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CNTP - Cumberland River Bridge

Pulaski County, Kentucky

Photos 

The only truly clear photo of the old Burnside bridge. A 1940's company photo of a freight train crossing the bridge southbound. Note Tunnel #4 directly behind. Also of interest is the curved design.

Unknown company photographer

BH Photo #243877

Map 

Description 

Built 1880 by the Cincinnati Southern Railway, a company owned by the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. The line was operated by Cincinnati, New Orleans, & Texas Pacific Railway for a time then by Southern Railroad and Norfolk Southern.

Original Burnside CNO&TP bridge. The bridge originally carried the railroad from the OLD Burnside on a curved trestle, over the then Cumberland River...not lake...and directly into Tunnel #4 and into Tunnel #3 as well before meeting back up with the current CNO&TP grade. The tunnels are located under the US 27/KY 90 interchange and the bridge abuttment is 100 feet from the south portal of tunnel 4. The bridge was replaced due to the projected lake levels. This was an early opportunity for an anxious Southern Railway to eliminate two more of the low clearanced CNO&TP tunnels as well.

Facts 

Overview
Lost Deck truss bridge over Cumberland River on Norfolk Southern Railway at Burnside
Location
Burnside, Pulaski County, Kentucky
Status
Replaced by a new bridge
History
Built 1880 for the Cincinnati Southern Railway, replaced in 1955
Railroads
- Cincinnati Southern Railway (CNTP)
- Cincinnati, New Orleans, & Texas Pacific Railway (CNO&TP; CNTP)
- Southern Railway (SOU)
Design
Main spans: Three iron Pratt deck truss spans with polygonal lower chords (two spans later replaced with deck girder and channel span replaced by steel Warren deck truss)
Dimensions
Deck width: 6.5 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+36.99428, -84.61007   (decimal degrees)
36°59'39" N, 84°36'36" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
16/712680/4096908 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Burnside
Inventory number
BH 54685 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (6,877)
Built 1880 (166)
Built during 1880s (1,833)
Burnside, Kentucky (6)
Cincinnati Southern Railway (26)
Cincinnati, New Orleans, & Texas Pacific Railway (21)
Cumberland River (42)
Deck girder (5,045)
Deck truss (1,605)
Formerly NR-eligible (431)
Girder (9,135)
Kentucky (1,250)
 Lost (22,227)
Lost 1955 (61)
Lost during 1950s (554)
Plate girder (6,947)
Pulaski County, Kentucky (20)
Railroad (14,358)
Replaced by new bridge (14,827)
Southern Railway (240)
Tall Bridges (319)
Truss (31,207)
Warren deck truss (577)
Warren truss (6,243)

Update Log 

  • October 8, 2015: New photos from Jacob P. Bernard
  • October 7, 2015: New photos from Jacob P. Bernard
  • November 3, 2013: Updated by Ed Hollowell: Clarification of history and builder
  • November 30, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added railroads to categories
  • November 30, 2012: Added by Alex Wood

Related Bridges 

Sources 

  • Alex Wood
  • Luke
  • Ed Hollowell - erhollowell [at] aol [dot] com
  • Jacob P. Bernard
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Comments 

CNTP - Cumberland River Bridge
Posted June 16, 2019, by Earl B Shelton (ebshelton [at] triad [dot] rr [dot] com)

I HAVE A LARGE FRAMED PICTURE OF TRAIN AND BRIDGE LIKE SHOWN ON THIS WEBSITE, IS THERE ANY VALUE TO IT? I HAVE HAD IT SINCE THE NINETEEN SIXTIES.