1905 CSX/B&O Parkersburg-Belpre Bridge over Ohio River

(Bridge Hunter, Historic Bridges, HAER; 3D Satellite)

HAER WVA,54-PARK,2--10, cropped
10. William E. Barrett, Photographer, 1973. RIVER SPANS LOOKING WEST. - Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Parkersburg Bridge, Ohio River, Parkersburg, Wood County, WV

Completed in 1871, the Parkersburg Bridge was an important early work of Jacob Linville and incorporated several of his patented innovations. The original channel spans (approximately 348 feet) were of wrought iron and marked the beginnings of an era of long-span trusses. They were fabricated and erected by the Keystone Bridge Company, a firm begun by Andrew Carnegie to provide a market for the output of his famous Lucy Furnace. The remaining spans were principally Bollman trusses of an older type. [HAER-data]

The previous bridge was completed in 1871. The truss we see today was built in 1905 except for one span that was built in 1972 because of a barge explosion.

1871 Bridge Hunter, Public Domain

20171013 6914

 

Carl Venzke posted
The Parkersburg Bridge crosses the Ohio River between Parkersburg, West Virginia, and Belpre, Ohio. The bridge was a part of the B&O's Baltimore – St. Louis mainline and offered the railroad easy access to Ohio in transporting coal and other materials to the east coast. Currently the bridge handles traffic on CSX Transportation's Marietta Subdivision. This photo was taken during the flood of 1913.

I wonder if there was a road bridge someplace else or if the horse&buggies had to use a ferry to cross the river.

Dave Blaze Rail Photography posted

Glinting BIP

Today's repost is one of my favorite shots of 2020 and a railraod I'd definitely like to visit again someday. 

The Belpre Industrial Parkersburg Railroad (BIP) came into being in May of 2020 only a few months earlier when the too over operation of CSXT's Marietta Subdivision, the Parkersburg Running Track, and the old Parkersburg High Yard consisting of a total of about 48 miles. 

The aggressive little road quickly increased service from CSXT's 5 day per week schedule and at the time of my visit was operating two jobs per day with a third shift possible. They were accomplishing all of this with a fleet of four rebuilt GP38-3s dressed in a sharp black grey and gold paint that gives off a kind of New Orleans Saints vibe. 

Both of their lines were one time former Baltimore & Ohio thru routes. The Marietta Sub now terminates at relief but prior to 1974 was route to Zanesville, OH. But after severe washouts that year the B&O repaired only the portion from Belpre to Relief and abandoned the rest. 

The almost six mile segment from Parkersburg west across the river to Belpre was once the B&O's Washington to Saint Louis line main and into the early 1980s hosted a half dozen thru freights including hot trailer jets. But in 1985 Chessie System decided to shutter the line as a thru route and before the end of the decade the rails started to come up. 

But in the Parkersburg-Belpre area the line's most remarkable feature remained in service on the surving industrial stub. The massive Ohio River bridge was designed by Jacob Linville and has 46 spans: 25 deck plate girder, 14 deck truss, 6 through truss, and 1 through plate girder. 50,000 cubic yards of stone were used for the 53 piers. The bridge was constructed from May 1869 to January 1871 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At the time of its completion, the bridge was reportedly the longest in the world at 7,140 feet. [2.2m, My emphasis]

And while B&O trailer jets and big CSXT unit trains are but a memory the bridge still makes for one impressive sight as seen here glinting in the evening sun as three BIP geeps lead a train down the east side into Parkersburg as they sail over the long viaduct. 

Parkersburg, West Virginia 

Thursday August 20, 2020

Dave Blaze Rail Photography shared

Carl Venzke posted
Crossing the Ohio River on the B&O at Parkersburg, WV
[This is a good example of how a long telescope lens can compress distances and make curves look sharper than they really are. And evidently the wood trestle is now tree-lined earth fill. And it was taken on the Belpre, OH side.
A comparable view]

Jonathan Konopka posted
1985 - Chessie System 4233 leads a southbound train across the Ohio River into Parkersburg, West Virginia. Photo credit belongs to John F. Bjorklund.
Gary Mullis: Awesome is the line still used ? If so how much traffic ?
Neal Reynolds: Gary Mullis just a little local traffic now. It used to be part of the B&O St. Louis main, abandoned in the mid 80’s with most of the track now gone. This bridge is still active though, again, just for limited locals.
Mark Egebrecht: This was the final year of through service on this line.
Neal Reynolds: Here's a nice history on that line from Parkersburg to Clarksburg and some of the Ohio portion to Athens.
https://www.wvncrails.org/parkersburg-to-clarksburg---waist-of-the-bo-main--part-i.html
Michael J Talkington: New railroad in the area
https://www.biprailroad.com/
Randall Hampton shared
Now a branch line.
J.B. Rail Photog shared

Peter Kazmierczak commented on J.B.'s share
Then and now.

Mark Arnold posted six photos with the comment: "Crappy weather but its all I could get today. CSX crossing the Ohio River at Parkersburg, WV. The approach is better than the actual bridge."

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These are the other photos I took as I walked along the riverside. The green cantilever bridge next to this truss bridge is the Parkersburg-Belpre Bridge.

I could not walk any further upstream, so I took some detail shots of the bridge.

As we left Parkersburg, my daughter caught these detail shots of the trusses.

This bridge used to be on the B&O mainline to Washington DC. But CSX has abandoned the track east of Parkersburg.