Special Places | Part 5
Rivers and Area Infrastructure
Related Collection: Special Places
Bell’s Crossing
Construction Date: 1908
Origins:
On the McFadden farm
Features:
- Abandoned in favour of a trestle overpass for vehicle traffic
- Bell Crossing was an important crossing over the C.N. Main Line on the main road between Brandon and Rivers. The site is visible alongside the modern overpass.
- Because of the curve as the tracks bend towards Grant’s Cut and the crossing of the Little Saskatchewan River, a battery-operated bell alerted drivers that a train was coming.
- In 1937, the town applied to the railway commissioners for an overhead bridge at Bell Crossing
- C.J. Collingwood – first car across
Location: SW 18-12-20
Community: Rivers
More Info: Bell’s Crossing
CN Rail Bridge
Construction Date: 1908
Origins:
- 1908 – Original G.P.P. Bridge
- 1918 – 1923 – Much of the original trestlewas filled in
- 1924 – Exposed wood trestles replaced with iron, with only minor interruptions to service
- 2008 Extensive repairs
Features:
- Grand Trunk Pacific
- Note from “The Story of Rivers p 50:
- In 1915, a railway engineer died when his freight train crashed at the 115-foot-high Minnewaska Bridge recently removed by a cyclone
- Big Fill started in 1923 over what was then the longest trestle bridge in Western Canada
Community: Rivers
More Info: CN Rail Bridge
Grant’s Cut
Construction Date: 1908
Origins:
- Grand Trunk Pacific
- Railway right-of-way, to facilitate a gentle grade for the approach to the crossing of the Little Saskatchewan.
Location: NE 13-12-21
Community: Rivers
More Info: Grant’s Cut
Rumble Bridge
Construction Date: 1944
Origins:
- First bridge ca. 1911 – reportedly “unsafe”
- 1944 – upgraded
Features:
“The concrete footings about 200 yards west of the present bridge on Highway 25 are the footings of the former bridge. That road was the main route to Brandon and all points to the south and east, so everyone in the community crossed it often. And to get to Rivers — and to get to school for me — we had to cross it every day. (Except in the winter when, with a horse-drawn cutter, van, or sleigh, we crossed on the river ice straight south of Rivers.) The deck on the bridge was made of heavy wooden planks sitting crossways in a steel frame. But they weren’t fastened in any way — they just sat loose in the frame. So, when a vehicle crossed the bridge, the planks “rumbled” quite loudly, so the bridge became known as the ‘Rumble Bridge’ or the ‘Thunder Bridge’. “ — Courtesy Don McFadden
Community: Rivers
More Info: Rumble Bridge
Rivers Dam
Construction Date: 1959
Origins:
Major project with significant recreational and water control implications for a large area
Location: W 19-12-20
Community: Rivers
More Info: Rivers Dam
Rivers Roundhouse Site
Construction Date: 1909
Origins:
- Grand Trunk Pacific
- Bought by Structural Fabricators in 1961
- Only foundations remain
Community: Rivers
More Info: Rivers Roundhouse Site
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Dam, Pumphouse and Intake Site
Construction Date: 1908
Origins:
- Grand Trunk Pacific
- A dam was erected and water pumped from here to the rail yards for steam engines.
- Some interior structural / foundation elements remain
Features:
Only foundations remain
Community: Rivers
More Info: Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Dam, Pumphouse and Intake Site
Cossar Crossing
Construction Date: 1902
Origins:
- Bridge on CPR RR line running from Brandon (Chater) to Lenore, through Forrest, Wheatland, and Bradwardine.
Established Wheatland as a commercial centre until it was supplanted by Rivers when the Grand Trunk established its line there. - Both railway lines found advantageous crossings of the Little Saskatchewan in this part of the valley.
Location: SE 23-12-21
Community: Rivers
More Info: Cossar Crossing