I had JUST snapped a picture of the railroad bridge feeding Penford Products and moved the camera to take a picture of a building and heard a big rumble. I looked back and the bridge was gone. I got to see a lot of debris floating downstream. Here is the before and after-shot 15 seconds apart.
JUST before bridge collapsed.
Gallery
Railroad Bridge Collapse
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says ... on Tuesday, Oct 6 at 9:14 PM
dont blame bush go out and help
says ... on Sunday, Oct 5 at 3:14 PM
Hello!!!!!!!
says ... on Monday, Jun 16 at 1:22 PM
I was privileged to work with Penford from 1986 - 1993 (yes was there for last flood) & responsible for dealing with Crandic RY on a daily basis. This was SOP. Collapse is a real blow to both fine organizations and to the wonderful history of C.R
says ... on Monday, Jun 16 at 11:25 AM
you can see the bridge going down in the first pic. but it is no ones fault this happened. funny to blame bush tho! he probably doesnt know what a flood even is!!!
says ... on Sunday, Jun 15 at 9:41 PM
I didn't realize it was President Bush's fault this happened until I read the posts here. Well W.......it's time to show Iowan's the money. You have the opportunity to either be a hero, or you can continue business as usual......
says ... on Sunday, Jun 15 at 7:46 PM
It is sad to see a piece of Cedar Rapids History crumble My heart goes out to all of my Cedar rapidins My family has been affected greatly. Four of Five children are out of their homes. God Bless
says ... on Sunday, Jun 15 at 12:47 PM
Im with Matt, Bush had something to do with this!
says ... on Sunday, Jun 15 at 10:16 AM
Why don't we blame the original settlers for establishing this town on the river? People make decisions quickly in times of emergency. Sometimes they get it right and are called heros' and sadly, sometimes they get it wrong and are called idiots.
says ... on Sunday, Jun 15 at 6:00 AM
wooooooooow!!! that is so amazing! it is the power of mother nature!
says ... on Sunday, Jun 15 at 5:38 AM
We've had KCRG running full time on our second office computer here in Denver. We are sickened by mother nature's wrath. My grandpa taught me how to skim rocks beneath that bridge in the early 50's. Thank you for these historic photos. God Bless.
says ... on Saturday, Jun 14 at 7:14 PM
very good pictures!! good job!! Thanks to EVERYONE who has volenteerd and have helped out in this tragedy!! There are to many people to list. It is HUGELY appreciated!! My heart goes out to all that has been affected by this. God Bless.
says ... on Saturday, Jun 14 at 4:01 PM
I THINK SOME OF YOU PEOPLE NEED TO GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF THE CLOUDS. IT IS NOT PRES. BUSH'S FAULT. IT IS AN ACT OF NATURE. FLOODS AND STORMS HAPPEN EVERYDAY. NO ONE IS TOO BLAME. THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON OR TWO. THANK GOODNESS FOR PEOPLE WHO CARE.
says ... on Saturday, Jun 14 at 11:29 AM
thank for taking the time to take this picture it just shows how much force the river has. i can't beleave that there are some people that want to blame someone for mother nature.
says ... on Saturday, Jun 14 at 11:21 AM
Wow! The awesome power of mother nature!
says ... on Saturday, Jun 14 at 11:04 AM
These are some good pic of the brigde. thank you for taking the time to share them. but for you people that want to blame penford for something that they had nothing to do with the brigde or the rain is just stupid on your part. i work for penford
says ... on Saturday, Jun 14 at 1:39 AM
Great shot man! You actually did catch the bridge, in the early stage of collapsing. Your picture shows how the bridge has buckled and started to twist!
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 9:53 PM
I blame George Bush for this!
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 9:41 PM
Dude! The bridge was in the process of collapsing!!! What a shot! You can see it is leaning down stream in your first picture. Depending on where you were, it may have taken the rumbling you heard a few seconds to reach your ears, by then, no bridge.
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 9:02 PM
Dad, thanks for sharing your pics. I knew we could count on you to record this historic event for us. It is so sad to see this happening to the wonderful people in our hometown. God bless you, Cedar Rapids!
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 6:06 PM
God bless you all..... !!!
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 3:33 PM
you people need to realize we are in a time of crisis. this isnt the time for blame. hundreds of people need the community's help. stop wasting your time here and help someone in need.
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 1:17 PM
Penford must really be evil. They made it rain, and then made it flood, and probably started Global Warming! They should be stopped before they cause the downfall of civilization. Or maybe things just happen.
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 12:09 PM
Idiot! the loaded railcars are placed on the bridge to keep it from being washed away.
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 7:51 AM
Thats a shame those railroad cars were on the bridge to catch the water and put more stress on the bridge. You can really see the bridge flexing before it finally went. Thanks for sharing the pictures...
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 7:00 AM
thats nice place blame in time emergency. it wasnt penfords idea it belongs to the rail company. the fact that you make somebody take the blame for anything that is completly out of anyones hands shows some large stupidity on your part.
says ... on Friday, Jun 13 at 3:22 AM
To be honest,Penford should take responsibilty for a river that now has a dam where the bridge was.It will cause worse flooding and make the flooding that much more slower in receeding.The bridge WAS'NT worth it.Still excellent photo tho....
says ... on Thursday, Jun 12 at 8:19 PM
my dad saw it live it was really cool but sad
says ... on Thursday, Jun 12 at 6:25 PM
WOW, Thats wicked! I am glad my dad retired from working on the railroad. Our prayers are with everyone in Iowa and the other states that are also suffering from the floods. God be with all of us and others.
says ... on Thursday, Jun 12 at 5:28 PM
Thanks for sharing the pictures...this is astonishing
says ... on Thursday, Jun 12 at 3:48 PM
That sucks!!
says ... on Thursday, Jun 12 at 3:25 PM
Great photos.
says ... on Thursday, Jun 12 at 1:56 PM
WOW! It doesn't look real. How devastating for Cedar Rapids. We all need to pray for the homeowners, business owners and friends affected by this flood. Let's rally behind our beautiful city and help each other.....
says ... on Thursday, Jun 12 at 1:43 PM
How crazy was it to actually see this happen right in front of you! Thanks for taking these pictures and sharing them with us all.
says ... on Thursday, Jun 12 at 1:29 PM
Hey, those are nice pictures. I guess you were in the right place at the right time, to get those pictures I mean.
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