The Maiden Lane Bridge was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

across the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

between the city of Albany and

Rensselaer County Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,130. Its county seat is Troy. The county is named in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. It was designed by Kellogg, Clark & Co., and was one of the largest bridges they designed. The bridge was owned and built by the Hudson River Bridge Company, which was owned jointly by the

New York Central and Hudson River Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

Company which owned 3/4, and the

Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The mainline is currently used by CSX for freight a ...

Company which owned 1/4. The Maiden Lane Bridge was often referred to as the "South Bridge", while the Livingston Avenue Bridge was referred to as the "North Bridge". The Livingston Ave. Bridge was used for freight (and through-traffic passenger trains) while passenger trains used the Maiden Lane Bridge for access to

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

, which was completed less than 10 months later. The state of

authorized construction on May 10, 1869, construction began in May 1870, and the first train crossed on December 28, 1871. The bridge consisted of four long fixed spans, one long draw span, seven long spans over the Albany Basin, one long span over Quay Street, and one long span over Maiden Lane. All the spans except the one over Maiden Lane were double tracked, through, and pin connected; the span over Maiden Lane was also double tracked, but was a deck and plate girder span. A reconstruction of the bridge, except for the draw span, was done in 1899 by Pencoyd Bridge Company and finished by January 3, 1900. The bridge lasted until the 1960s, when the Albany–Rensselaer Amtrak station was built on the east side of the Hudson in the city of Rensselaer and

Interstate 787 Interstate 787 (I-787) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of New York. I-787 is the main highway for those traveling into and out of downtown Albany. The southern terminus is, per New York traffic data, at New York State ...

was built along the west side in Albany, thereby eliminating the need for the bridge.

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Maiden Lane Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream = Livingston Avenue Bridge , upstream signs = , downstream =

Dunn Memorial Bridge The Dunn Memorial Bridge, officially known and dedicated as the Private Parker F. Dunn Memorial Bridge, carries U.S. Route 9 in New York, U.S. Route 9 (US 9), and U.S. Route 20 in New York, U.S. Route 20 (US 20), across the upper Hudson River bet ...

, downstream signs = New York Central Railroad bridges Boston and Albany Railroad bridges Railroad bridges in New York (state) Bridges completed in 1871 Swing bridges in the United States Transportation in Albany, New York Buildings and structures in Albany, New York Bridges over the Hudson River Bridges in Rensselaer County, New York Plate girder bridges in the United States Bridges in Albany County, New York 1871 establishments in New York (state) 1960s disestablishments in New York (state)

See also

References