Aban/NYC and 1951 US-60 Bridges over Gauley River in Gauley Bridge, WV

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

US-60: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

The Gauley River joins the New River to form the Kanawha River.

A view of the NYC bridge from the US-60 bridge. 

Street View, Jun 2022

Note the abandoned piers on this side of the railroad bridge.

2011 photo by Irma Hale via BridgeHunter_NYC

Those piers have been repurposed as a suspension bridge for a pipe.

2011 photo by Irma Hale via BridgeHunter_NYC

Normally, I would not note a steel-girder bridge, but Historic Bridges considered it worthy of inclusion. 1951 is probably an early date for steel-girder bridges.

HistoricBridges_US-60
"This is a representative example of a large mid-20th century steel stringer bridge in West Virginia."

3 of 23 photos posted by Waldo's Adventures with the comment: "Old trestle over the gauley river gauley bridge wv has not seen a train in years  someone clean the brush off the bridge."

Waldo's Adventures shared

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Originally, this bridge connected NYC with C&O.

1931/48 Fayetteville Quad @ 62,500

When Conrail was split up, CSX got the bridge. Of course, CSX would have no desire to interchange with NS here. But a couple of Waldo's photos shows that rails are still on the bridge. Is CSX keeping this bridge intact in case they need an emergency detour? Looking at the satellite image, the C&O branch along the Gauley River doesn't look like it is used much. But if that is the case, why did they build a 2011 replacement bridge at Gauley?

National Rail Network Map

Also, CSX has a connection with NS just downstream on the Kanawha River at the Deep Water Bridge.

National Rail Network Map

Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement in New York CIty (NYC)

(Satellite, the viaduct is being replaced between here (115th Street) and 132 Street.)

Facebook Reel

Same Reel

Same Reel

MTA
"The MTA is repairing or replacing portions of the Park Avenue Viaduct between East 115 and East 132 Streets....The Park Avenue Viaduct is the elevated steel structure that carries four Metro-North Railroad tracks along Park Avenue between E 110 St and the Harlem River Lift Bridge."

Before:

Street View, Aug 2024

After:

MTA, this webpage has some photos of the existing viaduct and some videos of the replacement activity

A renovation was completed in 1999.

bechtel
"At the time of the rehabilitation, it carried nearly all Metro-North trains into and out of Grand Central Terminal — carrying approximately 600 trains and 160,000 passengers daily.... Modernizing the steel structure involved replacing the deck, upgrading support structures, and improving track geometry — all while keeping trains and commuters moving. With three of the four tracks remaining active during rush hour, space for construction was extremely limited. At times, it required the team to carefully coordinate the movement of 500 tons of steel in an area no larger than 4,000 square feet. Despite these constraints, Bechtel completed the six-year effort on schedule."

I noticed the Mi-Jack brand on the wheeled gantry cranes in the reel screen views at the top of these notes. I recognize that name as the wheeled gantries that are used to move containers in some railroad intermodal yards.

mi-jack, there are a couple of videos on this webpage.
" Working with the MTA, Halmar International used prefabricated construction and two custom 200-ton Mi-Jack RTG cranes to efficiently replace aging viaduct sections in active rail territory – resulting in Phase I finishing $93 million under budget and 21 months ahead of schedule....Spanning 1.25 miles and serving the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven lines, the structure is a critical link for daily commuter travel – leaving no margin for extended outages or construction delays during replacement work. During Phase I, crews replaced 8,240 feet of track across 128 bridge installations, which required lifting and positioning 190,000-lb bridge sections. Mi-Jack’s custom 200-ton gantry cranes enabled crews to efficiently lift out old steel and concrete deck segments and install prefabricated replacements within tightly controlled work windows, minimizing disruption of commuter services....Measuring approximately 30’L x 50’H x 98’W, the machines required a complex erection procedure due to the need to straddle one of the busiest rail corridors in the Northeast to perform bridge replacement."

Why didn't they replace the viaduct between 123rd and 127th Streets? That would have saved them the expense of moving the gantry cranes.

mi-jack
"Following the successful completion of Phase I, which replaced the viaduct from East 115th Street to East 123rd Street, Phase II is now underway. This next phase will focus on replacing the viaduct from East 127th Street to mid-block between East 131st and East 132nd Streets, with completion expected in 2027. To begin Phase II, the two Mi-Jack MJ200HD cranes had to be disassembled and relocated to East 128th Street – a complex operation requiring smaller cranes to lift and move the components. The top beams alone measure 94 feet in length and weigh approximately 83,000 pounds."

ConstructionDive
"The $590 million first phase, of which $500.9 million stemmed from federal funds, replaced the viaduct’s full substructure and superstructure between East 115th and East 123rd streets."
[So, the estimate must have been $683 if there was a $93m savings.]

Environmental impact studies continue to be a growth industry.

stvinc

Wabtec Test Track, NYC and US-20 Bridges over Sixmile Creek near Erie, PA

East Erie Commercial Railroad (Wabtec test track): (Satellite)

NYC: (Satellite)

NKP: (Satellite)

US-20: (Satellite)

US-20 Overview

The arch bridge carries the Wabtec/GE test track. On the other side of that bridge, we get a glimpse of the arch bridge of the CSX/NYC.

Street View, Apr 2024

Linda walked the Sixmile Creek from here to the South. So this is the creek view of the above scene.

Facebook Reel

After she pointed out the little waterfall and some snakes, a test train appeared on the Wabtec test track. I was surprised that Wabtec still uses the GE logo. Also, we can see clear through the NYC arch bridge.

Same Reel

The test train consisted of two blue and one BNSF locomotives.

Same Reel

After seeing a snake swimming in the creek, we get a closeup of the NYC Bridge.

Same Reel

Another view of the NYC arch because a NS/NKP train is on their bridge. It is gone in later views. The concrete girder bridge in the background is the US-20 Bridge.

Same Reel

She turned around for this shot of the NYC Bridge. The road bridge behind the test track bridge is PA-955, which is on Iroquois Ave. As Linda explains, the NYC Bridge is a double arch and we can see the gap between the arches in these NYC views.

The NYC Bridge needs some TLC. I think the date is 1909.

Same Reel

Same Reel

Linda called the NKP bridge the CSX bridge. I verified that she was wrong. When they split up Conrail, CSX got NYC. NS got NKP because of the N&W+NKP+Wabash merger.

arcgis

Linda also considers the US-20 bridge to be blah because she spent about 2 seconds on that bridge in her video.

Same Reel

These fossils are underneath the US-20 bridge.

Same Reel

1960/62 Harborcreek Quad @ 24,000

The East Erie Commercial label in the above map is still the name of the railroad that Wabtec uses to test locomotives. Linda had a few more scenes of the test train going over their bridge in her video.

A.J MIC, Apr 2023

"It takes about 25 days start to finish to build a brand new locomotive....We track test 100% of every locomotive we ship....They travel about 40 to 50 miles on the test track. We want high-speed runs and we want to do low speed run. Exercise that locomotive and all the conditions it may see out in its environment....Grand total, it varies on the model, but testing and painting takes anywhere from about 6 to 10 days." [2:14  video]

1800s+1940+1968 Pennsylvania Turnpike Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel near Wilow Hill, PA

(Satellite)

West Portal:

Street View, May 2025

East Portal:

Street View, Nov 2025

This railroad tunnel became the original turnpike tunnel. In 1940, they added an eastbound tunnel south of this tunnel. Then in 1968 this original tunnel was replaced by a newer tunnel. The daily usage is 24,000. [gftinc]

Jackson-Township historical preservation posted

Photo from 1938 of a long tunnel bored through the mountain with Huntingdon County on the west side and Franklin County on the east and although completed, it was never used for the purpose for which it had been constructed many decades before. This was originally constructed for a railroad but tracks were never laid and the tunnel was converted to use as one of the original Tuscarora Tunnels for the Pennsylvania Turnpike which began construction in 1939. A surveyor in the photo is doing work for the proposed change of use from a rail tunnel to that of the Turnpike.

(Photo from Steve Kemp via https://www.facebook.com/groups/208623169187266/)

Robert Salinetro: I think it was built by the New York Central RR when they were trying to compete with the PRR and they were talked out of finishing the plan. The turnpike took over some of the track right of way for the initial road.

[Indeed. And the Pennsy was building a railroad up the west side of the Hudson River to compete with the NYC. JP Morgan met with the railroads and talked them out of the suicidal redundancy.]

Some of the tunnels on the turnpike have been daylighted. But this tunnel is below 1100' through a mountain that is over 1800'. So a 700' deep dut is too much even for modern equipment. 

1966/69 Fannettsburg Quad @ 24,000

gftinc
In the 2020s, the lanes in the 1940 eastbound bore were widened. Also, management of infiltrating water, ventilation, lighting and control electronics were improved. "A dark coating on the exterior portals, in combination with an illuminated tunnel interior, will help counteract motorists’ tendency to slow down when approaching a dark entrance, improving traffic flow through the tunnels."

WoodsAirMovement
The mile-long tunnel now has 12 modern axial exhaust fans.
"The 6 foot [1.8m] exhaust fans are designed to extract hazardous pollution if traffic is standing still in the tunnel - or smoke in the event of a fire - quickly and efficiently to allow safe evacuation and easier access for emergency services."

NYC/LS&MS, US-20 and OH-2 Routes over Grand River at Painesville, OH

1856 NYC: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1908 NYC: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter, no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

US-20: (Satellite)

OH-2: (Satellite)

US-20 Overview 

The 1856 bridge was a stone bridge.

John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library Flickr, cropped via BridgeHunter_1856

This is the full image from which the above was cropped.

John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library Flickr via BridgeHunter_1856

This is a better view of the covered bridge for the road that goes under the bridge abutment. I presume this road was the predecessor for US-20

Public Domain via BridgeHunter_1856

Actually, that road also continued East, so the road to the East was probably the original route. A 1960 topo map doesn't show OH-2, but a 1970 map does show it in purple. Purple means that it was a change in the map.

1904/1962 Chardon Quad @ 62,500

The replacement NYC bridge has much longer arches and is an open spandrel.

Public Domain via BridgeHunter_1906

This view of the NYC bridge is from US-20, and we can see the OH-2 bridge under the arch. OH-2 appears to be a steel-girder bridge.

Street View, Oct 2021

And here we see US-20 from OH-2. It is also a steel-girder bridge.

Street View, May 2019

Brian Jules posted five photos with the comment: "Painsville, Ohio with the 1908 Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway bridge.(currently CSX) Concrete open spandrel arch bridge spans the Grand River at 350ft long and 100 ft tall. Small additional pedestrian tunnel on the eastern side. I grew up in Berea playing in the spandrels of the same style bridge and I’m sure it’s the same builder but this bridge is massive!"

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[That would be US-20 in the background.]

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Michael Cefaratti commented on Brian's post
Love my town of Painesville, Ohio

US-20 was closed and then opened with one lane for several months in 2023 to replace the deck.

news-herald

More photos of the three bridges and the tunnel are available at johngwalter.