The Mianus River Railroad Bridge, also known as the Cos Cob Bridge, is a

bascule Bascule may refer to: * Bascule bridge, a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span in providing clearance for boat traffic * Bascule (horse), the arc a horse's body takes as it goes over a jump * Bascule light, a sma ...

drawbridge built in 1904 over the

Mianus River The Mianus River is a river in Westchester County, New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut, in the United States. It begins in the town of North Castle, New York (east of Armonk) in a series of ponds at about altitude. Flowing northeast i ...

, in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1987. The bridge carries the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

, the busiest rail line in the United States, both in terms of ridership and service frequency. It is operated by the

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...

, successor to Conrail, Penn Central, and the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

, which erected it, and is owned by the

Connecticut Department of Transportation The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut. ...

. It is a rolling lift type

moveable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical d ...

, and was prefabricated by the

American Bridge Company The American Bridge Company is a heavy/civil construction firm that specializes in building and renovating bridges and other large, complex structures. Founded in 1900, the company is headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pitts ...

, to replace a previous unsafe bridge on the site. It has a total length of , divided into 11 spans. Seven of these are

deck truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

spans, while the others are deck girder spans, all set on stone abutments. The main movable span is long; four of the truss spans are in length. and It is one of eight moveable bridges on the

through

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

surveyed in one multiple property study in 1986. The eight bridges from west to east are: this Mianus River Railroad Bridge, at Cos Cob, built in 1904;

Norwalk River Railroad Bridge The Norwalk River Railroad Bridge (also known as the Walk Bridge) is a swing bridge built in 1896 for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It currently carries Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad trains over the Norwalk River. The current ...

at South Norwalk, 1896;

Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge The Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge, also known as Saugatuck River Bridge, is a railroad bridge carrying trackage of Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line over the Saugatuck River in Westport, Connecticut. It is one of eight moveable bridges on th ...

at Westport, 1905;

Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge The Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge is a railroad drawbridge (movable bridge) over the Pequonnock River in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Owned by the State of Connecticut and maintained and operated by both Amtrak and Metro-North Railroad, it is als ...

at Bridgeport, 1902;

Housatonic River Railroad Bridge The Housatonic River Railroad Bridge is a historic bridge carrying Metro-North Railroad's New Haven Line trackage across the lower Housatonic River in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The bridge is also used by Amtrak for its Northeast Corridor servi ...

, at Devon, 1905;

Connecticut River Railroad Bridge Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, Old Saybrook-Old Lyme, 1907; Niantic River Bridge, East Lyme-Waterford, 1907; and

Thames River Bridge (Amtrak) Amtrak's Thames River Bridge spans from New London to Groton, Connecticut, United States, crossing Connecticut's Thames River. Design and history The bridge was originally a Strauss heel-trunnion Warren through-truss bascule design, built in ...

, Groton, built in 1919. The Pequonnock River bridge—also on Metro-North's New Haven Line, as are the Norwalk, Westport, and Devon bridges—has since been replaced.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places Railroad bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Bridges completed in 1904 Bridges in Fairfield County, Connecticut Buildings and structures in Greenwich, Connecticut Railroad bridges in Connecticut New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad bridges Bascule bridges in the United States Drawbridges on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut Girder bridges in the United States

See also

References

External links