Railroad: Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge, Penn Central Transportation Company
Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
Date: May 8, 1974
Credit: John Fasulo, Center for Railroad Photography & Art, FasuloF05
The Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge burns on May 8, 1974, after sparks from a passing train set fire to a railroad tie. Firefighters initially struggled to contain the flames as then-owner Penn Central Transportation Company had failed to maintain water lines on the bridge. The fire was emblematic of Penn Central, an unsuccessful merger between the Pennsylvania Railroad, the New York Central, and the New Haven Railroad.
The Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge opened over the Hudson River in 1889 and carried both freight and passenger traffic. At its peak, the bridge saw as many as 3,500 rail cars per day. Traffic declined sharply after World War II, and by the time of the fire was down to about one train a day.
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Trail: Walkway Over the Hudson
Trail length: 1.3 miles
Date: October 24, 2021
Credit: Emily Moser, courtesy of the photographer
Pedestrians enjoy a colorful fall day on the Walkway Over the Hudson on October 24, 2021. The bridge comprises more than a mile of the Empire State Trail, the longest in New York at 750 miles. More than 600,000 people visit the Walkway annually.
After the 1974 fire, the bridge was taken out of service, although it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2009 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The bridge was restored and reopened in October 2009 as the Walkway Over the Hudson through the support of a dedicated friends group, private donors, and New York State.
