Not much of a secret that I travel to West Virginia a lot. From my travels, I have encountered a lot of interesting bridges that are endangered or historic. For instance, I discovered a Pratt truss on Gandy Creek on a drive with a friend to Spruce Knob recently along Randolph County Route 29, which is not all that remarkable by itself except that it was constructed in 1900 by the Canton Bridge Company and is unmodified for the most part. It features a bridge deck that is in poor condition and a timber substructure!

 

 

 

 

On an earlier trip to Bramwell, I came across the Kate Hewltt Bridge that carries Mercer County Route 20/20 over the Bluestone River. Constructed in 1915, the two-span pony truss was recently rehabilitated.

 

 

The Norfolk Western Railroad Bluestone Branch crossing over the Bluestone River is a simple two span pony plate girder bridge in Bramwell, West Virginia. The Bluestone Branch was a 17-mile line that extended from Bluestone to Giatto, although the last regular service operated over the rails in 1984 when the last coal train left McComas via the Crane Creek Branch. The last train operated west of Coopers in 1996 when Norfolk Southern, the successor to the NW, delivered several cars to Bramwell for display at a rebuilt depot.

 

 

Further Reading

a. Off the Beaten Path: West Virginia (blog): http://bridgestunnels.com/2012/01/09/off-the-beaten-path-west-virginia/

b. Gandy Creek Truss: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/west-virginia/gandy-creek-bridge/

c. Kate Hewltt Bridge: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/west-virginia/kate-hewltt-bridge-cr-2020/

d. Norfolk Western Railroad Bluestone Branch Bluestone River Bridge: http://bridgestunnels.com/bridges/west-virginia/norfolk-western-railroad-bluestone-branch-bluestone-river-bridge/

Nice winter pictures!  Someone at a drawing board with a slide rule figured out just how to apply that last bit of truss work at the top of the bridge to keep it from twisting.  Have you been to Watoga State Park and the Greenbriar Trail?  The section south of Watoga is dreamy.

I've been along the Greenbriar but have not yet biked most of it. That is a 2012 resolution :) Have you been along the North Bend Rail Trail, an ex-B&O line that was extensively renovated in the 1970s?

Very cool.  I love these old truss bridges.  I hope we can continue to preserve many of them

 

There was a guy named William "Tiny" Zehnder that would collect and rehabilitate old bridges in Saginaw Co ,MI)

He restored this one, and though it can technically carry vehicular traffic now, they decided to make it a bike / pedestrian bridge instead

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickm15/5353475182/#sizes/l/in/photostream/

Thanks Sherman.