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Old Bridge Is A Real Swinger - Built In 1898 For Railroad
Like The Captain Of A Ship . . . Axtell can watch the comings and goings along his stretch of the Missouri River from the observation deck near the control house. An excursion boat passes by as he watches for other traffic.
Old Bridge Is A Real Swinger - Built In 1898 For Railroad
Opening The East Draw . . . is a noisy business as the 255-foot span swings to allow river traffic through. Here the west span remains closed. A series of gears and two motors completes the turning process.
Old Bridge Is A Real Swinger - Built In 1898 For Railroad
Although It's Busy . . . when a boat or train comes by, many lonely hours are spent reading or just watching the river for H.J. Axtell, 1518 Avenue J, day bridge engineer. A phone is his only company.
Old Bridge Is A Real Swinger - Built In 1898 For Railroad
Well-Worn Steps . . . are climbed by the bridge engineer before and after each bridge opening. Rails are loosened downstairs, switches pulled, and motors energized upstairs.
Old Bridge Is A Real Swinger - Built In 1898 For Railroad
From The Nebraska Side . . . of the drawbridge it is easy to see why it takes 10 to 15 minutes to swing it open. The towboat Davey Crockett pushes a dredging outfit owned by Pentzine Co. of Omaha. Between March 3 and June 24, 213 boats passed through…
Old Bridge Is A Real Swinger - Built In 1898 For Railroad
Tugboat And Barges Swish Downstream . . . and are framed by the east span of the Illinois Central Railroad's drawbridge north of Council Bluffs. Heavy wheels just above the main gear at left, carry the weight of the two, 522-foot spans or "draws".…
Old Bridge Is A Real Swinger
Oiling The Gears . . . in the bridge operating house is Bernardo Benavides, 2000 Fourth Ave., who has been working on the bridge for many years. Power for the swing starts in the operating house and is transmitted to the turntables through heavy…
Old Bridge Is A Real Swinger
Many Wheels . . . allow the bulky swing sections to turn on the piers that rest on bedrock. Illinois Central Trainmaster John Moran explained that the weight of the 75 foot wide bridge is not known.
Old Bridge Is A Real Swinger
The Illinois Central Missouri River swing bridge is one of only three of its type in the United States and has been serving the railroad since 1893. The first swing span was built on the Iowa side in 1893, but a change in the river channel forced the…
Old Boomer Hall Has Its Own Issue
Boomer Township Hall . . . was opened to voters again Tuesday as it has been in every election for more than a century. Located northeast of Honey Creek, it was originally a two-story structure until a tornado took off the top nearly 60 years ago.
Old Boomer Hall Has Its Own Issue
Warming His Feet . . . in front of the old wood-burning stove in Boomer Township Hall during Tuesday's election is Fred George, township clerk, while Chester Driver, voting judge at the hall, stokes the stove with a walnut log.
Old bones pose no threat
The state archeologist will be asked to investigate human skeletal remains discovered protruding from a bank east of Council Bluffs. Pictures is a ribcage. Remains of at least two people may have been buried during Mormon migrations through this…
Old Bluffs school is just fading away
Third Street School...was the original name for the old building. The date 1884 is cut in stone over the main entrance.
Old Bluffs school is just fading away
A Framing Plank...is wrestled from the first floor by Bob Riche as seen through a broken window. The lumber will probably wind up in a farm building.
Old Blockhouse, Fort and Mission
Etching of a sketch by George Simons showing the Blockhouse, converted into a mission by Pierre-Jean De Smet.
Old Bell Moved To New Station -- As A Memorial
From Its Cupola . . . atop Central Fire Station, the heavy bell is lowered to a waiting truck.
Old Beer Cans Get New Life
Weighing In Salvage Beer Cans . . . is Tom Spetman, Route 3, sales manager for K and K Distributing Co. Consumers who bring in aluminum cans for recycling are paid 15 cents a pound, nearly double the price at local junk yards. The aluminum cans are…
Old Beer Cans Get New Life
At Recycling Collection Center . . .bag after bag of crushed beer cans are unloaded from an auto by Les Kelly, 604 Wilson Ave., driver-salesman for K and K, Mike Blanchard of Atlantic and Gary Popp of Atlantic. The collection center is at 925 S. 6th…
Old Beer Cans Get New Life
Iowa consumers turned in 4.6 million beer cans and bottles in 1974 for recycling by the Olympia Brewing Company. They received $58,880 for their efforts. In Council Bluffs, K and K Distibuting Co. President Roy Rolfe said that results are expected to…
Old Auditorium Said 'Ouch!'
School Children Imagine
"Hello There . . . I'm what's left of the City Auditorium". So wrote Robert Acklie, a Washington School sixth-grader, when he was an auditorium-for-a-day as an essay assignment. Bob is the son of Mrs. Genevieve Acklie of 179 Wendover Drive, and Leroy…