B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Harpers ferry.jpg
Aerial view looking west. Left to right: Stone piers from 1851 Bollman bridge; 1894 bridge; 1931 bridge.
B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing is located in West Virginia
B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing
LocationHarper's Ferry, West Virginia
Coordinates39°19′27″N 77°43′43″W / 39.32417°N 77.72861°W / 39.32417; -77.72861Coordinates: 39°19′27″N 77°43′43″W / 39.32417°N 77.72861°W / 39.32417; -77.72861
Area15 acres (6.1 ha)
Built1837
ArchitectWendel Bollman
Demolished1936 (flood)
NRHP reference No.78001484[1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 14, 1978

The B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing is a 15-acre (6.1 ha) historic site where a set of railroad bridges, originally built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, span the Potomac River between Sandy Hook, Maryland, and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in the United States. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1978 for its significance in commerce, engineering, industry, invention, and transportation.[2]

History[]

The 1851 Bollman Bridge (top) c.1860s. and its remains next to the 1894 bridge in 2009 (bottom).

The original Harper's Ferry operated from 1733 until it was replaced by a timber covered road bridge in about 1824 at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.[2][3]

Built in 1836–1837, the B&O's first crossing over the Potomac was an 830-foot (250 m) covered wood truss.[2] It was the only rail crossing of the Potomac River until after the Civil War. The single-track bridge, which comprised six river spans plus a span over the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II.[4]: 34  In 1837 the Winchester and Potomac Railroad reached Harpers Ferry from the south, and Latrobe joined it to the B&O line using a "Y" span.[4]: 65 

John Brown used the B&O bridge at the beginning of his failed attempt to start a slave insurrection in Virginia and further south.

The bridge was destroyed during the American Civil War, and replaced temporarily with a pontoon bridge.[4]: 65 

The two crossings today, which are on different alignments, are from the late 19th century and early 20th century. A steel Pratt truss and plate girder bridge was built in 1894 to carry the B&O Valley line (now the CSX Shenandoah Subdivision) toward Winchester, Virginia, along the Shenandoah River. This was complemented in 1930–1931 with a deck plate girder bridge that carries the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) main line to Martinsburg, West Virginia (the line is now the CSX Cumberland Subdivision).

A rail tunnel, known as the Harpers Ferry Tunnel, was built at the same time as the 1894 bridge to carry the line through the Maryland Heights, eliminating a sharp curve. In the 1930s the western end of the tunnel was widened during the construction of the second bridge to allow the broadest possible curve across the river.

Accident[]

On December 21, 2019, a CSX freight train derailed on the bridge, sending several cars into the river. There were no injuries and the bridge was later reopened.[5]

Gallery[]

  • West Portal of the Harpers Ferry Tunnel

  • View from the Split Rock overlook in 2021

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System – (#78001484)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Paula Stoner Dickey and Robert M. Vogel (June 26, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing". National Park Service. With accompanying photo
  3. ^ Note: Harwood (p. 44) states an opening date of 1829.
  4. ^ a b c Harwood, Herbert H., Jr. (1994). Impossible Challenge II: Baltimore to Washington and Harpers Ferry from 1828 to 1994. Baltimore, MD: Barnard, Roberts & Co. ISBN 0934118221.
  5. ^ Robert Gearty (2019-12-21). "Freight train cars derail into the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry in West Virginia". foxnews. Archived from the original on 2019-12-21. Retrieved 2019-12-22.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""