Railroad Bridges

[Alps]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Kill_Vertical_Lift_Bridge

The largest vertical lift bridge in the world. Newark NJ

Oddly I was just talking with someone about rail service on Staten Island.  Interesting to know that it's been re-established.

[realjd]

I'm partial to the Bahia Honda Bridge in the Keys. When they converted it from a rail bridge to a highway bridge, the road wouldn't fit inside the truss structure so they actually build the highway on top of the old railroad trusses.




Click the image thumbnail, then the magnifying glass icon for much higher res images.

[agentsteel53]

was it ever used for both railroad and cars at the same time?

[hm insulators]

was it ever used for both railroad and cars at the same time?

It was originally a railroad, built about the time of World War I. In 1935, the Labor Day Hurricane, with winds gusting over 200 mph, slammed into the Keys and tore the railroad to shreds; a rescue train that had been sent over from Miami was overturned by the storm. The original Overseas Highway then replaced the railroad.

[realjd]

was it ever used for both railroad and cars at the same time?

As hm insulators said, nope. The railroad didn't have the money to fix it after the hurricane, and the FEC railroad line was truncated to Miami. FDOT decided to rebuild it as a highway. Most of the old rail bridges in the Keys were stone arch or other open-top designs so they were able to cantilever a wider roadway onto the rail supports.

In the years since, most of the old converted rail bridges were bypassed by modern highway bridges, but you can still see them running parallel to US1. They've functioned as fishing piers until recently, and are currently being refurbished and reopened as a multi-use path.

The 7-mile bridge just west (south on US1) of Marathon is another great example. What's cool about this bridge is that they switched construction methods part-way through. One side is stone arch and the other side is steel. In the google maps link below you can clearly see the old roadway cantilevered onto the rail structure.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=24.689545,-81.202784&spn=0.007253,0.009645&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=24.689641,-81.202448&panoid=_v5F-zrJRiq0TZQYwu2OeA&cbp=12,355.76,,0,4.62

[Alps]

was it ever used for both railroad and cars at the same time?

As hm insulators said, nope. The railroad didn't have the money to fix it after the hurricane, and the FEC railroad line was truncated to Miami. FDOT decided to rebuild it as a highway. Most of the old rail bridges in the Keys were stone arch or other open-top designs so they were able to cantilever a wider roadway onto the rail supports.

In the years since, most of the old converted rail bridges were bypassed by modern highway bridges, but you can still see them running parallel to US1. They've functioned as fishing piers until recently, and are currently being refurbished and reopened as a multi-use path.

The 7-mile bridge just west (south on US1) of Marathon is another great example. What's cool about this bridge is that they switched construction methods part-way through. One side is stone arch and the other side is steel. In the google maps link below you can clearly see the old roadway cantilevered onto the rail structure.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=24.689545,-81.202784&spn=0.007253,0.009645&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=24.689641,-81.202448&panoid=_v5F-zrJRiq0TZQYwu2OeA&cbp=12,355.76,,0,4.62

I have photos of many of the bridges on my site - www.alpsroads.net/roads/fl/us_1/k.html

[realjd]

I have photos of many of the bridges on my site - www.alpsroads.net/roads/fl/us_1/k.html

Cool, thanks!

One note - the gaps in the old bridges were often provided to permit taller boat traffic, not necessarily always to block access to the old bridge portions.

[rte66man]

My favorite is the Harahan Bridge across the Mississippi at Memphis. Built ca 1897, at one time it had a road hanging off the side of it. You can still see the road approaches on the Arkansas side from I-55.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=memphis,+tn&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=34.038806,56.337891&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Memphis,+Shelby,+Tennessee&ll=35.135054,-90.084844&spn=0.00429,0.006877&t=k&z=17

My Dad remembers times when it caught fire from sparks from the trains. Apparently, the planks were heavily soaked in creosote. I will have to dig out my photos and get them posted.

[froggie]

My favorite is the Harahan Bridge across the Mississippi at Memphis. Built ca 1897, at one time it had a road hanging off the side of it. You can still see the road approaches on the Arkansas side from I-55.

On this note, entities in Tennessee and Arkansas are studying and negotiating with Union Pacific to see if one of the road overhangs on the Harahan Bridge can be rehabilitated and used as a bike/ped path.

[Jordanah1]

they are working on replacing the overtruss swing bridge built in 1899 across the fox river in Oshkosh WI, with a new draw bridge.

[Stephane Dumas]

There the Victoria bridge in Montreal, built in 1859, rebuilt as a truss bridge in 1898 and having a road path in 1901 but the southern approach was remade during the construction of the St. Lawrence seaway in 1958-59.

[Alps]

I have photos of many of the bridges on my site - www.alpsroads.net/roads/fl/us_1/k.html

Cool, thanks!

One note - the gaps in the old bridges were often provided to permit taller boat traffic, not necessarily always to block access to the old bridge portions.

I do (grudgingly) acknowledge that on the 7 mile bridge page. 

[SteveG1988]

NJ transit is planning on restarting service over the paulins kill viaduct, (found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulinskill_Viaduct ) and also the Delaware River Viaduct of similar design ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_River_Viaduct ) with service to near scranton. Rail has already been laid to reconstruct these lines.

[Alps]

NJ transit is planning on restarting service over the paulins kill viaduct, (found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulinskill_Viaduct ) and also the Delaware River Viaduct of similar design ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_River_Viaduct ) with service to near scranton. Rail has already been laid to reconstruct these lines.

I was up on that bridge not too long ago (there's a trail), so it's interesting to think that in the not too distant future people will be once again prohibited. Then again, there are ways up for those who know 8)

[Takumi]

1914 railroad bridge over Golf Course Drive in Prince George County, Virginia.

[D-Dey65]

I forget whether I asked this question before, but what was that former railroad bridge over I-85 in South Carolina that's at the bottom of a hill completley surrounded by some stipped forest?

[lepidopteran]

An example of an impressive "Erector Set" bridge may be found crossing the Monongahela River in Belle Vernon, PA.  It runs right alongside I-70, about midway between Washington, PA and New Stanton.  A second rail bridge curves under it on the east bank, and a ground-level track runs under it to the west.   Just the kind of stuff model railroaders like to duplicate.

http://goo.gl/maps/jqcGB

[hobsini2]

I always liked the lift bridges on and along Torrence Ave on the south side of Chicago at Lake Calumet.
The one that is very rusty with the lift up was the railroad bridge with the roadway next to it.
http://bridgehunter.com/photos/24/00/240015-M.jpg

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR7Dp0dpbPLeoNR5TCLSFWqpRYhZ8LQSYFTS25gqHcrSad43BWpww

There is also a new one of the South Shore Line going over Torrence at 130th St that is still under construction. Google has not updated it yet but it is replacing this one: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Torrence+Avenue+Chicago&aq=&sll=41.872218,-87.947792&sspn=1.24349,2.334595&vpsrc=6&t=h&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Torrence+Ave,+Chicago,+Cook,+Illinois+60633&ll=41.659383,-87.559276&spn=0.019494,0.036478&z=15&cbll=41.658799,-87.559293&panoid=q7qrmDO9Fo9jVCUIx76Odg&cbp=12,180,,0,2.54&ei=Xe17UeKsFanqwQHZxIDQAg&pw=2

For this one: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wnyc.org/i/raw/1/transportation201208Chicago-truss-bridge-big--600x401.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/transportation-nation/2012/aug/27/largest-truss-bridge-moved-while-fully-assembled-chicago/&h=401&w=600&sz=81&tbnid=Wih_E4w9Fqe-oM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=132&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dimages%2Bof%2BTorrence%2BAvenue%2Bat%2B130th%2BSt,%2BChicago%2BIL%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=images+of+Torrence+Avenue+at+130th+St,+Chicago+IL&usg=__intgxEubU4vMuKoIdrHZjuV8Eyw=&docid=-mP8eQ5Mx7zO6M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ROt7UdP6Daic2QX3uYCACQ&ved=0CDYQ9QEwAg&dur=455

[ghYHZ]

The Howley Lift Bridge on CN's abandoned narrow-gauge Newfoundland Railway.

[busman_49]

just outside Medina, Ohio:
riverstyxrdmedina_0511b by Ryan busman_49, on Flickr

[lepidopteran]

Another rail/road combo, with the road on the lower level as a single lane:  Androscoggin River Railroad Bridge in Maine.

There are at least two like that over the Ohio River leading south from Cincinnati.

One is the C&O Bridge alongside the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, where the railroad and highway cross on the same piers, but different trusses!  The railroad is still in use, and the road carries US-25 (ends on the Ohio side?), US-42, and US-127. 

The other is the L&N Bridge, now known as the pedestrian-only "Purple People" bridge.  This one seems to be primarily a highway bridge, but with a freight rail corridor on the east side.  The railroad stopped using this bridge back in 1987 for several reasons: (1) On the Newport, KY side, freight trains literally ran down the middle of Saratoga St. (the tracks have since been removed, and replaced with a curbed, grassy median) (2) On the Ohio side, there was apparently a tight curve where freight cars sometimes toppled. (3) CSX had consolidated their two rail divisions:  Seaboard System (which included L&N) and Chessie System (which included C&O), so they switched all traffic to the safer C&O bridge.  I wonder, did this bridge also lead to those mysterious rail overpasses across I-71 in downtown Cincy, thus explaining why they're unused?

I think the famed Roebling Bridge once carried trolleys.