It was on a Friday in May of 1989 that Ron Findley was passing through Vicksburg, Mississippi. While there, he passed by the MidSouth Railroad yard near the Mississippi River. That rail yard has an ancient pair of bridges crossing above the yard with but a single lane for automobile traffic. While Ron was focused on the rail cars there, I find the real interest to be in the bridges themselves.

These two bridges are both iron Pratt through truss bridges of similar design and were used in railroad service. The bridges were purchased used from two different locations, reassembled in Vicksburg in 1895, and used for automobile traffic. I’ve traveled across that bridge a couple times, both during trips that Ron and I took together. I’m glad I had those opportunities as the bridges were eventually closed to traffic. The last I heard back some years ago, they were still there spanning the rail yard.