Southern Railroad Drawbridge
Photos
Railroad Drawbridge
2 railroads share this common drawbridge over the Tennessee River.
Photo taken by Calvin Sneed in December 2008
BH Photo #131013
Description
Both CSX and Norfolk Southern share this common Tennessee River crossing. Norfolk Southern owns the tracks and the bridge, and leases space to CSX for its crossing.Facts
- Overview
- Vertical Lift Drawbridge over Tennessee River in Decatur
- Location
- Decatur, Limestone County, Alabama, and Morgan County, Alabama
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- First bridge built on this spot was burned during the Civil War, replaced with a pontoon bridge. A swing bridge was built in 1885, and it was replaced by this modern drawbridge in 1978-79.
- Railroads
- - CSX Railroad (CSX)
- Norfolk Southern Railway (NS)
- Design
- Cambelback Warrn Vertical Lift Drawbridge
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 400.0 ft.
Total length: 1,200.0 ft.
- Also called
- Decatur Drawbridge
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +34.61776, -86.98134 (decimal degrees)
34°37'04" N, 86°58'53" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/501710/3830655 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Decatur
- Inventory number
- BH 38441 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- November 29, 2016: New photo from Douglas Butler
- September 27, 2013: New Street View added by J.P.
- August 28, 2013: New photo from Douglas Butler
- July 31, 2011: New photos from Ben Tate
- January 2, 2010: Updated by Calvin Sneed: http://www.csx.com/
- December 28, 2008: Added by Calvin Sneed
Comments
Kevin, you're right. It was a swing bridge. I saw some pictures of it on a Facebook page today.
Isn't the lift span newer than the rest of the bridge? When I lived in Huntsville 40 years ago, our family frequently crossed the river on the nearby highway bridge on our way to and from Memphis. I seem to recall the RR bridge being a center-pivot swing bridge, with the channel very near the south bank. I'm guessing modern barge tows had to be busted down to fit through the old opening. Can anyone confirm my memory on this point?
You are correct..I checked with CSX in Jacksonville. That is the control house, not a counterweight. Don't know who added that it was a counterweight. It is not. The counterweight reference is now deleted.
You are correct..I checked with CSX in Jacksonville. That is the control house, not a counterweight. Don't know who added that it was a counterweight. It is not.
Photo 7: I don't think that is a counterweight - it is on the lift span. It is probably the control house for the bridgetender.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/al/limestone/bh38441/
Here is a photo I took of the bridge on October 24, 2010