Tag Archives: trestle

Rushing Water Under Tokul Trestle

Tokul Creek Gorge is the waterway that runs under the trestle at Tokul.  With the heavy rains that had been falling in advance of my visit, the creek was flowing heavily.  The trestle is a long way above the water so it was not easy to get a good look at it but I did try and get some shots.  I also had a go at getting some video.

Tokul Trestle Bridge

The thing that attracted me to a stroll along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail was the presence of an old railway trestle bridge.  Known as the Tokul Trestle, it seemed to be on a curve over a deep valley based on what I could see on Google Maps.  What I didn’t know was how much you could see of it from either side.  Only one way to find out I guess.

It wasn’t a terribly long walk from where I had parked the car to get to the trestle.  When you don’t know a route, it always feels a bit longer but walking back seems a far shorter journey.  Since the trestle was on a curve and the route was very tree lined, it was pretty much out of sight until I was nearly upon it.  The majority of the trestle seems pretty old but there is a center section that seems to be more modern.  Of course, that could have been there for ages and the whole bridge was maybe restored when the trail was being created.  If I had done some research, I might have been able to tell you!

The curve of the bridge is quite gradual and, as I had wondered, the approaches are tree lined which makes getting too much of an angle on the bridge tricky.  A drone would be a very handy thing for getting a broader view of the bridge or being down on the river bed below.  Not sure who owns that but there is a firing range down there somewhere which I could hear along part of the walk.  You can get down on the sides of the bridge at each end to get a bit more of a view of the structure and I did check that out.  Since I was alone in an area without much cellphone reception, though, I didn’t get too adventurous.

There is something about trestle bridges that really fascinates me.  They seem quintessentially American to me.  In the UK, rail bridges of old are either iron or brick.  They look impressive too and make for great photo subjects.  However, the trestle is something that evokes images of old steam locos crossing the country with wide flared smokestacks.  The idea that they are still around and in good working order continues to surprise me.

Old Trestle at Whatcom Falls

A railroad used to run through what is now Whatcom Falls Park.  While the tracks have now gone, a trestle bridge across the water still remains.  I may have lived in the US a long time now, the presence of trestle bridges still fascinates me.  They have a look of Victorian railroads about them but many have survived.  In the UK, old bridges are either iron or brick with multiple arches.  The trestles have a distinctly American feel to them.

There were some barriers around the end of the bridge while we were there.  Checking out some photos online, it looks like the rails used to be suspended across some of the space.  Maybe these have been removed to stop people getting up there.  Fortunately, the majority of the bridge is still intact.  I wonder what happened to the track bed.  The rails are visible up on the top with ties (sleepers) between them but no support which suggests. Train would have had a rough ride.  There must have been more there at some point.

Albion’s Trestle Bridge

wpid8532-C59F1609.jpgAlbion was our resting place for the trip to Mendocino and it has an interesting feature itself.  It is the last remaining wood trestle bridge on the Pacific Coast Highway.  It is quite a height between the river and the road so this is quite an impressive structure.  Of course, I wanted to get some shots of it.  From where we were staying, we had a view of the bridge.  However, we were on the coastal side of the bridge so it was in shadow in the morning and in the evening, at least by the time we got back, the sun was below the headland so it was in shadow again.

wpid8505-C59F1434.jpgOne morning I did head down to the river to see if that provided a good shot.  Unfortunately, the area is a campsite so getting access was difficult.  I did go back up on the hills looking down and got a better view but the campsite is a little distracting in this view.  My best effort was an oblique look along the bridge from the road leading down to the river.  A little frustrating photographically but very cool to see anyway.

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