Bridges, Trestles, and Viaducts Over the past 170 years Georgia's railway builders have used a variety of structures to carry heavy trains across streams and roadways. Earthen fills with culverts are adequate for many small watercourses, but often the job requires a wooden trestle, a masonry arch, or a steel bridge. Here's a small sampling of the rail spans found in the Peach State: Masonry arch bridges • Central of Georgia Railroad bridges, Savannah. Two brick-arch railroad bridges built before the Civil War. • L&N Overpass at Pine Log. A rail bridge at a scenic spot in Bartow County. Wooden trestles and bridges • Georgia Railroad trestle, Athens. A high wooden trestle on one of state's oldest rail lines. • Hichitee Creek trestle, Chattahoochee County. An 1896 photograph shows a construction crew on this western Georgia trestle. • Humpback road bridges, Fewer and fewer of these will be seen as the years go by. • Article on The Trestles of North Georgia at About North Georgia. Steel bridges • Wells Viaduct, Toccoa. Amtrak's Crescent crosses this sky high bridge over the North Fork of the Broad River. • Etowah River bridge, Rome. A through-truss bridge that carried Central of Georgia trains over the river. Preserved as part of a recreational trail. • Tallulah Falls bridge, Tallulah Falls. Piers from a 1913 railway bridge. • Alapaha River bridge, Stockton. A deck plate girder bridge for the Atlantic Coast Line. • Flint River bridge, Albany. A pair of slightly different through-truss spans. (See also Movable bridges, below.) Movable bridges There are three basic types of movable railroad bridges: swing, vertical lift, and bascule. • Oostanaula River bridge, Rome. Preserved swing bridge in downtown Rome used by pedestrians and bicyclists. • Ocmulgee River bridge, Lumber City. This old swing bridge still carries trains across the river. • Altamaha River bridge, Everett. The Orange Blossom Special and other great passenger trains of the Seaboard once sped across this abandoned swing span. • SAL Flint River bridge, Bainbridge. A swing bridge on the Seaboard's old GF&A line. • ACL Flint River bridge, Bainbridge. A half-mile upriver from the Seaboard bridge is the Atlantic Coast Line's crossing of the Flint. • Chattahoochee River bridge, Omaha. An abandoned vertical lift bridge that is always in the up position. • Savannah River bridge, Augusta. A bascule bridge in downtown Augusta. Other notable bridges • Etowah River bridge, Cartersville. The stone piers of the old Western & Atlantic Railroad bridge stand upstream of the current bridge, built in 1944. Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. Copyright, Steve Storey. Railroad History | The Depot List | Locomotives On Display | Odds & Ends | Sources & References | Home