1911: (
Bridge Hunter;
Historic Bridges;
HAER;
Satellite)
The original bridge was opened by President Rutherford B. Hays in 1877. At that time, at 275' tall, it was the highest railroad bridge in the world. Gustav Lindenthal designed the 1911 replacement. The track of the new bridge was 33' above the 1877 track so that the new bridge could be built around the old one while the old one continued to carry traffic. It was double tracked in 1929. Until the 1950s there was a walkway on the west side of the bridge because excursion trips were run to the bridge until the 1930s. [
Bogart]
In this photo, the new bridge has been opened but they have yet to remove the old truss.
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Henri Charles shared
[1877 Bridge Hunter identifies this as "Louis Edward Nollau High Bridge Photographic Collection, University of Kentucky."] |
We can see one of the suspension bridge towers that Roebling started in 1851 for a different railroad. The Panic of 1857 terminated the construction of that bridge. When the original railroad resumed construction, they picked a different route that had a lower crossing of the Kentucky River. The CNO&TP acquired the charter for this route and finished a bridge. [Bogart] "It is the first cantilever bridge built on the American continent. The large twin towers were torn down in 1929." [Anonymous comment] The towers were removed when the bridge was double tracked. [Ed Hollowell comment]]
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| Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection, Lexington Public Library via 1877 Bridge Hunter |
The longest (1125 feet) and highest (275 feet) cantilever bridge in the world when built in 1877. It was the highest bridge of any type in North America until 1888 when Young's High Bridge was built to 283 feet a few miles away. A new bridge was built around this bridge in 1910-11 which was 308 feet tall, surpassing Young's High Bridge. The 1877 bridge continued in use during construction of the new bridge around it and was only dissembled sometime after the 1911 bridge was in use. The Cincinnati Southern Railway was and still is owned by the city of Cincinnati. Contract cost for bridge was $390,000. Final cost of the bridge was $404,856.58. Cincinnati Southern Railway built and owns the bridge. Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific (CNTP) leased and continues to lease the line from Cincinnati Southern though CNTP is owned by Norfolk Southern (formally Southern).[1877 Bridge Hunter]
Look at the base of the tower and you can see that the two cranes have started constructing the new tower around the old one. A concrete layer has been added to the cut stone pier.
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Louis Edward Nollau F Series Photographic Print Collection, University of Kentucky via 1877 Bridge Hunter |
They added temporary supports next to each tower to help balance the trusses while they were cantilevered during construction.
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| Louis Edward Nollau F Series Photographic Print Collection, University of Kentucky via 1877 Bridge Hunter |
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| Elmer L. Foote Lantern Slide Collection, Lexington Public Library via 1877 Bridge Hunter |
