Centennial of High Bridge on the CNO&TP

swinstandley · September 08, 2011, 12:36:09 PM

The first train over the present day High Bridge was about 9 AM on Sept. 11, 1911. That makes this Sunday as the centennial for this High Bridge. The present High Bridge was built around the old one in 1910-1911. The Cincinnati Southern Railway from Cincinnati to Chattanooga belongs to the city of Cincinnati and is leased to the CNO&TP, a subsidiary of the Norfolk Southern.

http://cincinnatisouthernrailway.org/about/full-timeline.php

The website does not list the construction of High Bridge in the timeline. Anybody know if the city financed the bridge's contruction in 1910-1911? The construction was supervised by the Southern Railway.

Stew

Kentucky & Indiana Terminal RR · September 08, 2011, 03:05:33 PM

I read somewhere when it was reconstructed it was raised somewhere between 3 & 6 feet (or something like that) to put it a few feet above Youngs high bridge.

swinstandley · September 08, 2011, 04:02:09 PM

It was raised more than that. The new bridge was built around and above the old one so that trains could continue to run on the old bridge during construction. After the new one was in use, the old bridge was removed. Both bridges used the same piers. The new bridge was originally single track.

Stew

swinstandley · September 08, 2011, 08:15:35 PM

The attached PDF has a couple of photos of High Bridge. Page 1 has a line showing the height of the new bridge, and the second page is of the first train to cross the new High Bridge on Sept. 11, 1911. You can see the original bridge inside the new one in this photo.

Stew

E.M. Bell · September 08, 2011, 10:02:56 PM

Stew, I cant believe I have never seen that CSRY website before...that's very interesting. The financial reports and audits are a nice look at what NS pays every year just in rent...and it was really LESS than I had expected.

They have a link on there to a Google books copy of the history of the RR, which is a interesting read that I have read cover to cover more than once in the past...I would recommend that to anyone.

The PDF you attached clearly shows the old stone towers that where at each end of high bridge. It was intended to be a suspension bridge at first, but never happened. The towers where built for that, but it never got any further. A portion of the North tower is still visible to this day, if you know what you are looking at.

butch · September 09, 2011, 03:48:03 PM

Here are some photos of the bridge expansion from the Nollau collection at UK-hope I'm not violating any copyright laws.

swinstandley · September 11, 2011, 11:39:43 AM

Here's a photo of the first train after 9AM over High Bridge on Sept. 11, 2011 on the day of the centennial.

Stew