1887 Faust Street Bridge over Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, TX

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

"Built 1887 by the King Bridge Co.; made obsolete by new bridge in 1932; rehabilitated 1998" [BridgeHunter]

Street View, Mar 2022

2020 photo by Mark Gonzalez via BridgeHunter

The cut-stone piers are impresive.

2014 photo by Royce and Bobette Haley via BridgeHunter

2014 photo by Royce and Bobette Haley via BridgeHunter

HistoricBridges
"This bridge is one of the most important and largest remaining examples of a bridge built by the King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio, one of the most important and prolific bridge builders of the late 19th Century. It is also one of the rarest and most important bridges in the State of Texas....The bridge has been restored for non-vehicular use, and it is an area attraction and one of the most valuable historic resources in the area. The bridge retains original built-up fishtail style floorbeams."

Facebook Reel
[There was a lot of flooding in central Texas in July 2026.]

1902-15,2002 Trail/B&O Guilford (Granite) Quarry Bridge over Little Patuxent River in Columbia, MD

(Archived Bridge Hunter is broke; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

"Built in 1902 for the B&O Railroad, abandoned in 1925, rehabilitated in 2002 for trail use." The bridge has a 35-degree skew. [BridgeHunter]

2014 photo by Bob Dover via HistoricBridges
"For a railroad bridge, particularly one built in 1902, this bridge has very lightweight members. The laced end posts contribute to this appearance, and also add a nice aesthetic."

Ted Hart, Apr 2024

This photo makes it obvious that it is a pin-connected bridge.

hmdb

Michael Cheek posted
The Guilford Quarry Pratt Through Truss Bridge in Columbia, Maryland. Built in 1902, it was formerly a B&O Railroad Spur over the Little Patuxent River connecting the town of Savage to the Guilford Quarry. Now, it is part of the Patuxent Branch Trail which runs from Savage Park in Laurel to Lake Elkhorn in Columbia.

Dennis DeBruler: Found it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/w7iPptzt1CuPBu5x6

hmdb

"History: Railroad expansion in the 19th century required strong, dependable bridges to carry trains over ravines and rivers. Early bridges were built of stone that was sturdy but expensive. Timber bridges often had to be replaced as wood weathered or was burned by hot cinders from steam locomotives. When cast iron, and later wrought iron, came into use, bridges could be built of great strength and longer spans. By the turn of the 20th century, steel had replaced iron for railroad bridges.

"In 1844, Caleb and Thomas Pratt developed a bridge that was built with wood and diagonal iron rods. They patented the design, which was made up of sections called trusses. Soon, they built the bridge entirely of iron. This bridge had the advantage of low-cost construction, because the iron parts were made in shops, the parts were easily transported to the site, and the bridge could be quickly erected by semi-skilled labor. It was so popular, it became the standard American truss bridge for moderate spans (from 25 feet to 150 feet), well into the 20th century.

"The Pratt Bridge in Guilford is 83 feet long. The distance between  the side trusses is 15 feet, 6 inches. It is a single-span structure designed to carry one set of train rails. Instead of crossing the river at right angles, the bridge has a built-in 35-degree left-hand skew. There are inclined end-posts at each end, and pin-connected eye-bars.

"This bridge was built in 1902 to carry the Patuxent Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad over the Little Patuxent River. The train carried heavy loads of granite stone from the Guilford quarries until 1925. The bridge abutments are made from this granite, which was used to construct many other bridge abutments and culverts on the B&O lines. After the railroad spur was abondoned, the bridge surface was planked to serve for a time as a local farm road.

"Although hundreds of these bridges were built, only a few survive. Several miles downstream,

 a similar Pratt bridge, known as the Gabbro Bridge, once carried the quarry train over the Middle Patuxent River. It was washed away by floods.

"Long abandoned, the Pratt Through-Truss Bridge was rescued by the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks and adapted to carry the Patuxent Branch Trail across the river. Its reopening was celebrated with a ribbon cutting on November 2, 2002 - over 100 years after it was built.

"Caleb and Thomas Pratt were father-and-son team from Boston. Caleb was an architect, and his son Thomas, born in 1812, became an engineer. By the age of 12, Thomas was preparing plans in his father's office. When he was 14, he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy NY and then went to work for the railroads designing bridges and other structures. He designed his first truss bridge in 1842; then he and his father were granted a joint patent in 1844 for the Pratt Truss Bridge. When they made the bridge entirely of iron, they pioneered the age of iron railroad bridges."

It was easy finding the bridge on this map, but, because of urban sprawl and road construction, it was hard to correlate this map with a satellite image.

1907/12 Laurel Quad @ 62,500

I used a blend of the 1907 map and a modern map to determine that the bridge was northwest of today's intersection of I-95 and MD-32.

1907 @ 30%

Note that the Patuxent Branch still ran to Savage after it was abandoned to the quarry. The branch still served a mill in Savage. The bridge to that mill is a Bollman Truss Bridge that is extant.

1950/50 Savage Quad @ 24,000

1870+1902+2026 NS/Pennsy Bridge over East Fork Whitewater River in Richmond, IN

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

"Originally built about 1870, current trusses built in 1902 on original stone substructures." [BridgeHunter]

Street View, Aug 2024

Bituminous Kole posted two photos with the comment: "Future show: First train to roll over the new Norfolk Southern bridge over the Whitewater River in Richmond Indiana: 64Q. Yes, a loaded ethanol train. Bold."

J.B. Rail Photog shared

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[The old trusses are between the yellow and red cranes and a new span for the south side is behind the yellow crane by the river.]

2
[The 1870 arch continues to be used.]

Bill Dwyer commented on the above post
The old one comes out...

Gary Pope posted
West side of the John’s Manville lead is in place.

The trusses were pin connected.

2010 photo by Anthony Dillon via BridgeHunter

Historic Photo via BridgeHunter

BridgeHunter

1:05:59 video @ 1:07
36 Hours From Last Train Over Old Bridge to First Train Over New Bridge
"After several months of staging equipment and materials, the demolition and replacement of Warfolk Southern's bridge over the Whitewater River in Richmond, Indiana was replaced in just days. The world's third tallest crane was instrumental in getting this work done so quickly."
At 8:24 I saw the name Terex on the crane.
I'm surprised they don't have a second hook with far fewer leads to handle the lighter loads such as track so that they could move the load much faster.
(I shoved the cursor over the railfanning parts.)

They do have the extra counterweights attached to lift the truss.

@ 40:54

He went home after this scene, so I was left with the question of how did the crane turn further to get rid of the truss? If it turned much further, its added counterweight would bump into the new span that is stored under the arch. I decided that the truss is close enough to the crane that they can remove the extra counterweight. Then they can turn the crane further and walk the crane towards the storage area for the old truss. That would explain why the crane pad is set up so that the crane can move back and forth. They needed the extra counterweight just to reach over the river to lift the second span off its piers.

@ 46:43

Note the use of spreader bars under a spreader bar so that they can lift the track at four different spots. Rails are remarkably flexible and need a lot of support.

@ 48:21

At 52:32 is the worse excavator operation that I have watched. I would think they would assign one of their better operators to this time-sensitive job.

1870+1906 Trail/Northern Pacific Bridge over St. Louis River near Carlton, MN

1870: (no Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1906: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Jen Deblieck, Sep 2025

BridgeHunter_1870

One of the abutments still uses cut stone. It appears that the other abutment was replaced with concrete, but they kept the stone wing walls.

2014 photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter_1906

This bridge is another transition design between pin connected and riveted plates.

2015 photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter_1906

Aaron De Baiso posted eight photos with the comment: "Absolutely pleasant weather graced Carlton County in Minnesota during the final weekend of May 2026.  This provided an opportune occasion to photograph the former Northern Pacific train bridge over the St. Louis River just below Thomson Dam.  This structure was constructed in 1906 by the American Bridge Company from New York.  It is located between Thomson Township and Carlton along the Willard Munger Trail.  Many hikers, runners, cyclists, and children were observed marveling at the bridge plus the opulent St. Louis River below.  The smell of rust added to the historical splendor of being in the company of this century old reminder of the Northern Pacific.  I am curious to know whether this bridge is along the Duluth Short Line Railroad Route.  Can somebody help me with this, please?  All photographs are from Saturday, May 30th, 2026."

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1953/64 Duluth Quad @ 250,000

I used the above map to try to sort out which BN was NP. Unfortunately, it is not accurate. But there is only one BN crossing the river, so that made it easy to find.

1969/71 Cloquet Quad @ 24,000

1872+1887+1916 UP Bridges over Missouri River at Omaha, NE

1872: (no Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1887: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1916: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

1872:

BridgeHunter_1872

1887:

BridgeHunter_1887

1916:

Street View, Jun 2021

The UP Big Boy crossing the bridge in 2026 taught me that I had yet to write notes for this significant bridge.

Facebook Reel

The two short trusses at the end indicate that this photo was taken from the Iowa side. This catches 3 of the 4 long spans.

2015 photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter_1916

I wonder how often they have to remove debris from the top of the trail protector.

2015 photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter_1916

John uploaded a lot of detailed shots on BridgeHunter_1916. I note these photos because they clearly show that the design is a transition between pin-connected and riveted gusset plates.

2015 photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter_1916

2015 photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter_1916

2015 photo by John Marvig via BridgeHunter_1916

1956/68 Omaha North and South Quads @ 24,000

After crossing the bridge, the Big Boy train soon turned North to take the former-C&NW route to Chicago.

UP_tracker