C&O Bridge
Facts
- Overview
- Parker through truss bridge over Kanawha River on CSX Railroad (Formerly Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad)
- Location
- Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia
- Status
- Intact but closed to all traffic
- Future prospects
- City is looking to use it for rail to trail.
- History
- Built 1907; Single-lane road added 1920
- Builder
- - American Bridge Co. of New York
- Railroads
- - Charleston Interurban Railroad (CIRR)
- Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O; CO)
- Interurban
- Kanawha Bridge & Terminal Co.
- Design
- Pennsylvania through truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 424.0 ft.
Total length: 4,291.0 ft. (0.8 mi.)
- Also called
- C&O - Kanawha River Bridge (Charleston)
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +38.36263, -81.66207 (decimal degrees)
38°21'45" N, 81°39'43" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 17/442158/4246258 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Charleston West
- Inventory number
- BH 54366 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- February 22, 2020: Updated by Luke: Merged postcard from George Chambers proving the existence of the road spans
- December 3, 2019: New photo from Jack Schmidt
- October 20, 2017: Updated by Luke: Noted that the bridge had a one-ane roadway
- September 14, 2017: Updated by Luke: Added builder & old railroad info
- June 19, 2016: New photos from Royce and Bobette Haley
- November 9, 2012: New photos from Ben Tate
- November 9, 2012: Updated by Matt Lohry: Corrected main span type--this is a Pennsylvania through truss.
- November 8, 2012: Updated by J.P.: Added categories "Pin-connected", "Kanawha River", "Railroad", "Chesapeake & Ohio Railway", "CSX Railroad", "Steel trestle", "Curved"
Sources
- J.P. - wildcatjon2000 [at] gmail [dot] com
- Matt Lohry
- Ben Tate - benji5221 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Todd Wilson
- The Clio - C&O Trestle Bridge - Imagery + Info
- Royce and Bobette Haley - roycehaley111 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Luke
- Railroad Gazette, Volume 44 - Book
- Jack Schmidt - jjturtle [at] earthlink [dot] net
Comments
https://www.theclio.com/web/ul/22490.48192.jpg shows footings for a roadway that would well exceed the width of an early car.
Thank you for the recommendation, I looked at the "Imagery" there appears to be a wooden ramp going up one side but I do not see evidence of a road. There appears to be a four foot walkway but the average car in the '20's was between five and seven feet. Again, hard to believe there was a road on the bridge. Impossible, perhaps not, I do not believe the "imagery" bears it out.
Try looking at the imagery in the link before commenting.
Hard to see how this had a one way road on it
Actual name of the bridge is the Kanawha Bridge and Terminal Company as per the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Kanawha Subdivision Side track Record and Charts PGs 74-75. The Bridge was purchased by the C&O around 1922 to 25, and one can still read the C&O lettering on the bridge above Kanawha Boulevard, on a good day. Last trains to cross the bridge would have been in the late 80s.
J.P.,
Looks like we have a Pennsylvania truss here--same complexity as a Baltimore, but with curved upper chord. Parkers are the same configuration as basic Pratts, but with curved upper chord. Camelbacks are Parkers with upper chords that have only 3 sides (not including end posts).
Not sure if I got the main span design right on this bridge. I believe its a parker. But I have always had trouble with Baltimore, parkers, and camelbacks.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/wv/kanawha/bh54366/
There was a car bridge on the side of it built around 1920.