Quote:
Originally Posted by
Slo-go'en
Just found out Google Earth street view lets you walk across the bridge :)This confirmed that there are stone pillers for a bridge which used to cross the river, just off to the side of the current tracks. Two of which are still intact and two which are gone. I was pretty sure I had noticed them when I crossed last year. Rather then repair the current walkway, maybe it would be better to build a new foot bridge on the old pillers. These likely date to before the Civil war, so could be of historical significant to restore. But then, it did cost a million dollars to covert an existing RR bridge into a foot path over the James River in VA.
A little more research from the structure magazine finds - Those are the remains of the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Bridge orginally built in 1839. A Bollman style Bridge, was erected in 1852, blew up by the Confederates in 1861, it was rebuilt and destroyed several times by both sides during the Civil War. In 1868 it was entirely rebuilt using Bollman iron trusses. Then finally destroyed by the flood of 1936.
Harper’s Ferry Bridge post 1868 from Maryland side, C&O Canal in foreground.
https://www.structuremag.org/wp-cont...-2-300x233.jpg
The flood of 1936. Showing the Bollman bridge gone, and the 2 remaining bridges weighted down with coal cars to help keep them in place. At the time of the flood the bridge was being used as toll bridge for wagons and vehicles.
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9hod0GfRG...GAs/s640/2.png