Falls of the Ohio Railroad Bridge
Photos
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Overview Photo taken June 2005 by James Adorno |
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Train crossing Photo taken June 2005 by James Adorno |
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May 2008 Photo taken by Joe Virruso |
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May 2008 Photo taken by Joe Virruso |
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May 2008 Photo taken by Joe Virruso |
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North Approach Photo taken by Nathan Morton in Dec. 2008 |
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Downtown Louisville seen from the bridge deck Photo taken by Nathan Morton |
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Photo taken by unknown photographer in August 2006 |
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Photo taken by unknown photographer in August 2006 |
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Photo taken by Joe Schneid in January 2006 |
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Photo taken by Joe Schneid in March 2008 |
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The orginal bridge with its fink deck trusses http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/createPostcard.php?cardNum=1425431 |
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North end of bridge; July 2005 Not sure why the foundation is so massive, or what the purpose of the arched openings is. Photo taken by Robert Thompson in July 2005 |
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North end of bridge; July 2005 That is a massive pile of steel... Photo taken by Robert Thompson in July 2005 |
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North end of bridge; July 2005 Just downstream of the bridge is the Falls of the Ohio, where the river runs over a rock ledge filled with exposed fossils. Photo taken by Robert Thompson in July 2005 |
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North end of bridge; July 2005 The exposed rock is an open-air museum of marine fossils. Photo taken by Robert Thompson in July 2005 |
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Strange Looking Rebar Footings show some strange looking rebar. Photo taken by Ed Hollowell in July 2005 |
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Bridge & Dam From the north side the dam gates and bridge. Photo taken by Ed Hollowell in July 2005 |
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Barrel From Indiana side with long lens. This bridge makes you feel small. Photo taken by Ed Hollowell in July 2005 |
Description
According to "Railroads of Indiana" this bridge had the longest simple riveted-truss span ever built at 643'10.5". The current structure was built in a 1919 rebuild of the 1870 structure which used most of the old piers. The 644 foot span crossed where two spans had been before and the unused pier was removed. Pennsylvania Rail Road became the owner later and the current owner is Louisville and Indiana Railroad who purchased it from Conrail in 1994. It is built for and has carried double tracks but currently only has one track. It stands 106.7 feet above river pool stage.Facts
- Overview
- Through truss railroad bridge over the Ohio River at Louisville
- Status
- Open to railroad traffic
- History
- Built in 1867-70 for the Louisville & Nashville and the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad
- Builder
- - Louisville Bridge and Iron Co.
- Design
- Originally built in 1868 with Fink truss spans and a swing span over the canal portion, the bridge was rebuilt between 1916 and 1919 with the Pennsylvania through-truss spans and vertical lift span still in use today.
- Dimensions
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Length of largest span: 644 ft.
Total length: 5,218 ft.
- Also called
- Fourteenth Street Bridge
Ohio Falls Bridge
Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge
Conrail Railroad Bridge - Approximate latitude, longitude
- +38.26907, -85.76494 (decimal degrees)
38°16'09" N, 85°45'54" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/608039/4236390 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- New Albany
- Inventory number
- BH 18824 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- April 5, 2010: Updated by J.P.: added view of veritcle lift portion of the bridge
- March 28, 2010: Updated by Ed Hollowell: Added Information
- February 19, 2010: New photos from Ed Hollowell
- November 8, 2009: New photos from Robert Thompson
- September 28, 2009: New photo from J.P.
- June 24, 2009: New photos from Harvey Henkelmann
- December 21, 2008: New photos from Nathan Morton
- May 28, 2008: New photos from Joe Virruso
- October 10, 2005: Posted photos from James Adorno
Sources
- James Adorno
- HAER KY-10 - Big Four Bridge, Spanning Ohio River, Louisville, Jefferson County, KY
- Joe Virruso - virrusofamily [at] att [dot] net
- Nathan Morton - morton890 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Ed Hollowell - erhollowell [at] aol [dot] com
- Wikipedia
- J.P.
- Robert Thompson
