This news clip came to me via a genealogy list to which I subscribe. Probably not anything new to the veterans of the Monon list but maybe somenone has not seen anything about this incident before.
Bedford (IN) Weekly Mail, December 23, 1898, p. 1.
BRIDGE WASHED OUT
Over Salt Creek at Seven O'clock Tuesday Morning
The recent rains have raised the creeks in this part of the county, and Salt
Creek especially is on a big "high." Piling was driven under the middle of
Salt Creek Bridge on the Monon, six miles north of town, some time ago to
make it bear the strain of the new 88-ton engines with safety while a new
bridge was put in. Monday night driftwood and floating trash lodged against
the piling in such quantities that it formed a sort of dam and brought a
great pressure to bear upon the structure when the ice broke up. About
three o'clock Tuesday morning four carloads of scabbled (sic) stone that
were in the Bedford yards, billed for New York City, were hastily run up and
place on the bridge to hold it down, if possible. At seven o'clock Tuesday
morning, the bridge was torn out by the pressure of the ice and water and
went down together with the four cars loaded with stone.
The five o'clock train from Chicago got over the bridge all right that
morning, but the accommodation was caught on the other side and did not make
its run.
