Tulip Trestle

Scoop47501

Active Member
2012 Site Supporter
Joined
Sep 3, 2011
Messages
414
Location
Washington, Indiana
Took a short trip to find this old trestle near Bloomfield , Indiana.
Build in 1906 and still active today.
Stands about 140 feet tall at it's highest point and over one half mile long.
The largest in the country and 3rd largest in the world
I thought it was pretty cool.

 

timothy.davis

Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Jun 22, 2012
Messages
89
Location
Bloomington Indiana
Back in the late sixties and early seventies the advent of nylon rope was revolutionizing vertical caving. The 500+ foot deep pit in the US and the 1200+ foot deep pits of Mexico were now doable. The Tulip Trestle was an ideal training platform. Back in those days it had stations the jutted out from either side all the way across. These were convenient platforms for waiting out a passing train and for rigging climbing ropes. There was one just above where you have your bikes parked. We used to tie a pulley to that one and run one end of a fifteen hundred foot length of 7/16 Blue water II static caving rope through it. Two people would climb the rope, tandem, and as they climbed the rope would be fed through the pulley. In this manner we could do about thirteen hundred feet of climbing in preparation for the deep pits down south. We used to climb the structure by where your bikes are parked. At the top, under the tracks, between the I beams, a 4" X 12" board walkway ran the length of the trestle. There was a 1/2 " steel cable you could clip into for safety while navigating this walkway. We used to lower a rope down to the middle of the gravel road and tie it off to the walkway. We would then take the bottom end of the rope and walk about twenty feet up the side of the hill leading to the top of the trestle. We would then tie a knot in the bottom of the rope to attach our seat slings. This made for one of the best swings I have ever encountered. We used to have lines of local people who were passing by want to give it a try. It was nothing to see a couple dozen people climbing on the trestle during a weekend and several dozen observers standing about. The laws have changed, the stations have been cut off, and it's against the law to be on the trestle these days. There is an old access road that leads to the top that starts in a nearby farmer's field. The top of the trestle used to be accessible by motorcycle utilizing this road. Now only a very foolish, possible young and foolish, person would ever try riding a bike across the trestle. The gap between the ties is about four inches and would make for a bumpy ride. Then you have the standard gage rails with the small gage maintenance track running the length. The fact that there is no guard rail and over one hundred and forty feet tall would make attempting this rank up there with one of the stupidest things a person could attempt. I would assume one would probably have to maintain about 30 MPH to float the tires. If you follow the gravel road that runs under the trestle West until it intersects with a blacktop road. At that intersection turn right and immediately take the next right. This will be a small, decaying, blacktop, one lane road heading up a hill. Follow this till you see the house with all the yard art. They have a dragon that’s probably ten feet long made out silverware. The Tulip Trestle is in Solsberry Indiana, there is a very similar one in Salisbury Mills New York, Moodna trestle. There was also a similar structure in Pennsylvania that was partially destroyed by a tornado, Kinzua Viaduct
 

yz454

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2012
Messages
315
Location
Newberg ,Or
Call me wild but If ridden on tracks and trestles on my s10 even over I 5 in Portland. When traffic is bad I get creative .
 
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