B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing - 1893 - Knoxville, MD
Posted by: uccacher
N 39° 19.427 W 077° 43.681
18S E 264838 N 4356256
Repurposed railroad bridge over the Potomac River between Harpers Ferry, WV and Maryland Heights, MD.
Waymark Code: WMCC8Z
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 08/21/2011
Views: 19
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Crossings at the Potomac River are a set of railroad bridges that span the Potomac River between Maryland Heights, Maryland and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in the United States. Two bridges comprise the current crossing. The more recent bridge is a deck plate girder bridge dating to 1930-31 which curves across the river, carrying the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad main line to Martinsburg, West Virginia. The older bridge is a steel Pratt truss and plate girder bridge dating to 1893, carrying the B&O Valley line toward Winchester, Virginia along the Shenandoah River. A tunnel was built at the same time as the 1893 bridge to carry the tracks through Maryland Heights and to eliminate a sharp curve. The western end of the tunnel was widened in conjunction with the construction of the second bridge to allow the broadest possible curve across the river.
Source:
Wikipedia
The text of the plaque on the older bridge reads:
Built by the Pencoyo Bridge & Construction Co.
Penoyco, PA
1893
The 1893 bridge currently is used as a hiking trail from Harpers Ferry, WV to Maryland Heights, MD and is part of the Appalachian Trail.
The bridge is officially located in Maryland although best access is from Harpers Ferry.