Abandoned train bridge from the shore.
For some reason I seem to attracted to bridges, abandoned places, and just nature in general. This particular bridge located on the Chattahoochee River just south of Columbus, Georgia fits that description. My brother told me about it after a friend of his had been and posted some pictures on Instagram, so we of course had to check it out for ourselves. I have been back several times because it really is a fantastic spot and its not far from where I live, plus it makes some great photographs as well.
Looking out Generator room
This type of bridge, called a vertical lift bridge, allows the moving deck to raise up to allow tall boats to pass beneath the bridge with the help of counterbalancing weights equal to the weight of the center deck making it ideal for use in the railroad industry that needed substantial amounts of heavy steel materials to support the weight of trains and their cargo. As shown in one of the pictures above it has been left in the open position. The grey painted steel is giving way to rust in some areas and there is graffiti paint, which according to the dates left behind, this bridge has been an attraction for many years. Many of the railroad crossties are completely rotted away adding to the danger of attempting to scale the bridge. Some of the crossties on the movable tracks shows signs of having been burned probably by some adventurists who thought it would be pretty neat to see a fire above the river. Why do some people always want to start fires and burn things down? Rhetorical question I guess.
The generator house from the tower.
The structure on top of the movable deck houses the generators and winches that raise and lower the railroad track. There are cables running from the generator house along the top of the truss then up the twin towers on either end of the truss to the giant pulleys that have cables supporting the suspended counter-weights. The two towers contain the pulleys that help raise and lower everything. The towers constitute the tallest section of the bridge approximately 75 feet above the water. I have to wonder who had to operate this bridge and I suppose they would have to live nearby. One would have to cross the bridge to the generator house, crank both generators up, engage the winches to raise the bridge, wait until the boat had passed and then lower the bridge back down. I guess there were not a lot of tall boats traveling this way.
It stands in stark contrast to the surrounding landscape a testament to its distant past. The grey steel trusses against the backdrop of green forests and a muddy/green river. There are no railroad tracks leading to the bridge as they have been removed many years ago. The area is all grown up except for a small single lane dirt road that locals use to reach the river to fish along the banks. One of the times I was there taking photos along the bank of the river, the mosquitoes and gnats were so bad I don’t see how anyone could spend a couple of hours fishing along the bank. But since its lined with underbrush and plenty of swampy areas that have floating debris and water plants its no surprise that it would be a haven for insects, snakes and other creatures.
The movable track, notice some crossties burned.
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