Exploring an Abandoned Railroad Bridge with Rotted Ties, Covington, Indiana

From what I can figure out, the location of this railroad crossing over the Wabash River in Covington, Indiana dates back to 1869. However, the only vestiges of the original crossing is the massive cut stone bridge abutments. Information on the website Bridge Hunter states that the first bridge at this location was constructed by a Toledo bridge building company for the Indianapolis Bloomington & Western Railway.

At some point that bridge was removed and this steel through truss bridge was constructed. In this picture taken from the west banks of the Wabash River, you can see the tower of the 1859 Fountain County Courthouse that was replaced with the current courthouse in 1937. In this photo you can see how close the Wabash River is to swallowing the railroad bridge during the 1913 flood.

The steel through truss bridge stood until 1923 when the current trestle was built along with new piers in the river. This girder bridge was in use up until about 1982 when Conrail abandoned the line.

GPS Location: 40º08’07.5″N 87º24’17.0″W