ET&WNC Railroad Covered Bridge

ET&WNC Railroad Covered Bridge. . , The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad was chartered in 1866 as a 5 ft “broad gauge” line from Johnson’s Depot (now Johnson City) to the Cranberry Iron Works in North Carolina. Construction began in 1868 but was halted in 1870 at Doe River Cove (now Hampton) when funding ran out. Work was resumed by new owners in 1879 and the gauge was changed to 3 ft “narrow gauge”., The route required a bridge at this location over the Little Doe River (also known as Tiger Creek) where it meets the Doe River. The Philadelphia firm of Cofrode and Saylor, well known for building long wooden bridges, constructed all of the wooden Howe Truss bridges between Elizabethton and Cranberry in 1881-1882. Two types were built: run-over-the-top bridges and run-through bridges. This 118’ 8” bridge was a run-through type with two stone abutments, one of which still stands. Originally built with exposed wooden beams, the bridges soon began to rot. They were rebuilt and covered with siding in the early 1890s, helping them last for decades., The “May Tide” flood of May 24, 1901 washed out most of the wooden bridges, sparing the two at Hampton (here and at Tunnel 1). Over the years, most bridges were replaced with steel spans, and by the Great Depression the only wooden bridges left were the two at Hampton. This bridge had the distinction of being the only structure on the railroad to serve unmodified from 1882 to 1950, the entire lifespan of the line. It was removed in 1951 after the narrow gauge ET&WNC closed., Funding for this project was provided by The ET&WNC Railroad Historical Society – www.etwncrrhs.org.