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  1. #1
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    Default Train Derailed on AT footbridge in Harpers Ferry

    A trail derailed at 3am this morning taking out the AT footbridge in Harpers Ferry
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater
    "Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011

  2. #2
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    News article, but not much info. Happened at 3am this morning. No injuries. Looking at the pictures posted on Facebook it looks like the footbridge will be closed for quite some time. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/l...b-25378fe8c425
    "Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011

  3. #3

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    Great. It will be quite a detour to get around that.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  4. #4

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    does anyone have a working link? both of those posted are dead....
    happy trails
    lucky luke

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  5. #5
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    Both links work for me. The one is a Facebook post from the Appalachian Trail Section Hiker page the other is from WUSA channel 9.
    "Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slo-go'en View Post
    Great. It will be quite a detour to get around that.
    I remember crossing the 340 bridge years ago (70's) but I can't recall how we got off the bridge and back down to the AT. I don't recall even hiking on the C&O back in those days. I guess you'd have to cross the 340 bridge into MD and get down to Sandy Hook Rd. You can defiantly get to the AT from Sandy Hook by crossing the Canal and tracks by the utility building just downstream from the bridge. I go that way to get to the HF Hostel on Sandy Hook Rd.
    "Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011

  7. #7
    Registered User Kaptainkriz's Avatar
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    Twitter feed with some good photos: https://twitter.com/vbagate/status/1208367541976027137
    Plaid is fast! Ticks suck, literally... It’s ok, bologna hoses off…
    Follow my hiking adventures: https://www.youtube.com/user/KrizAkoni
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  8. #8
    I plan, therefore I am Strategic's Avatar
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    The pictures don't actually look too bad (except for the train cars in the river.) A small section of the footbridge near the West Virginia side is out, but it should be relatively easy to restore, since the main train bridge it's attached to seems to be intact. It will be closed for a while, but I suspect it will be reopened by the time most thruhikers hit the area in 2020. Thank goodness this all happened at 3am when no one was out there.
    Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
    Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

  9. #9
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    I agree on it being repaired fairly soon. No main supports or piers into the water were compromised, the pedestrian bridge is held up by angled supports to the train bridge. It's also used by way more tourists then thru hikers and is an attraction so I imagine they'd want to get on that pretty quick.
    NoDoz
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    I'm just one too many mornings and 1,000 miles behind

  10. #10
    Registered User colorado_rob's Avatar
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    Just out of curiosity, if they do NOT get it fixed by this spring, what would be an alternative? Ahhh, I may see it, the hike back over the Shenandoah River, walk parallel to US340 east, then over the Sandy hook bridge? Can pedestrians cross that one?

  11. #11
    ME => GA 19AT3 rickb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by colorado_rob View Post
    Just out of curiosity, if they do NOT get it fixed by this spring, what would be an alternative? Ahhh, I may see it, the hike back over the Shenandoah River, walk parallel to US340 east, then over the Sandy hook bridge? Can pedestrians cross that one?
    Not 100% sure, but I think that was the route when I walked by in 1983.

  12. #12
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    If my memory is correct the AT used to follow the Loudoun Heights trail and then cross the 340 bridge into Sandy Hook. The trail was relocated into Harpers Ferry about 35 years ago I think.

  13. #13

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    Could anyone who is local, supply us with close ups of the AT bridge? (When you can do so safely.) BTW, how do they clear up a mess like this? Lots of cranes or something else?

  14. #14
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    I'm sure some enterprising individual will offer a boat ride for a small fee...

  15. #15

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    When this bridge was being repaired this year during my thru the ATC had a shuttle going from one side to the other, and there was not really a problem moving on. As noted, there are other routes to the trail around this section, but the shuttle meant that you could stay on the current AT route without delay.
    Renais
    Trail name Catnapper

  16. #16
    Furlough's Avatar
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    From the ATC Website:
    Just before 4 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2019, a CSX train derailed from the bridge crossing the Potomac River at Harpers Ferry. There were no injuries or hazardous materials involved in the derailment. CSX is fielding calls about this incident by phone at 1.800.232.0144.
    The derailment affects access to parts of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Chesapeake & Ohio National Historical Park, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (A.T.). The following information details closures and impacts on visitor access.

    • The footbridge attached to the CSX bridge is indefinitely closed.
    • Park users will be unable to cross between Harpers Ferry and C&O Canal towpath.
    • Park users will be unable to cross from Harpers Ferry to the Maryland Heights trail.
    • A.T. hikers with immediate need for transport between Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and Weverton Road, Maryland should arrange for shuttles. Hikers are not advised to walk on Highway 340 to cross into Maryland, as this roadway has narrow shoulders and heavy traffic. Information about available transportation options can be found at appalachiantrail.org/transportation.


    Other areas of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, such as The Point and John’s Brown Fort, are closed temporarily because of proximity to the derailment. These areas will reopen once cleanup and assessment are complete.
    We will update appalachiantrail.org/updates as more information becomes available.

    Furlough
    "Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour

  17. #17
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
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    This sucks what a shame. Highway 340 is a very dangerous road indeed do not attempt.

  18. #18
    Is it raining yet?
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    Be Prepared

  19. #19

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    I've done four hikes out of HF in recent years - 2 NOBO and 2 SOBO. I think I'm done with HF for a while. Bit of a bummer for everyone else though. At least it's winter and hiker traffic is low. Maybe it will be fixed in time for the April Flip-flop.
    Follow slogoen on Instagram.

  20. #20
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
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    According to the ATC website furlough posted above the foot bridge attached will be permanently closed. Living close I've been across that thing many times in the past 30 years.

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