Bridge 322 Q

[NW Mailing List]

On Tue, Jun 19, 2018, at 6:50 AM,
abram
 wrote:

> Mr. Pierry & Co. LLC,
>
> Fathers, Elders, Nobles, Members of the Ruling Class, and Old Railroad
> Degenerates :
>
> ​T​
> hat photo of Bridge 322Q is outstanding !  It is an absolutely beautiful
> piece of stonemasonry, and a top drawer piece of photography, too.
>
> Fifty plus years ago, when I was running on the Bristol Line, I always had
> an eye out for signs of line relocations and, if memory serves me
> correctly, I don't think I ever saw any (save the obvious one, at New
> River.)
>
> This photograph, however, just screams out, "Line Relocation!"
>
> Look at the back wall of the bridge, to the right of the arch.  See that
> projection sticking outward from the stonework, somewhat darker than the
> surrounding stonework?  That is almost certainly a previous bridge back
> wall, left in place, and with newer stonework laid up around it.
>
> If this is correct, then a curve has been taken out of the original
> alignment at this point and the roadbed raised about 8 to 10 feet.  And if
> that is the case, there are probably the remains of a matching bridge pier
> on the opposite side of the creek.
>
​This is a popular bridge to photograph and we (the Blacksburg gang) found
it on a trip down the Bristol line. A little research turned up some
details of the bridge and I was able ​to find them again thanks to a quick
Google search. The "new" Norfolk & Western embarked on some improvements to
its line and reported the work in its 1897 Annual Report. That bridge and
two more further south were replaced with newer structures:

Bridges

322
Third Holston River
A Fink truss span, previously supported by trestles, replaced by new deck
truss span.

324
Second Holston River
Two through truss spans, previously supported by trestles, replaced by a
new half through truss bridge of two spans.

326
First Holston River
Two through truss spans, previously supported by trestles, replaced by a
new half through truss bridge of two spans.

First Annual Report
Norfolk & Western Railway Company
for Nine Months Ending June 30, 1897
Pg. 63


The bridge is in the middle of a long tangent, so it appears that the extra
stonework may have been added to reinforce that wing wall to keep it from
tumbling down onto that roadway.

Bruce in Blacksburg
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