West Brownsville Junction Bridge

The West Brownsville Junction Bridge carries the Norfolk Southern Railway over the Monongahela River between West Brownsville and Albany, Pennsylvania.

---

---

The West Brownsville Junction Bridge carries the Norfolk Southern Railway over the Monongahela River between West Brownsville and Albany, Pennsylvania.

History

The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) had long been interested in expanding into the Monongahela River valley to serve the region’s coal mines and steel industry. By 1905, the PRR had acquired the Pittsburgh, Virginia & Charleston Railroad (PV&C) on the west bank of the river and owned half of the Monongahela Railroad on the east bank. ²

The PV&C was incorporated in 1867 as the Monongahela Valley Railroad, but it changed its name in 1870 as construction advanced southward toward Monongahela City. ² The PRR purchased bonds to finance the initial segment and a later extension, which opened to Brownsville in 1881. That extension prompted another company, the Brownsville Railway, to begin construction of a line along Redstone Creek. Its plan was to cross the Monongahela River at West Brownsville and connect with the PV&C.

1882 Bridge

The Brownsville Railway had already graded its route when it was acquired by the PV&C on April 20, 1880. ² The line, later known as the Redstone Branch, opened from West Brownsville Junction to Redstone Junction, near Uniontown, on September 25, 1882. It included an iron through-truss bridge over the Monongahela River.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the PRR had become more deeply invested in the PV&C and the Monongahela River corridor. In 1901, the Monongahela Railroad, a joint venture of the PRR and the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, built a line southward from the PV&C bridge along the east bank of the river toward Brownsville. ² The PV&C then negotiated with the War Department to add a diverging track from the existing bridge to reach the Monongahela Railroad. Because the proposal involved adding a diverging track to the existing structure, the Secretary of War claimed no jurisdiction over the work.

1912 Bridge

The PRR acquired the PV&C outright on April 1, 1905, and later began double-tracking the line. ² Plans prepared in 1910 called for a new bridge parallel to, and 50 feet south of, the earlier crossing. The War Department approved the plans on the condition that the main channel of the Monongahela River be widened from 272 feet 8 inches to 401 feet. Like its predecessor, the new bridge widened at its east end; unlike the earlier bridge, it accommodated two diverging tracks for the Monongahela Railroad.

The present bridge, a pin-connected Pennsylvania Petit through truss, was completed in 1912 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. ^{1 2} Its main span was fabricated by the Pennsylvania Steel Company of Steelton, Pennsylvania, a company wholly owned by the PRR, and erected by the Lucius Engineering Company of Pittsburgh. The bridge was designed by H. R. Leonard, Engineer of Bridges & Buildings for the PRR. ²

During construction, Lucius Engineering used a 60-ton derrick to lift the heaviest girder, weighing 55 tons, into place. ² The derrick attracted attention in the national engineering press and was apparently special equipment designed or adapted for this project. A reinforced concrete slab floor was added to the approach spans in 1914.

In 1968, the PRR merged with the New York Central Railroad to form the Penn Central Transportation Company. Penn Central declared bankruptcy in June 1970, and its rail operations were later conveyed to the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) when that company began operations on April 1, 1976. Conrail was split between the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) and CSX Transportation in 1999, with NS gaining control of the West Brownsville Junction Bridge as a result.

---

Gallery

---

---

Details

---

---

Sources

1. Plaque.
2. Spivey, Justin M. Pennsylvania Railroad, West Brownsville Junction Bridge. Historic American Engineering Record (HAER No. PA-556), National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Apr. 2000.