Monon Bridge over Deer Creek east of Delphi, IN

(Bridge Hunter, note that there are more pictures in the comments; Satellite)

Mark Alan Smith posted
Here Is One of Carroll County's Treasures--The Monon High Bridge East of Delphi, Indiana.

Judging from the cut stone piers on the banks and the concrete pier in the middle, it used to be a truss bridge that got rebuilt as a steel girder bridge.

Indiana Landmarks

Note there is a high river bank on the left side, but, if you look at the satellite image, a long trestle over a flood plain on the right side. Also, the water has badly eroded stone out of the bottom of the 1891 left pier. Evidently CSX has not let the trail system around Delphi take responsibility for the bridge. And since CSX abandoned it in 1987, they won't do any repairs. So we set back and watch CSX let it crumble. I would think CSX would be glad to get a liability off their hands and give it to the trail system.

2 of 5 photos posted by Kevin Culver. They are taken from the same place, just in opposite directions.

Kevin Culver shared

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Indiana History posted
Repairs scheduled for endangered span built in 1891.
[The comments identify this as a troll account. The repairs where done eight years ago from 2025, so 2017.]

Ghost Rails and Forgotten Highways posted

The Monon Railroad built its High Bridge over Deer Creek near Delphi, Indiana in 1891, and freight trains rolled across it for nearly a century before CSX abandoned the line in 1987.

The trestle sat there for thirty years after that, too remote and too expensive to tear down, too solid to fall on its own. In 2017, CSX finally handed the bridge and nearly half a mile of approach over to Indiana Landmarks, which spent years stabilizing a damaged support pier before installing new decking and railing. The trail opened to the public in 2023.

Today the same girders that once carried Monon freight carry hikers across Deer Creek on the Monon High Bridge Trail, the riveted steel repainted but the bones entirely original. The rust still visible in the joints tells you exactly how old the bridge really is, no matter how new the decking looks.

What old rail line near you could still become someone's favorite trail?

Jo Ellen Coffin: This bridge was built in 1909. 

[Some comments talk about two girls, Abby and Libby, who were abducted here and murdered near by. The killer got 130 years, but he is going through the appeals process now[2016].]

Ted Gregory shared

Kevin Lucas commented on the above photo.

12 Flickr photos

Indiana Landmarks is going to accept the bridge from CSX, repair it, and then give it to Deer Creek Township who will extend a trail to the bridge. Heartland Heritage will lease it to maintain it as a trail bridge. [IndianaLandmarks]