Industrial History: Dumbarton Bridges over San Francisco Bay at Menlo Park, CA

1927 Road: (Was replaced by the 1982 bridge.)

1982 Road: (Satellite, 1,135 photos)

The railroad bridge has some truss spans over the deeper part of the bay and trestle approaches on both sides. The middle truss span is a swing span. Most of the trestle approaches are modern concrete caps over concrete piles. But the easternmost trestle is wood. On a satellite image, you can see that the western end of the trestle no longer exists. According to a comment by Harold M, that is because it burned in January 1998. According to an article he references, SP had abandoned this bridge in 1982.

Street View, Feb 2024

Jack Liu, Feb 2023

In the background is the blimp hangers in Moffett Field.

Jack Liu, Nov 2023

Victor-Manuel Valencia, Oct 2023

KQED, Ben Cheng/Menlo Park Fire District
"The bridge opened in 1910 and was used to transport freight from the Peninsula to the East Bay. It shaved 26 miles off the journey on land, and at the time it was the costliest bridge in the state. Freight transport across the rail bridge ceased in 1982, the same year the Dumbarton Automotive Bridge opened less than a mile north."

A telescopic lens makes the bridge look shorter and the approach curves look tighter. The channel span is 340' (104m) with a vertical clearance of 85' (26m). [mtc]

Jack Liu, Apr 2023

Bridges Now and Then posted
A still of the SF Bay Area's Dumbarton Bridge, c. 1971, from the film Harold and Maude. The Dumbarton was the first bridge to span the Bay.

Bob Art: I watched it blown up from the top of a building at Moffet