| Kanawha & Michigan Railroad And The Silver Bridge Almost everyone has seen this photo: It's the K & M Depot at the end of Broad St where I grew up, and later known as the New York Central
And you might have even seen these photos:
But I'll bet you've never seen this photo:
We're going outside of Charleston for this one, all the way to Point Pleasant. This is the K & M Railroad Bridge over the Ohio River circa 1893. The small Engine was standard for it's day. Notice how narrow the bridge structure is. That would soon be removed and a wider, heavier structure would take it's place. That bridge is the bridge you see today in Point Pleasant, and it stands just upriver from where the old Silver Bridge once stood. The bridge piers you see in this photo now support the current bridge. That little Engine most likely parked itself many times on Broad Street back in it's day. And here is a shot of the town of Point Pleasant with the bridge in the background:
The bridge today:
THE SILVER BRIDGE
The Silver Bridge is listed here because at one time it stood just downriver from the K & M Railroad Bridge. On December 15,1967 at approximately 5 p.m., the U.S. Highway 35 bridge connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Kanauga, Ohio suddenly collapsed into the Ohio River. At the time of failure, thirty- seven vehicles were crossing the bridge span, and thirty-one of those automobiles fell with the bridge. Forty- six individuals perished with the buckling of the bridge and nine were seriously injured. Along with the numerous fatalities and injuries, a major transportation route connecting West Virginia and Ohio was destroyed, disrupting the lives of many and striking fear across the nation. The bridge was dubbed the 'Silver Bridge' because it was the country's first aluminum painted bridge. It was designed with a twenty-two foot roadway and one five-foot sidewalk. Some unique engineering techniques were featured on the Silver Bridge such as 'High Tension' eye-bar chains, a unique anchorage system, and 'Rocker" towers. The Silver Bridge was the first eye-bar suspension bridge of its type to be constructed in the United States. A scale model of the original Silver Bridge can be seen at the Point Pleasant River Museum. An archive of literature about the bridge is kept there for public inspection. On the lower ground floor, the museum displays an eyebar assembly from the original bridge.
SEE A LARGE IMAGE OF THE SILVER BRIDGE HERE NOTES: In 1892, the Kanawha and Michigan Railroad (K&M), originally chartered in April of 1890, completed its rail line between Point Pleasant, WV (Mason County) and Charleston, WV (Kanawha County). A year later, in 1893, the K&M completed it's extension of the its rail line to Gauley Bridge, in Fayette County , which provided a transportation link between West Virginia and the Great Lakes region. The completion of a bridge in 1893 by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) across the New River, at Gauley, provided the K&M a link with the C&O, at K&M Junction, near Gauley Bridge, WV. In 1910 C&O interests bought control of the Kanawha & Michigan, planning to use the K&M to connect the C&O with the Great Lakes area, but anti-trust laws soon forced the C&O to abandon its K&M interests. In 1922, the K&M leased its line to the New York Central System (NYC), eventually became a part of the NYC. The NYC expanded the old K&M line with the addition of a branch line to Middle Creek, in Clay County, and another branch line to Swiss, in Nicholas County. Surviving K&M Structures The former K&M combination (freight and passenger) station at Gauley Bridge was moved to a new location, and now serves as city hall for the town of Gauley Bridge, WV. The former K&M freight station in Charleston, WV is now the location of the Capitol Market . K&M's predecessor line: Kanawha and Ohio Railroad, reorganized as Kanawha & Michigan in 1893. K&M was controlled by The Toledo and Ohio Central Railway Company, between 1903 and 1910. K&M was merged with Toledo & Ohio Central in 1938, and Toledo & Ohio Central was merged with NYC in 1952. |
