="E19260305"/>

File:Pacific Gatherer Second Narrows crash.jpg

Collision of the Pacific Gatherer in late 1930

The attached vehicle deck opened to road traffic in 1925 and the main structure to trains a year later.<ref name="E19260305"/><ref name="VDT19260605"/> After being hit by a number of ships and being out of service for four years, the provincial government bought the bridge in 1933 and installed a lift section of the deck. The bascule span was permanently locked in the closed position and shortened by two Template:Convert truss panels. The Template:Convert destroyed span was replaced by a Template:Convert lift span, and the southern lift tower was built atop two other panels of the bascule span. Two new piers were constructed to support the new lift span, and the southern pier of the destroyed span was demolished.<ref name="Pratley1936">Template:Harvnb</ref>

File:Second-narrows-bridge-1934.jpg

The original Second Narrows Bridge in 1934, after a vertical-lift drawspan (center) was installed and the existing single-leaf bascule drawspan (left) was permanently locked in the closed position

In 1960, a new much larger and higher 6-lane Second Narrows Bridge with a Template:Convert span was completed alongside the original bridge, and the original bridge was converted exclusively for rail use. In 1994, the new road bridge was renamed the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing in honour of the ironworkers who died in accidents while building it. However, the new bridge is still commonly referred to as the Second Narrows Bridge.

File:Second Narrows Bridge.JPG

The rebuilt, rail-only bridge in 2012, when raised (its default state)

Second bridge (1969)Edit

In 1969, the original 1926 railbridge was replaced by CN Rail with a larger, higher lift bridge. The lift section was now Template:Convert, which was the longest lift span in Canada.<ref name="VDT19690507">Template:Cite news</ref> A bridgetender activates cables and counterweights to raise the span. Unless moving a train across Burrard Inlet, the lift section is always in the up position to allow ships to go underneath.

The current bridge has a vertical clearance of Template:Convert at the main lift span fully raised (open position). The vertical lift section of the Second Narrows Railway Bridge provides Template:Convert clear navigation width between rubbing fenders. However, the Ironworkers Second Narrows road bridge has a vertical clearance of Template:Convert and the shipping channel where the maximum horizontal clearance available is Template:Convert wide.

Chronology of the bridgesEdit

1902: The V. W. and Y Railway is completed to Burnaby. A bridge is planned.
1910: Bridge plans by the Burrard Inlet Bridge and Tunnel Company are proposed.
1912: Land speculation happens on the North Shore, subject to completion of a bridge.
1914: A railway to Deep Cove and Port Moody is planned.
1915: Stock market collapses; P. G. E. Railway goes bankrupt.
1916: A causeway is planned; Canadian Northern goes bankrupt.
1925: A smaller, lower bridge than originally envisioned is completed.
1926: Trains begin using the bridge.<ref name="VDT19260605">Template:Cite news</ref>
1927: The freighter Template:SS, carrying large cargo of lumber, hits the bridge on March 10,<ref name="VDT19270311">Template:Cite news</ref> causing almost Template:CAD worth of damage.
1928: Hit by freighter Template:SS.<ref name="VDT19280425">Template:Cite news</ref>
1930: The freighter Losmar rams through the span south of the bascule section on April 24, also causing damage to the foundations.<ref name="VDT19300425">Template:Cite news</ref> The span is pulled out of the inlet waters, repaired,<ref name="VDC19300521">Template:Cite news</ref> and remounted onto the bridge by floating on the rising and falling tides.<ref name="VS19300607">Template:Cite news</ref> The bridge reopens for vehicle traffic on June 8, and train traffic resumes shortly afterward.<ref name="VS19300609">Template:Cite news</ref>
1930: On September 19, the barge Pacific Gatherer becomes wedged under the bridge's Template:Convert span.<ref name="VDT19300920">Template:Cite news</ref> The tide rises, pushing the barge up under the span, knocking it off its supports. The span hangs off one side before suddenly breaking free and sinking into the depths of Burrard Inlet. Lawsuits and the bankruptcy of the Bridge company delay any attempt at repairs. The bridge remains closed for four years.
1933: The bridge is sold to the provincial government and repairs begin.
1934: The bridge reopens.<ref name="VDC19340619">Template:Cite news</ref> The bascule span is locked permanently in the closed position, and the destroyed centre fixed span is replaced by an Template:Convert vertical-lift span that provided a vertical clearance of Template:Convert above high water.<ref name="CR196510">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1952: North Vancouver voters approve leasing the non-road portion of the bridge to CNR,<ref name="VDC19751228">Template:Cite news</ref> based on promises to lure out-of-province industrial companies to the North Shore. The lease is for 21 years and gives CNR an option to buy the bridge for $1 upon lease expiration.<ref name="VS19520904">Template:Cite news</ref>
1963: The bridge is closed to highway traffic.<ref name="VS19630213">Template:Cite news</ref>
1964: The bridge is sold to CNR after the Burrard Inlet Bridge and Tunnel Company decides to dissolve itself and allow CNR to exercise its $1 right to buy before the original 1973 option date.<ref name="VS19641029">Template:Cite news</ref>
1965: CNR unveils plans to build a replacement rail bridge and a tunnel to bypass the existing, meandering route from the south through central Vancouver and the South Shore.<ref name="VS19650430">Template:Cite news</ref>
1969: A new, larger lift bridge is built immediately to the east of the 1926 bridge.
1969: The Thornton Tunnel is dug for CN trains to connect with the rail line at Willingdon.
1970: The old 1926 bridge is removed, as are its cement piers.<ref name="VS19700715">Template:Cite news</ref>
1979: In October, the Japanese freighter Japan Erica, carrying logs, collides with the bridge in a heavy fog, knocking a section of the bridge just north of the lift span into the water. The bridge was closed until March 4, 1980.<ref name="IABSE1983">Template:Cite journal</ref> The cost of fixing the bridge was $6.5Template:Nbspmillion.<ref name="SSP19800305">Template:Cite news</ref>