Love the atmosphere! PC vote from me.
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The author says in Remarks & Notes, "Although it is double tracked, only one train can cross it at a time." This is incorrect! I originally hired out on the C&NW on January 27, 1973. I retired from Union Pacific on May 17, 2021. I worked freight trains between Chicago and Clinton, IA my entire career. The only time that I can recall we were ever restricted to one train at a time on the MRB was during the massive floods and high water on the Mississippi River caused by persistent, heavy rains in May of 1993. The C&NW MRB was the only railroad bridge that remained open for traffic during that time from south of St. Paul, MN all the way to Memphis, TN. Amtrak, AT&SF, BN, IC, and IMRL (I think they were the company running over the old CMStP&P at that time) were all detouring over our EW mainline. The water level came up to six or eight inches below the bridge and C&NW was about to shut it down if it got any higher. The company was very afraid to run two trains over the bridge at the same time in addition to the high water and heavy river current. Other than that, we were NEVER restricted to running one train at a time over the MRB. My trains passed opposing trains hundreds and hundreds of times over the years I was working. After Union Pacific bi-directionalized the current of traffic on both main tracks in the late 1990s, I rode parallel to another train on the bridge at the same time on both tracks in both directions. So NO, other than May of 1993, there was never any restriction like that.
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