Photos of the Blair Bridge from the Lincoln Highway Archive NEED TO WRITE TO THE ARCHIVE AND GET PERMISSION TO USE THESE PHOTOS.

Misc. Links Collection of Bridge Signs HAER Blair Highway Bridge HAER Blair Railroad Bridge U.P. Engine No. 844 Comes to Blair

• Site Map
   

Research Questions

• Why/how was Blair chosen as the railroad crossing site -- even before the bridge was site was selected? (Carter Valley -- low area in the western river bluffs were the train can travel west on an acceptable slop.)
• Who were the Toll Takers on the Blair Bridge??
  • Ernest Tornblad   source:  Reed O'Hanlon's Hooligans  8-1-40  (Blair Public Library)
  • Allen Laaker
  • Watson Tyson became a toll keeper on the Blair Bridge and collected the 1st toll on the new bridge. [source]
• Where was the toll booth??
  • Center of the Bridge  (Middle -- directly over the water??)
• What was the toll fee??

Research Links

• http://www.rootsweb.com/~nerailrd/index.html
• http://www.cnwhs.org/memberphotos//thumbnails.php?album=search&search=Blair 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, NATHAN.

I think you will be pleased to know that "you came to the right place" for information regarding the Blair Bridge spans in Wyoming.

As a matter of information, I attended school in Blair in the second grade at the West School in 1943-44. My teacher was Mary Anderson, later Mary Vigg.

Also, my first year of school was at the small country school at DeSoto. My grandfather acquired about 3000 acres of river land (a portion is now part of the game refuge) and we moved to that place in about 1939 (I was two). My father commuted (somehow?) to Omaha where he worked at the Omar Bakery. WWII came and he went into Government services working on various military projects around the country, ending up at the ship yards in Bremerton, WA.

We left Blair after the school session in 1944 and moved from the easternmost point on US30 to the westernmost point at Bushnell, NE. My father had been layed off due to "downsizing" at that time and purchased a blacksmith shop at Bushnell where we lived for six years, prior to moving to Cheyenne in 1950.

I loved Blair and returned for visits with Charles E. Gaydou, who owned the hatchery, and in the summers a couple other "kids" and myself made up boxes for farmers who brought in cases of eggs on Saturdays. Blair was a great "Saturday night town" and everything was open.

We always shopped at the Blue Goose, left the groceries on a deck next to the window, then went to the movie. Our old car (Model A) did not have locking devices on the doors, so we left the groceries - and no one bothered them at all! Dr. Gehring was our doctor.

Just a little family trivia.

Now to the subject at hand. I am very familiar with the bridges that were relocated to Wyoming on the Chicago & Northwestern Lander line. In fact, I suspect one is still in place, as after the CNW pulled out in about 1988, and then the track went to a shortliner operator, the rails were removed. However, I believe this is designated as a RAILS TO TRAILS, much to the hatred of the ranchers in the area. You would have to make contact with the Riverton, WY Chamber of Commerce to get exact details. I haven't been in Riverton since 1988.

I photographed one of the last trains into Riverton in July of 1988, and have a decent photo of the train crossing this one span (from Blair), and a smaller span bridge. This is located a short distance east of Riverton. This is the section that is now part of the RAILS TO TRAILS designation - at least to the best of my knowledge.

The Riverton-Lander segment was removed some years earlier. I do recall one of the cast tops from the bridge showing the year of the original structure sitting around the last depot site in Riverton, saved after the bridge just west of Riverton was removed, I guess. I took a photo of a train crossing this 2-span bridge on August 30, 1967 arriving Riverton from Lander. Since it is not real a sharp photo, and it was taken on the shadow side, I never got it printed. I will try to scan it and see if I can come up with some sort of a reasonable print on photo paper, etc. I no longer print photos (other than attempts at scans) and have to have them custom printed. These are large format negatives, and black and white is becoming an "endangered species" now days.

The thing you will like best, and fortunately I photographed it, was the cast plate mounted on the east end of the two-span bridge just west of Riverton, and it reads: "BRIDGE NO. 1493 THESE SPANS ORIGINALLY A PART OF THE BRIDGE BUILT IN 1883 OVER THE MISSOURI RIVER NEAR BLAIR, NEBR. TAKEN DOWN IN 1923 REMODELED BY SHORTENING FROM 330 FEET RE-ERECTED HERE IN 1927"

As you can see the railroad information, as far as the years involved, is different than information you have indicated. I would lean toward what the railroad stated. I plan to also attempt to scan this plate, even though it is quite small on the negative image, but it is quite sharp and should make a reasonably decent print.

At one time I had obtained a lengthy article published in Railway Engineering News sometime prior to 1900 regarding the Blair Bridge. I cannot lay my hands on this article at the present - which is no surprise, as I have too many stacks of papers all over my office area. However, I believe I provided a photo copy of this article to a close friend in Omaha. This friend (Lou Schmitz) worked for the Union Pacific in their engineering department, and is in quite frail health.

Last year Lou broke a hip, and this year the other hip, and has been in-and-out of the hospital many times. I visited with them on October 19th, and the 23rd he came down with pneumonia, so things are not going good there. Lou is a "fan" of the C&NW though, and I would suggest you perhaps send an email to his wife and see if he can assist you in providing photo copies, etc.

Besure to offer to pay for them as he is a Depression Boy, and he would expect out of pocket reimbursement. He would be fair and reasonable if it is possible for them to get to the copy shop, etc. I would suggest getting on this ASAP due to his health situation.

Barb Schmitz is active on the computer and can be reached at: genibarb@tconl.com

In fact, if you do communicate with them, perhaps an invitation to the historical meeting would be in order. They may be able to get out if the weather is decent, etc. I am sure he would love to come. They are swell folks. You are welcome to use my name as the party that made the referral.

If you have any problems reaching them via email, they are listed in the directory and their phone number is 402-333-7303. They live in West Omaha at 15822 Douglas Circle.

I will work toward getting you some sort of photos of the items described.

Best regards and best of luck,

JIM EHERNBERGER - CHEYENNE, WY.

• Chicago & North Western Historical Society

  • Fall 1997 Issue Overview
    The Blair Crossing, by Lou Schmitz
    A Town Named Blair, by Lou Schmitz
    The Man Whose Name was Blair, by Joe Follmar

Historic Railroads of Nebraska by Michael M. Bartels, James J. Reisdorff
ISBN: 0738520357    Price: $19.99   128 Pages Acadia Publishing     Published 2002
Author Bio: Authors Michael M. Bartels of Lincoln and James J. Reisdorff of David City are long-time railroad enthusiasts who have written extensively about Nebraska and Midwestern railroad history. They are members of various railroad history organizations, including the Great Plains Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mlejnek/nielsen01.htm
Mr. and Mrs. Søren Nielson were born and raised in Denmark. He came to the United States at age 20 in 1885, and she came a year later.

Mr. Nielsen worked as a farm hand for the Foleys, Hosea Wilson Hindmarsh and others. He also had a hand in building the rock trestle to the approach of the railroad bridge over the Missouri River at Blair. Out of work, he went down and threw rocks off the cars onto the pile for a day. The boss asked if he was on the payroll. He answered no. "Then come back tomorrow and you will be," was the retort. Mrs. Nielsen found housework at the Castetters and Kennys in Blair.

The Nielsens were married in 1896 and began farming 4 miles west of Ft. Calhoun. They lived there eight years. All grain and livestock were hauled to market in Omaha with a team of mules.

On this farm were born four boys - Chris Peter who married Freda Duffield, no children. (Chris is deceased and Freda lives is Fremont.) Axel married Martha Nelson. Their children are Don, Robert, Elaine, and Janet. (Axel is deceased and Martha lives in Blair). Alfred married Edna Andersen. Marian, Richard and Alfred Jr. were their children. (There was a second marriage to Mary Andersen and one boy Warren. Alfred and Mary live in Blair.) Carl married Frances Walrath. Their children were Marvin, Harriet, and Sharon. They live in Eugene, Oregon.

In 1904 Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen purchased an 80 with no buildings from the W. G. Harrison farm now owned by Hugh Renard. That winter Mr. Nielsen cut cottonwood logs from this place, hauling them to a sawmill set up at a grove at the Earl Thompson farm. Later he discovered the mill had been moved to the Blair Bridge. The lumber was to be for a house with outbuildings made of poles covered with straw and hay. In 1909 the outbuildings were destroyed by fire. All horses, hay, grain and chickens were lost. In 1910 it was rebuilt.

The house was then moved to Blair and remodeled as a living unit for the Good Shepherd Home in 1943. Then in 1974 it was sold at public auction and bought by son Gifford. It was moved a block west where it now stands. Gifford was born in this house and his daughter Marlene was born there also. On this same place two girls and one boy were born. Emma married Lester Hansen and they had 3 girls - Evelyn, Marguerite and Mary. The Hansens live in Blair.