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Brighton Railroad Bridge

Brighton Railroad Bridge

Published March 31, 2026 By Sherman Cahal

The Brighton Railroad Bridge carries the Ohio Central Railroad over the Muskingum River and the Muskingum River Canal in Zanesville, Ohio.

Table Of Contents
  1. History
  2. Gallery

The Brighton Railroad Bridge carries the Ohio Central Railroad over the Muskingum River and the Muskingum River Canal in Zanesville, Ohio. It was used by both the Pennsylvania and Baltimore & Ohio railroads.

History

The bridge was originally built for the Cincinnati & Muskingum Valley Railroad, which was constructed between Zanesville and Morrow in 1866 and extended to Trinway in 1870. The line served the heavily coal-producing regions of Muskingum and Perry counties. In 1911, the Cincinnati & Muskingum Valley merged with the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus Railroad, which had been controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad since 1899; afterward, the former Cincinnati & Muskingum Valley route was operated as the Pennsylvania Railroad’s C&MV Division. 5

Later, the bridge was dually used via trackage rights by the Zanesville, McConnelsville & Pomeroy Railroad, which was organized in 1883 by Col. Boone to connect Zanesville with Marietta along the west bank of the Muskingum River. 1 Boone envisioned it as the first route in his proposed Black Diamond Railway System, a network that would have extended across the Midwest. Nearly all of the right-of-way, except for the section through Philo, was donated to the railroad.

Construction between Zanesville and Malta was completed in 1885. 1 The railroad was soon renamed the Chicago, Zanesville & Atlantic Railroad and then the Zanesville & Ohio River Railroad in 1886. The line reached Malta on December 27, 1886, and was completed to Marietta in 1888.

The railroad went bankrupt around 1890. 1 In 1900, it was sold at public auction for $260,000 to the Ohio & Little Kanawha Railroad. Two years later, in 1902, it became part of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad as its Ohio & Little Kanawha Subdivision.

The line saw its greatest level of activity between 1902 and 1921, when as many as eight trains operated daily. 1 During that period, the Ohio & Little Kanawha served a productive coal-mining region. The 1914 reports of the Ohio Industrial Commission documented several large and many smaller active coal mines along the route in Muskingum and Morgan counties and near McConnelsville, all of which generated substantial traffic moving toward Zanesville. 3 The branch also served two Ohio Power coal-fired generating stations, which likely accounted for part of its online coal business.

During the flood of March 1913, the bridge suffered catastrophic damage when it collapsed on March 26. 2 4 Floodwaters crested at 51.8 feet, far above the previous record of 36.8 feet set in 1898 and well above the 25-foot flood stage. The bridge was rebuilt by the Pittsburg Construction Company. 6 It consisted of four new Warren through truss spans (Bridge 16/88) and a girder span (Bridge 16/81) over the river, and a deck girder swing span over the canal (Bridge 16/80). 5

There were also washouts near Stockport in 1935 and again in June 1974. 1 The earlier damage was repaired, but the 1974 washout occurred during a period of tighter railroad finances, and the line was not rebuilt.

In 1980, the Chessie System, successor to the B&O, petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the line between Philo and Relief, and permission was granted in 1983. 1 The ICC, however, required continued service to the Ferro-Alloy plant in Philo and several industries in Beverly. After the Ferro-Alloy plant closed in 1984, Chessie soon abandoned the remaining trackage there as well.

Today, the Zanesville portion of the former B&O Ohio & Little Kanawha Subdivision, including the Brighton Railroad Bridge, is operated by the Columbus & Ohio River Railroad.

Gallery

Details

  • State: Ohio
  • Route: Ohio Central Railroad
  • Status: Active (Railroad)
  • Type: Girder, Warren Through Truss
  • Total Length: 780'
  • Main Span Length: 120'

Sources

  1. Lashley, Cameron. “Railroads!” The Times Recorder, 27 Oct. 1991, p. D-1.
  2. Carskadden, Jeff. Famous Railroad Bridges in Muskingum County. Muskingum Valley Archaeological Survey, 1984.
  3. “Ohio & Little Kanawha Subdivision.” Part III: The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Columbus and the Coal Country Railroads, pp. 16–18.
  4. Schneider, Norris. “City’s Worst Disaster Occurred in 1913.” The Times Recorder, 27 Mar. 1983, p. D-1.
  5. “Right-Of-Way and Track Map.” Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Office of Valuation Engineer, Baltimore, 30 June 1918.
  6. “Trains Are Now Running Across the New Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Bridge.” The Zanesville Signal, 14 Apr. 1913, p. 1.

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