WOODEN TRESTLE BRIDGE, completed 1883.
The tallest wooden railroad bridge in the world, the spectacular Marent Gulch Bridge, was 226 feet (69 meters) tall and 866 feet long. It took 800,000 board feet of lumber and a workforce of 150 men to complete the Northern Pacific Railway bridge. Just two years later, the entire structure was replaced by an iron bridge to address stability issues and fire danger. Circled in yellow are a horse rider at the base and two carpenters on a trestle at the right.
Marent Gulch is 12 miles northwest of Missoula on Highway 93 in western Montana. A newer bridge is still in use. The 9,000 negatives of photographer F.J. Haynes reside at the venerable Montana Historical Society. Text and digital restoration of photo by Gary Coffrin.
The tallest wooden railroad bridge in the world
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