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Marion Street Bridge

Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Photos 

General View From North Portal End, Looking Southwest

Photo taken for the Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #289497

Map 

Street View 

Description 

The Marion Street Bridge is one of only twelve known surviving double-intersection Warren pony trusses in New England. It was one of many bridges manufactured and erected for the Boston & Albany Railroad by a regionally-significant bridge company, the R.F. Hawkins Iron Works. Hawkins was the preferred supplier of bridges to the railroad, and benefitted greatly from the railroad's decision to eliminate grade crossings on its main line in the late-nineteenth century. The Marion Street Bridge has remained relatively unaltered, and is of engineering interest for its severe 44 degree skew.

-- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts 

Overview
Pony truss bridge over CSX Railroad/MBTA on Marion Street in Natick
Location
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Status
Replaced by a new bridge
History
Built 1896; rehabilitated 2003; replaced 2017
Builder
- R.F. Hawkins Iron Works of Springfield, Massachusetts
Railroads
- Boston & Albany Railroad (BA)
- CSX Railroad (CSX)
- Conrail (CR)
- New York Central Railroad (NYC)
- Penn Central Railroad (PC)
Design
Double-intersection Warren pony truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 86.0 ft.
Total length: 90.9 ft.
Deck width: 20.3 ft.
Skew angle
44 degrees
Recognition
Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.28722, -71.33833   (decimal degrees)
42°17'14" N, 71°20'18" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
19/307212/4684314 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Natick
Average daily traffic (as of 2008)
6,100
Inventory numbers
MA N03003 (Massachusetts bridge number)
BH 19379 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of May 2008)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 39.4 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

19th Century (8,635)
Boston & Albany Railroad (107)
Built 1896 (291)
Built during 1890s (3,217)
CSX Railroad (1,770)
Conrail (1,714)
Double-intersection Warren pony truss (218)
Double-intersection Warren truss (496)
HAER documented (1,124)
Have street view (29,154)
Lost (29,047)
Lost 2017 (306)
Lost during 2010s (3,620)
Massachusetts (1,205)
 Middlesex County, Massachusetts (258)
NR-eligible (4,117)
New York Central Railroad (1,001)
Outrigger sway braces (31)
Owned by state (16,591)
Penn Central Railroad (1,544)
Pony truss (17,078)
R.F. Hawkins Iron Works (22)
Replaced by new bridge (19,747)
Skewed (5,020)
Span length 75-100 feet (6,675)
Total length 75-100 feet (6,849)
Truss (35,926)

Update Log 

  • May 23, 2020: Updated by Ian Martin: Bridge has been replaced
  • March 21, 2015: New photos from Ian Martin
  • July 27, 2014: HAER photos posted by Ian Martin
  • November 7, 2013: New Street View added by J.P.

Sources 

  • J.P. - wildcatjon2000 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • HAER MA-108 - Boston & Albany Railroad, Marion Street Bridge, Spanning Boston & Albany Railroad on Marion Street, Natick, Middlesex County, MA
  • Ian Martin

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