Overlook: (Satellite)
"This railroad bridge is noted for its pin connections and 45 degree skewed configuration, and location in a very scenic area." [HistoricBridges] It has to be rare that a Class I railroad is still using a pin-connected truss.
The MA Cabin must be just out-of-frame in the lower-right corner.
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| Ted Gregory posted A truly striking view from the famous Hawk's Nest Overlook at sunset on April 3rd, 2023. The design of the twin trusses are truly works of art, and lend to the natural beauty of the Gorge. If you look closely, you can see the mainlines that run down both sides of this famous Gorge as they wind along the banks into the diatance and the junction of the lines on the south bank in the lower right corner. The lines also rejoin at Sewell, which is not accessible unless you're on the rails or in the water. John C. Sauerzopf: Nice photo. Too bad no one else knows where this is. Ted Gregory: John C. Sauerzopf thank you. Google map it. It's near Fayetteville, WV near a small town called Ansted. It's a very famous location on the Chesapeake & Ohio. There is a historic railroad resort there. Lots of bigwheels would vacation there using flagship trains of the C&O to get there out of DC. Joe Schiavo: Such a beautiful place to visit! Ted Gregory: Really is Joe. Especially on the tracks. I was part of one of two teams that walk inspected the entire railroad from Prince to Deepwater due to a 500 year flood event. Keiv Spare: I've been to that overlook. This was a C&O line. My family had a picnic there on a roadtrip we took from Kansas to Maryland. It's right off US 60 which is a shortcut if you're taking I-64 all the way from St Louis to Norfolk. Glad we made that little detour. It was a very memorable part of the trip. I recognized the location immediately when I saw the picture, even though it was over 30 years ago. John Jones: The state of west Virginia has a great lodge there where you can can take in the sights of the overlook. They also had a cable car that would take you down to the river. |
This must be a popular railfan location.
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| Robert Wanner posted Chessie Safety Express with steam locomotive 614 on the head end crossing the Hawks Nest bridge on the West Virginia border before CSX came on the scene. Amtrak Cardinal travers this routing in today's World. Quite the site, always impressive from above or riding the train. Do not know who climbed up there to take this photo. John Hodges: Picture is from https://wvstateparks.com/park/hawks-nest-state-park/ |
According to Google map labels, Hawks Nest State Park is the "go-to destination for whitewater rafting."
Hawk's Nest Dam is less than a mile downstream. After analyzing the tracks in the photo, Ted is looking upstream.
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| 1969 Fayetteville Quad @ 24,000 |
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| Back To My West Virginia Roots posted Tom Bell 🛤️Hawks Nest State Park from a different angle🛤️ Fayette County Randall Hampton shared |
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| I Love West Virginia posted I Love West Virginia David Lubic: C&O bridge at Hawks Nest, where the railroad had a gold spike ceremony in, I believe, 1877. The bridge itself is a replacement from the early 20th century, replacing a much lighter bridge from the original construction. The bridge would have also once been much higher above the river, before the dam was built in the 1930s. Sadly that dam and the water tunnel were the site of the Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster, where over 400 workers died of silicosis, and this was because of willful neglect by the contractors who did not provide masks or water sprays to keep down the dust, which was almost pure silica. Today I look at this photo, and think of how a large, prosperous railroad is neglecting its property for even more profits. This shows in the rust on the bridge. Didn't used to be that way, but now it is. At the risk of sounding too political here, our capitalist system has become dumbed down to being about money only--and this isn't restricted to railroads. Everything else--employees, the community, the country, and even customers--are at best secondary considerations, at worst are impediments to even more profit. |
Zachary Syner posted three photos with the comment:
Rare Construction photographs of The Hawks Nest Train Bridge in the 1870s, while completing The construction of the C&O Railway through West Virginia faced several challenges, primarily due to the state’s rugged terrain, By 1873, the C&O Railway had completed its main line from Richmond, Virginia, to the Ohio River at Huntington, West Virginia.This route was a critical engineering achievement, as it required crossing the Appalachian Mountains and navigating the challenging landscapes of the New River Gorge. Several bridges and tunnels, including the Great Bend Tunnel, were built to make this passage possible. Photo credits to Mike Fox & Steve Eades.
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| Zachary Syner commented on his post The Train Station by the Bridge. |
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| Zachary Syner commented on his post Hawks Nest Train Wreck 1900s |
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| Zachary Syner commented on his post |
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| Zachary Syner commented on his post |
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