Its a longshot for something from the 1880s, but is there any chance of some archives for this railroad line somewhere that would document structures and could contain hints? Maybe some of this website's railfans might know?
Thanks Geoff,
That's very unfortunate. Especially if the bents were destroyed.
Nathan,
It will be tough. Whichever bridge they came from was LOST in 1886 or before. So, we'll need to find an image (probably of a RR bridge) taken before 1886 and hope that this needle in a haystack that may not exist has captured enough of the substructure to find a match.
Regards to both,
Art S.
As I mention in my discussion 1886 is extremely late for cast iron. It would not be in the least bit surprising if the bents were salvaged and reused in 1886. However the Historic Bridge Inventory did not have any information to confirm this. If someone can find information proving the bents are older that would be cool. https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=n...
Bridge closed in June 2019; bridge replaced with concete beam type on summer 2020
I don't know if this one is still standing but, if it is, its much more significant than its 1886 date suggests. While the cast iron bents are original to the 1886 bridge. They were 'used' when installed. They are repurposed railroad bents from a bridge that had been replaced by 1886. Their reuse was a cost effective solution to creating a grade separation for the road.
To me, the indicators are the extra 'doo-dads' (yes that is a technical term... :^) ) in the casting that are not artistic nor functional in this application. Also, the 10 cast into one and the 12 in the other suggest both that they were part of a production run and that the doo-dads would not have been in the casting if unnecessary in their original application (if they can change the number, they can eliminate the doo-dads).
My thought is 1860s, possibly earlier.
Does anyone have comments or opinions to confirm or contradict this?
Regards,
Art S.
Looks like there may be a good amount of material for the Central Railroad of New Jersey at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. Numerous files exist for structures and bridges..
In addition, this archive has some maps that could be of use:
https://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/1869.xml