The Famous Talbot Ave Bridge is Slated for Demolition

Talbot Ave bridge, 2/7/2015. © Ben Sullivan
Talbot Ave bridge, 2/7/2015. © Ben Sullivan

A sad, sad day indeed. A couple of weeks ago I learned about the eminent demise of the famous Talbot Ave bridge which has spanned the Metropolitan Branch and Georgetown Branch of the B&O for nearly 100 years. The bridge was built back in 1918 and is somewhat of a special legend among railfans being that the girders appear to be sourced from an old turntable, giving it the distinctive profile. This shape is recognizable in so many photos shot over the ages at the Junction. I, myself, have visited the bridge many times, shooting photos of it and from it and enjoying it as a landmark. I’m terribly sad to hear of its eminent demise and will miss seeing it at the Junction as it altered forever with the Purple Line destruction not far off. At least it will live on in my basement, as I plan on modeling it on my railroad. Here are a couple links covering its history:

Talbot Avenue: a bridge in black and white

A Montgomery bridge that linked black and white neighborhoods during segregation soon will be lost to history

On February 7, 2015 I visited the area and took many detail photos of the bridge. You can find them here on my Flickr page. (Scroll down a ways, they begin around IMG_6582)

Talbot Ave Bridge in the distance as a CSX freight approaches
Talbot Ave Bridge in the distance as a CSX freight approaches. © Ben Sullivan

One thought on “The Famous Talbot Ave Bridge is Slated for Demolition

  1. Not only will the Talbot bridge be gone, but I believe they’ve also now finally removed the very last of the gb tracks that were once left at the junction to make room for purple line rails. So the question is what will CSX do now that their siding is gone

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