Bridges and Tunnels
Menu
  • Locations
  • Journal
  • About
Menu
Baisden Family Memorial Bridge

Baisden Family Memorial Bridge

The Baisden Family Memorial Bridge is an aged one-lane pony truss built along the former Norfolk & Western Railway Twelvepole alignment in West Virginia.


History

The Norfolk & Western Railway (N&W), formed in 1881 to connect Norfolk to Bristol, Virginia, had a self-vested interest in accessing vast underground coal deposits in the Flat Top Mountain region along the Virginia and West Virginia border. 1 It constructed the 75-mile New River Extension between Radford and Pocahontas, Virginia by 1883, and the Bluestone Extension to Elkhorn, West Virginia by 1887. North of Elkhorn, the N&W constructed the Ohio Extension to the Ohio River via the Elkhorn Creek, Tug River, and Twelvepole Creek.

The Baisden Family Memorial Bridge, a 96-foot Warren pony through truss, was built in 1911.

Confronted with the need for double-tracking, the Big Sandy Low-Grade Line, a new 59-mile single-track alignment along the Big Sandy River between Naugatuck and the Ohio River at Ceredo, was built and opened in December 1904. 1 The original Twelvepole alignment was used as an eastbound track for empty coal cars and local freight and passenger traffic while the new Big Sandy Extension was used for loaded cars heading westbound and through freight and passenger traffic. Many of the lightweight bridges along the Twelvepole route were built in the early 1910s.

In 1925, the N&W added a second track along its Big Sandy River alignment and in 1933, the railroad petitioned to the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to abandon its Twelvepole track between Lenore and Wayne, keeping intact the remainder north of Ceredo to serve coal mines primarily at East Lynn. 1 The tracks were removed later in the year and much of the roadbed was converted for roadway use.


Gallery

Baisden Family Memorial Bridge
Baisden Family Memorial Bridge
Baisden Family Memorial Bridge
Baisden Family Memorial Bridge

Information

  • State:
  • Route: WV County Route 3/05
  • Type: Warren Pony Truss
  • Status: Active - Automobile
  • Total Length: 96 feet
  • Spans:
  • Navigational Clearance:


Sources

  1. Bakic, Tracy D. “Fleming Thru Girder.” West Virginia Historic Bridge Inventory, 4 Apr. 2013.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Post Types

  • Location (603)
  • Gallery (145)
  • Post (56)
  • Page (3)
  • Envira Album (1)

Categories

  • Bridges (47)
  • Tunnels (6)
  • Uncategorized (6)
  • Dam (2)

Tags

  • bridge (43)
  • West Virginia (15)
  • Kentucky (13)
  • Ohio (13)
  • abandoned (6)

Year

  • 2023 (89)
  • 2022 (187)
  • 2021 (124)
  • 2020 (402)
  • 2017 (1)

Recent Comments

  • The Bridges of Glenville, West Virginia — Bridges and Tunnels – The Bridgehunter's Chronicles on The Bridges of Glenville, West Virginia
  • Sherman Cahal on Exploring the Sidaway Avenue Footbridge
  • Robert Lockwood Jr. on Exploring the Sidaway Avenue Footbridge
  • Deconstruction of the Donald M. Legg Memorial Bridge Continues - Bridges and Tunnels on Donald M. Legg and Nitro WWI Memorial Bridges
  • Mid-Hudson Bridge at Sunset — Bridges and Tunnels – The Bridgehunter's Chronicles on Mid-Hudson Bridge at Sunset

Journal Categories

Journal Tags

abandoned (6) bridge (43) construction (2) covered (1) dam (2) Demolition (3) Illinois (2) Indiana (3) Kentucky (13) Maryland (1) Mississippi River (1) Missouri (1) Monongahela River (1) New York (5) Ohio (13) Ohio River (4) Pennsylvania (1) Rehabilitation (1) suspension (1) tunnel (4) Virginia (2) West Virginia (15)

Journal Archives

©2022 Bridges & Tunnels
 

Loading Comments...