The collection consists of one series.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
The collection consists of one bound album of photographs, documenting the construction of the Snake River Bridge from November, 1883 to December, 1883. The images depict machinery, piers, boats, and construction workers.
Northern Pacific Railroad Bridge Construction Photograph Album, 1883-1884, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection donated by Carter Rila, 1976.
Built from 1883-1884 by the Northern Pacific Railroad, the Northern Pacific Railroad Bridge crosses the Snake River just above the Columbia River, between Ainsworth, Washington and Burbank (also known as South Ainsworth), in Walla Walla County, Washington.
The bridge was made of iron and consisted of a 146-foot Pratt through-truss span, a 346-foot swinging drawspan, four 248-foot Pratt through-truss spans, and a 65-foot deck girder span. The first train crossed the Snake River in 1884 on the Northern Pacific Railroad's bridge at Ainsworth, a railroad construction town located at the junction of the Snake and Columbia Rivers. The completion of the bridge linked the Northern Pacific's transcontinental line directly to the Oregon Railway & Navigation track down the Columbia River to Portland, and ultimately to Puget Sound. The Northern Pacific reported the total cost of the bridge to be $1,135,743.
Peter J. Lewty,
Transferred to the Archives Center in 2007 from the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, now called the Division of Work and Industry.
Processed by Kristin Davidson (intern), April, 2011; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. The front cover of the album is not attached.