The Maiden Lane Bridge was a railroad bridge across the Hudson River between the city of Albany and Rensselaer County,

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

. 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 Midw ...

Company which owned 3/4, and the Boston and Albany Railroad 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, 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 Albany, derived from the Gaelic for Scotland, most commonly refers to: *Albany, New York, the capital of the State of New York and largest city of this name *Albany, Western Australia, port city in the Great Southern Albany may also refer to: ...

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

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place = Hudson River , bridge = Maiden Lane Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream = Livingston Avenue Bridge , upstream signs = , downstream =

Dunn Memorial Bridge The Dunn Memorial Bridge, officially known as the Private Parker F. Dunn Memorial Bridge, carries US 9 and US 20 across the Hudson River between Albany, New York and Rensselaer, New York. Description Completed in 1969 to replace an earlier span be ...

, 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