Tennessee River Railroad Bridge

I've shot this bridge before, but as today was a particularly clear day, I decided to shoot it again. The bridge spans the Tennessee River in Chattanooga, about 500 feet downstream from the Chickamauga Dam. It is owned by the Norfolk Southern Railroad, and at one time, functioned as a lift bridge with the center portion of the bridge able to rise up to allow tall ships to pass beneath it.

Ships tall enough to raise the bridge have long since passed, with the river barge traffic way too short to cause any concern. So, the control house atop the bridge remains unmanned, and the lift mechanism sits heavily rusted.

Here's a view from the south end, east side:

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What a monster! A very cool monster too.

Jon.

A very impressive bridge. The second shot shows that it was a long climb up to the control house.

Wow - neat bridge. I really like that second shot.

Incredible. Nice shots!
Even though not used for shipping it's a shame it's being allowed to rust away rather than at least given a lick of paint.

thats really cool, reminds me of a halflife map..great work!

i-gadget wrote:
Incredible. Nice shots!
Even though not used for shipping it's a shame it's being allowed to rust away rather than at least given a lick of paint.

Well, the bridge is still used by the railroad, which owns it, but they don't raise the center lift any more for tall ships, since there aren't any on the river these days.

You're right, though - it does need a bit of cleaning up and painting. I wonder if they're waiting for the new lock project (the river Locks are destined to be replaced within the next couple of years) before they work on the railroad bridge. Could be some federal money, which is like a magnet.

BTW, thanks, all. It is majestic in its own way, even if it looks rather rough.

cool shot...second one is better. love the lines.

Interesting solution to a problem! Does it say anywhere that Rube Goldberg designed it?

PhotosGuy wrote:
Interesting solution to a problem! Does it say anywhere that Rube Goldberg designed it?

LOL, was Rube Goldberg around in 1920 because I believe that's when the bridge was first commissioned.

There are several lift bridges around, some still in full service. Here's a crop of an image I scanned showing a couple of the bridges in Cleveland, Ohio's "Flats" area:

Cool pics! It would be cool if you could get up there and take some shots. Urban exploration type stuff.