Rating:
6 votes
Old Railroad Bridge
Photos
Looking from Florence side by Dave Reasons (harley130).
The Old Railroad Bridge
Photo taken by Dave Reasons
BH Photo #168969
Description
One of the oldest combination vehicular and railroad bridges in Alabama, the Tennessee River Railroad Bridge played a significant role in the early agricultural and industrial development of the Tennessee Valley and specifically of the Quad-City area (Florence, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, Muscle Shoals). During the early part of the Civil War, it was of primary importance in transporting Confederate troops to the Battles of Shiloh and Corinth to various points strategic to the defense of Western Tennessee. After the bridge was rebuilt in 1870, its use was instrumental in recovery from Reconstruction. After the 1930's, it contributed to the prosperity engendered by creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority.-- Historic American Engineering Record
Facts
- Overview
- Warren through truss bridge over Tennessee River on Old Railroad Bridge Trail
- Location
- Florence, Lauderdale County, Alabama, and Colbert County, Alabama
- Status
- Open to pedestrians
- History
- Built 1893; Modified 1895, 1906, & 1962; Lift span relocated 1990
- Builders
- - Detroit Bridge Co. of Detroit, Michigan
- Edge Moor Bridge Works of Wilmington, Delaware
- Phoenix Bridge Co. of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
- Railroads
- - Alabama Power Co. (APOX)
- Commonwealth & Southern Corp.
- Memphis & Charleston Railroad
- Sheffield Company
- Sheffield Street Railway
- Southeastern Power & Light Co.
- Southern Railway (SOU)
- Streetcar
- Also called
- Southern - Tennessee River Bridge
NS - Tennessee River Bridge
M&C - Tennessee River Bridge - Approximate latitude, longitude
- +34.78178, -87.66835 (decimal degrees)
34°46'54" N, 87°40'06" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/438849/3849047 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Florence
- Inventory number
- BH 45572 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- November 5, 2016: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added category "Pin-connected"
- February 25, 2015: New photo from Douglas Butler
- February 24, 2015: Updated by Luke: Added cities & categories.
- January 10, 2012: Updated by J.P.: Added categories "HAER documented", "Memphis and Charleston Railroad", "Edge Moor Bridge Works", "Phoenix Bridge Co."
- August 3, 2011: New photos from Ben Tate
- August 22, 2010: New photos from James McCray
- July 2, 2010: New Street View added by Nathan Holth
- July 1, 2010: Added by Dave Reasons
Related Bridges
- NS - Wabash Bridge (1993) (Parts reused in) - Lift span reused
Sources
- Dave Reasons
- Nathan Holth
- James McCray - jamesinslocomb [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Library of Congress - Photos before the uplift span was removed
- Railroad Bridge Timeline
- Ben Tate - benji5221 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- HAER AL-204 - Tennessee River Railroad Bridge, Spanning Tennessee River at Alabama Highway 43, Florence, Lauderdale County, AL
- Douglas Butler
- Luke
- University of North Alabama - William Lindsey McDonald Image Collection - Imagery
Comments
Old Railroad Bridge
I added this railroad bridge to the Civil War category because it was burned down in 1862 by Confederates during the war. The Union army built a pontoon bridge to cross to the river there.
Here's a link to a drawing of the pontoon bridge being built:
http://travel.nostalgiaville.com/Alabama/florence/fl268.jpg
Here's what it looked like before being burned:
Old Railroad Bridge
I believe the Hannibal Mississippi River bridge's vertical lift span was moved from this bridge.
© Copyright 2021, Historic Bridge Foundation and contributors.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/al/lauderdale/old-railroad/
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/al/lauderdale/old-railroad/
The tumultuous history of this bridge.