1895 Big Four Bridge

The above title is from the Preservation Magazine of July/August 2005 indicating the saving of this bridge.

The following is the text.

"Louisville, Kentucky Supreme Court prevented demolition of Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway Co. bridge--by not doing anything: the court refused to hear lawsuit challenging the city's right to restore it; plans in place to complete a pedestrian walkway by 2007."

Anyone here familiar with this bridge?

If you've ever crossed the Ohio River on I-65 in downtown Louisville, you've seen it - it's just upstream.

It is a MASSIVE black through-truss bridge, sitting what must be eighty to ninety feet above the normal river level - and is completely isolated. The approach spans were removed thirty years ago, and the bridge just stands there, with no connection at either end.

It's a bit odd that the New York Central's Big Four owned the bridge, but could access it only via 60 miles of trackage rights over the B&O - who, in turn, used the Pennsy's bridge to cross the river a couple of miles downstream.

NYC in later years sent most of their Louisville gateway traffic into Avon Yard ( Indianapolis ). Routing was via the B&O Louisville Branch north to North Vernon, then to Greensburg IN over their own North Vernon-Goshen Michigan Division, then northwest to Avon on the Cincinnati-Indianapolis main line. I don't know if there was enough traffic to run a separate train to Elkhart (or elsewhere), or if they just sent everything into Avon.

They gave up the rights over the B&O about a year before the PC merger after negotiating rights over the Pennsylvania's direct Indianapolis-Louisville line, as it allowed them to us just one road crew. I --think-- they continue to operate transfers over the bridge until the PC merger itself, and ended operation of freights over the bridge shortly thereafter. Perhaps someone in the Louisville area can confirm or clarify this?

Thanks for the feedback. That is what I wanted to know.

Jerry

I think the "BRIDGE" was an asset of the L&JB company. Last SUPT was a guy named PROBASCO, who ended his career at INDPLS. LOUISVILLE & JEFFERSON BRIDGE was the name of the CO. Bridge was built to cross the river and permit B&O/CCC&STL to get their FRT/PSGR OPERATIONS to/from LOUISVILLE,KY......LARRY BAGGERLY

The company that owned the Louisville bridge and the terminal tracks around it was the Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge & Railroad Company. It was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the CCC&StL and then the NYCRR. It was first incorporated in 1887 as the Louisville and Jeffersonville Bridge Co., and re-organized in 1917 with its later name.

You can tell by looking closely at the masonry in the piers of the existing bridge that there was an earlier one on those piers.

When I was a Track Supervisor on the Southern District of the NYCRR in 1965-66, the ARSA seniority roster for Subordinate Officials of the Maintenance of Way Department on Lines West had a separate roster for "General Foreman, L&JB&RR Co." The position had charge of both the Bridge and Track Departments, which were not really armies of men. The roster had one name on it, but I don't remember who it was.