A Bridge to the
Past
In 1876, the Duck
River Valley Narrow Gauge Railroad finished construction on this
bridge to extend the line to the east from Columbia. The bridge was
constructed with timber over the floodplain portion, and a steel
span supported by stone abutments carried the rail over Fountain
creek. The steel portion of the bridge was removed a few years
after the line was abandoned.
Bridge No. 80.9 now
stands as a forgotten engineering accomplishment within the Yanahli
Wildlife management area. I visit this area often, as the old rail
bed makes for an easy walk through the woods along the creek. The
coordinates should get you real close, but the area is prone to
giving bouncy reception. To help ensure the survival of this cache,
please replace it in a manner that keeps it hidden from the
occasional muggle that may wander into the area. If you decide to
take in the view from the top of the bridge, watch your step - you
are a long way from a doctor out here. This area is also open for
big game hunting, so leave your favorite cap with the fake 10-point
buck rack in the car during those times of the
year.
Some history about
this rail line
The Duck River Valley
Narrow Gauge Railway received its charter in 1870 to begin
construction on a narrow gauge rail line extending from
Fayetteville to "a point near Johnsonville". Construction began in
Columbia, and headed southerly towards Fayetteville. By the spring
of 1877, the line from Columbia to Lewisburg offered reliable
transportation between the neighboring cities.
Construction
continued on a southeasterly path at a fast pace, and reached the
sleepy little town of Petersburg in 1879. The goal of the Duck
River Valley Narrow Gauge Railroad was to complete this line all
the way into Fayetteville, where it would connect with the standard
gauge line operated by the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis
Ry (NC&StL). While the Duck River Valley RR had been successful
at maintaining and operating this line, funds for the final
expansion into Fayetteville started to dry up.
In the fall of '79,
the decision was made to lease the line to NC&StL, injecting
much-needed resources into the project. The construction slowed
down quite a bit during this period, and work actually stopped for
a year in the fall of 1880. The line to Fayetteville was finally
completed in 1882, and for five years the line was owned by the
Duck River Valley Narrow Gauge RR, but was serviced and maintained
by NC&StL.
In 1888, the
NC&StL Ry purchased the entire line from the Duck River Valley
NGRR. In an effort to better service the area, an improvement
project began to convert the entire 48 mile spur from the narrow
gauge track to standard width. Not only would this increase the
capacity of the line, but it would eliminate the need to transfer
the narrow gauge loads onto the standard gauge equipment in
Fayetteville.
By early 1889, 100%
of the line was standardized and was renamed the Columbia spur of
the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad. In its heyday,
this line offered two daily round-trip trains from Fayetteville to
Columbia on all days except Sunday. Trains would make the 47.4 mile
journey in as little as 2 hours.
The line continued
operation for more than seventy years, carrying goods and
passengers to and from the heart of Tennessee. This spur was very
successful, but competing technologies would soon cut into the
demand for rail service along this route. In 1945, the line
connecting Columbia to Lewisburg ceased operation and the line was
abandoned. By the end of 1961, the rest of the line from Lewisburg
to Fayetteville would meet the same fate.
What once was the
backbone of this area now has become a faint memory. A few of the
portions of the original track are still in use as spurs in
Columbia and Lewisburg, but the majority of the line was either
converted into rural roadways, or left to be overtaken by the
elements.