Poughkeepsie - Highland Railroad Bridge

• This 1887 picture depicts the construction of the railroad bridge.

In 1880, the construction of a link connecting the Central New England and Western Railroad was begun. This link would be called the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge. It was constructed by the Poughkeepsie Bridge Company, chartered in 1871, and it was the most direct link between the cities of the Northeast and the cities of the West and Midwest after its completion in 1888. It spanned a half mile section of the Hudson River in New York, and with a length of 6767 feet and the capability of supporting five times its own weight, it was one of the world's most impressive structures. It remained as the main river crossing south of Albany until the construction of the Bear Mountain Bridge in 1924. Below is a headline from an 1889 Souvenir Edition of the Poughkeepsie Eagle newspaper.

During World War II the Poughkeepsie Bridge functioned as a means of transporting munitions to the East Coast, but after the War it was reverted back to its normal commercial functions.

Tragically, in 1974, with less than a century in service, the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge was closed due to a devastating fire.

• An old [left] and a new [right] view of the Poughkeepsie Bridge, looking from the west bank [Highland].

Today, the bridge, now called the Poughkeepsie- Highland Railroad Bridge, is maintained by the bridge company of the same name, which was chartered on July 1, 1992. The company runs weekend historic tours where groups may walk out onto the bridge and take in all the majestic beauty of the Hudson River. The group is currently in the process of building a planked walkway aside the tracks on which people may walk, run, bike, or even rollerblade. An engineering inspection, funded by the Hudson River Greenway Council, affirmed the bridge's safety for activities such as these. Prior to the formation of the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge Company, there was some interest expressed in building a mall, building condominiums, and even in having commercial bungee-jumping on the bridge. Thankfully however, in the hands of the Bridge Company, the Railroad Bridge will be used for much more practical purposes.

Information for this article provided by:
The Poughkeepsie Eagle, Souvenir Edition, 1889
Walkway Over the Hudson, 1995