Beaver Creek Bridge

They look like concrete encased legs. A common alteration based on some visits to bedsteads I did a while ago. You should see a bearing plate on top of concrete if it was a "false" bedstead, ie a pony truss with vertical end posts.

This tiny little bridge is highly significant for a number of reasons.

First of all, it contains only two panels. Diminutive bridges like this were not generally built after about 1910 because larger steel beams that were being fabricated then could simply be used as components of a stringer bridge.

Furthermore, this bridge has very unusual cast iron assemblies at the junction between the end post and the top chord. The diagonal member pass through these cast-iron assemblies and are fastened with threaded rod connections. This assembly system is similar to the cast iron assemblies used by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company. Connections like this are typically found on bridges that were built before 1890.

At first glance, this bridge appears to be a borderline bedstead. The legs only appear to extend a very small distance below the bottom chord. On the other hand, the legs might have been encased in concrete. If so, the legs might be buried underneath the concrete about mints yet still be intact all the way down to the creek.

This bridge is of substantial historic value and needs to be saved.

Another oddball "untrue" bedstead, this one open to traffic, compact little thing, seems pretty sturdy still