The tree on the left makes this shot almost impossible in the summer. At least with the 17mm lens that I have. – Westbound “Rock Runner” K951 passes through Harpers Ferry National Historical Park on the Shenandoah Sub. St. Peter’s Catholic Church has a long history and was lucky to survive the Civil War.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=177259
Terry Tabb
That is a neat picture. Do you know what the reason for the low height trestle that the train is on. Is it crossing a river to the left of the picture?
Sorta.
Harpers Ferry has two rail bridges. The famous B&O and the old Shennandoah (Spelling?) Branch. The train you see is crossing on the quarry rock route. I think there is a quarry that ships rock from some place to the west.
I have walked on that trestle years ago and it is quite strong.
In Harper’s Ferry History lies a great flood. Marks on the town’s walls indicate the depth of the water.
If it ever floods like that again, that trestle will keep the railroad open.
If you google Harpers ferry you will find two rivers joining at the base of the town. You will see that this train is on the “South” side bridge while the big B&O bridge on the north.
The cameraman is standing with one of the rivers to his back and facing north more or less.
Falls Valley is correct the Shenandoah River was about 200 feet behind me and this area floods. The train just crossed the Potomac River.
These two pictures will give you a better understanding of Harpers Ferry WV and the two rivers.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=184429
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=162041
Terry Tabb
What camera did you take those beautiful pictures with? The imagery is almost as good, if not better, than the mark one eyeball.
Did they ever restore the turbine house? The little white building just beyond the Amtrack power at the base of the mountain?
Just out of curiosity, can you give us any history of the two series of old abandoned bridge abutments we can see in these pictures?
Here’s a shot from 1862 after being blown up by the Union. Harper’s Ferry changed hands 13 times during the Civil War. Most of the town was destroyed.
http://www.zazzle.com/harpers_ferry_wv_railroad_bridge_ruins_1862_print-228709832649933377
I can see somebody at CSX saying, “Look at what this guy did on a model railroad for a bridge. Maybe we should try that somwhere”.
There are additional crossings upstream to the north.
Harpers is a picture of a town ravaged by war. Let’s see… the base of the town contained a great Arsenal for weaponry established by Geo. Washington in that area considered secure and hard to get to.
Eventually that great Arsenal will to be totally destroyed with only the Gaurdshack remaining. The northern most river flows over where the parts of the production factory used to be.
Later on, the Civil War brought total destruction to the railroads over and over again. The B&O most particularly. I think it was routine to burn a bridge, see it rebuilt and burn it again and post additional gaurds and soldiers on that bridge somewhere and lose it again; rebuild etc.
Finally one day in 1863 (I think… not sure) General Lee captured Harpers Ferry with his Army and I think the 12,000 or so Union were lost along with the town. The heights around the town was full of CSA artillery. Stone carved Graffitti can still be seen in spots to this day up there.
Gen. Lee was once a Officer in the USMC with John Brown problem in Harpers. He took over the gaurdshack Arsenal and held it briefly until Lee and his unit retook it and made them prisioners.
The other bridges were in used and then destroyed. I dont think they were rebuilt again. There are additional fords (Walk across crossings) and more bridges on both rivers up and downstream.
Another part of Harpers is the C&O Canal. That was commerce before 1840. That is one reason the B&O reached that point because the Merchants in Baltimore wanted the Canal not to be the number one transport to the frontier in the west as the Ohio was known at the time.
The canal is still there, partly as a park and partly as ruins. I think it is about 50 feet wide, 40 deep with very large stone blocks forming the walls, a gravel towpath for horses and a lock set here and there without the wood.
The Church in Harpers or one of the houses on the hill flew a British Flag durin
The major flood that was mentioned was the 1936 flood on the Potomac. This was the worst of 3 floods, the others were 1942 and 1889. The 1936 flood destroyed every bridge across the Potomac from Cumberland to Washington, D.C., All of these floods were worse than Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972.
The remains of the bridge that parrallels the current RR bridges was the highway bridge for what is now U.S. Route 340, earlier I believe that it was combination rail and highway bridge. If you look at the track aligment for the Shenandoah Sub (the single track line that goes across the wooden trestle and across the truss bridge) you will see that it lines up just to the right of the tunnel. It is my understanding that the original B&O track went around the mountain, and that the tunnel was bored after the Civil War when the B&O was greatly improved.
The other was a road bridge across the Shenandoah to Virginia.
Hey all, Just for those who have never been to Harpers Ferry, the railraods are all very accessible, as can be seen in all of these great photos. In fact, the Appalachian Trail officially crosses the Potomac River on one of the two rail trestles and it is a real treat to walk right across with the trains. In this picture…
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=162041
…you can clearly see the pedestrian walkway along the railroad tracks along the left (south) side of the leftmost (southernmost) of the two bridges. Although there are lots of photos of Harpers Ferry all over the internet, the pedestrian crossing is rarely mentioned and I was pleasantly surprised to find it there on a recent visit. If you have kids, they will freak out (in a good way) at walking side by side with the trains! Will make you want to come back again.
Jamie
Hi Jamie,
I walk across the bridge from Harpers Ferry to Maryland and the C&O Canal several times a month.
Try these pictures. Please read the description unden each the picture.
http://www.pbase.com/terry434/image/41513780/original
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=158977
Terry
Hi Jim,
The information under each of these pictures should cover some of the history.
http://www.pbase.com/terry434/image/45247540/original
http://www.pbase.com/terry434/image/52385977/original
Terry
We used to rent trail horses and come down the hill to the north to access the towpath. The one I usually rode did very well. The Park Service I think discoraged and finally banned gallop on that path. Too many people about. Leaving the towpath to cross over that hill is made of woods, stones in the ground and some mud from previous rains. Horseshoes are a must along with good saddle for some spots.
What I am trying to say here is that the area is one which you will find fitness necessary. You can get around the town rather easily but the bridge walkway, surrounding area with the small roads and such require good physical condition to be safe on foot.
We used the Station’s subway to hide from some of the westbound freights that came across on that north mainline… it was rather not pleasant to be such close to the trains with the potential for danger because they are running for the grade (9 mile hill I think… not sure) and shakes very ground.
Some mornings you hear nothing but birds, crickets and… jake braking. I would have made that area a home but the cost of living is just impossible. Still is.
What camera did you take those beautiful pictures with? The imagery is almost as good, if not better, than the mark one eyeball.
Did they ever restore the turbine house? The little white building just beyond the Amtrack power at the base of the mountain? <<
Falls Valley, I used a Canon XT with a 17-50 lens, taken at 17 mm. It was one of those incredible “blue sky” days.
Harpers Ferry had many water turbines in its day. Just up river from the train station there were two turbines, - http://home.nps.gov/applications/hafe/detail.cfm?Image_No=haer-13 - that were the last to be used. They generated electricty. ----
Potomac Power Plant
On January 15, 1925, at 3:00 a.m., the Harpers Ferry Paper Company was destroyed by fire, and pulp making operations at the mill ceased. However, the building walls withstood the conflagration, and a “power plant was immediately rebuilt” on the pulp mill foundations. The reconstructed building, which became known as the Harpers Ferry Hydro Plant, was significantly smaller that the original pulp mill.
The 240 KW GE generator was salvaged and, in 1925, a new 600 KW General Electric generator was installed and attached to the 900 horsepower S. Morgan Smith turbine. For the next several decades, this small hydro plant generated electricity for Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Brunswick, Maryland, and several other nearby communities.
In 1973, the Dayton Globe turbine dating from 1910 and the 240 KW GE generator attached to it were retired from service by the Potomac Edison Company. The generator was subsequently removed from the building. In January 1991, the S. Morgan Smith turbine and 600 KW GE generator attached to it were also retired, and the power plant closed. Potomac Edison subsequently sold the S. Morgan Smith turbine, and in April 1995 the turbine was removed from the site. The development of waterp
Hmmmmm,from these photos this may be just the place for my holidays this summer.
If you want to holiday there, do it between March 1 to June 1.
The heat and humidity becomes brutal in June, July and August.
April is the best “Shooting” month for cameras. Big clear blue skies all the way to space.