The Wooden Bridges of Paulding County Before the Seaboard Airline Railroad was abandoned in 1985 newly under CSX ownership, the railroad had numerous creosote-coated wood bridges crossing it on local roads. One of these also was built on the remaining operating rail line in the county. Locations of such included an unpaved local road near Hiram, two on Old Harris Road and one on Willow Springs Road in a remote area in the western part of the county. These bridges are today very rare, and were all built by the respective rail companies originally. Unfortunately, the Hiram bridge and the Old Harris Road bridge over the Seaboard Airline railroad (now Silver Comet Rail Trail) have been dismantled. As of 2005, however, the other two still remained. These will be covered in the photos below. Another similar bridge may be seen on the Concord Bridge Historic District Page. |
 | Here
is a side view of the Old Harris Road bridge over an active railroad. Trains in
this area typically go 80 MPH as observed from the tressle on the Silver Comet
Trail. This bridge is in serious disrepair and has only a 3 ton weight limit.
Photo taken January 11, 2005. |
 | The
top view of the bridge. The deck of the bridge is in horrendous condition and
is so bumpy and warped that no running boards were ever placed on the bridge.
Some places were so bad that they were patched with plywood. Once called "The
Humpback Bridge" by local residents, the bridge offered a thrill ride for
teenagers for decades. Photo taken January 11, 2005. |
 | Further
west is the Willow Springs Road bridge over the trail. The bridge is in a remote
area and is sligtly difficult to find. It is quite spectacular from the Silver
Comet Trail below with its three levels of wooden braces straddling a deep cut
in the top of a ridge. Photo taken January 11, 2005. |
 | Here
is another view of the bridge. Unfortunately, no base views have yet been taken
because access from the top of the bridge to the base is near impossible, and
no time was available to walk from the nearby county road to the bridge. This
was an area I used to bike a lot in 2001 and 2002, but have not been back since.
Photo taken January 11, 2005. |
 | The
bridge is quite beautiful and almost plateau-like in its deceptively level crossing
from the top. Note the heavy amount of safety devices added by the Paulding County
D.O.T. This bridge also does not have running boards, but it is a very smooth
ride compared to the "Humpback Bridge". |
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submit photos, click
here. | |