Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Opelika, AL: Coaling Tower

Andy Funderburk posted in Facebook
Another industrial scene that is rather far from the Midwest, but the design is so different from what I have seen that I thought it was worth capturing. The tower is a testament to how well coal soot sticks to concrete. I assume Opelika gets some rain storms each year. That tower may have even seen some hurricanes. I spent some time looking at a satellite map, but I could not find it.
Michael Stamy posted
Western Railway of Alabama GP9 531 with Train 37, The Crescent, at Opelika, AL in February 1968. Roger Puta photo.



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Williamsport, MD: Western Maryland RR Lift Bridge over C&O Canal

Josh Schmid Photo via Bridge Hunter via Dennis DeBruler

Update: it appears the cut&paste below was an experiment that failed horribly. Fortunately, I have since documented this bridge. I also found some nice documentation about the Western Maryland Railroad and the "alphabet route."



I normally post just things in the Midwest, but this is neat history from a canal and a railroad perspective, so I'm going to record it.



Lee Weldon
5 hrs
Lift bridge over the C&O Canal at Williamsport, Maryland. Western Maryland Railway. Constructed in the early 20th century to deliver coal to a power plant that was converted from hydro-electric power. The lift was to allow canal boats to pass underneath. Legend has it that it was only raised once before a 1924 Potomac flood permanently closed the C&O Canal. The tracks remained in place and in service at least into the 1970s. Coal is now trucked into the plant. Photo circa 2009.
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Bob Womack Oh. My. Goodness.
LikeReply35 hrs
Lee Weldon Yes, abandoned tracks AND an abandoned canal, all in one gulp!
LikeReply95 hrs
Eric Havemann And an abandoned bridge
LikeReply4 hrs
Dennis DeBruler
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Jay Fauver I posted a bunch of pics on here of it last year. They are running a tour boat in the canal now.
LikeReply45 hrs
Gary Hertzog The trail in the picture is the C&O canal trail. Been there. Nice place to visit
LikeReply35 hrs
Jay Fauver Gary did you walk the trail ???
LikeReply4 hrs
Gary Hertzog Have walked a small portion of the trail in both directions from the parking area
LikeReply3 hrs
Dennis DeBruler
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Thomas Petersen I have this on my long list of abandoned railroad sites to visit.
LikeReply45 hrs
Bob Womack Being a fan of abandoned industrial equipment...this is sublime!!
LikeReply45 hrs
Mike Singer wow and relatively local to me, gotta go see it, thanks
LikeReply15 hrs
Dave Rollhauser Mike, the entire canal is great and lots of historical and current railroad mingling along it's length.
LikeReply12 hrs
Dennis DeBruler
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Dan Worth The railroad bridge is to be permanently raised to allow boat traffic to pass underneath according to this article:http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/.../article_795eac32-bef1...
LikeReply14 hrs
Jay Fauver
LikeReply74 hrs
Jay Fauver The dock to the lower left is where they launch boat tours from. There's talk of lifting the bridge so the boats can enter Cushwa Basin. I have mixed feelings on this.
LikeReply74 hrs
Jay Fauver This is on the north side of the canal.
LikeReply74 hrs
Tyler McKinney Looking at Google Maps, I thought there might be a diamond there. Thanks.
LikeReply4 hrs
Jay Fauver YW. It's a neat place to visit.
LikeReply4 hrs
Dennis DeBruler
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Jay Fauver Neat to walk across it.
LikeReply54 hrs
Jay Fauver There's also talk of rewatering the C&O Canal aqua duct over the Conococheaque Creek.
LikeReply44 hrsEdited
Jay Fauver They want to lift the bridge and rewater the aqua duct so boats can travel that part of the canal as well. I want to get up there again and take the boat to see how far it goes. Here's a,link to the rest of my pics that are public so anyone should be able to see them.

https://m.facebook.com/jayfauver/albums/10202354817096490/?ref=bookmarks
LikeReply34 hrs
Bootsy Harput Hopefully the coal plant will close someday soon
LikeReply14 hrs
Michael Burke What? Why wish all those people out of work. You must not be union.
LikeReply3 hrs
Charlie J. Bury Jr. Unbelievable! Lets become even more energy dependent on our enemies! SMH!
LikeReply13 hrs
Dennis DeBruler
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Bill Shepard Thank you Jay Fauver for the great pictures Shared on the Pro-Formance Fishing Team Facebook page.
LikeReply14 hrs
Duane Miller I had read that the bridge may never have lifted to let a canal boat under since the bridge was completed at about the same time as the canal was abandoned due to flood damage.
LikeReply13 hrs
Jim Douthart Is there anything wrong with it? If there isn't , use it,if there is ,fix it then use it. Let it move like it was designed.
LikeReply3 hrs
Jeff Evans The power plant closed in 2012
LikeReply2 hrs
Brian Holt Thanks for the person who is in the white house.
LikeReply33 mins
Dennis DeBruler
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Jim Douthart I am a retired bridge worker. I'm sure there are money issues and considerations I don't know about. I would just like to see a rare historic landmark be able to function. I know it may be idealistic but ,what the heck why not? It would be inspire more interest if it moved once in a while, be more of a "draw" if you will excuse the pun(:
LikeReply52 hrs
Jeff Evans they are going to have to fix it fairly soon as they are re-watering the C And O Conococheague Aqueduct for canal boat rides and it will need to open
LikeReply12 hrs
Randal Foster Fixing it and just lifting it are two different things. Bet they 'remove' it.
LikeReply1 hr
Dennis DeBruler
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Jeff Evans http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/.../article_0724b374-5465...
Canal project will bring history to life
The vision is for the Cushwa Basin at Williamsport to become a miniature version of Williamsburg, Va., a…
HERALDMAILMEDIA.COM
LikeReply32 hrs
4 Replies1 hr
Russ Nelson The Black River Canal was crossed by the Lowville & Beaver River by a swing bridge that never swung, because the canal was already out of use by that time. It still legally existed, so they railroad had to build a swing bridge just in case. But the machinery was never installed.
LikeReply12 hrs
Chris Hunley Hard to believe it still stands? Looks great for model trains to build!
LikeReply46 mins
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