Facility 2298, Rail Bridge

Facility 2298, Rail Bridge. . The Fort Belvoir Military Railroad (FBMRR) was constructed in 1918 when Camp A.A. Humphreys was made a semi-permanent cantonment as the U.S. entered into World War 1. The two main objectives for FBMRR were to bring supplies and troops to camp for its rapid construction and war mobilization and to train engineer troops on the building of railroads, bridges, and other facilities essential to the U.S. war effort in France., Engineer troops began work for the 4.51-mile standard-gauge railroad January 1918 by clearing heavily wodded areas before building wooden trestles to span low-lying areas. Facility No. 2298, or Bridge No. 4, a railroad bridge with concrete arches, wood decking, and reinforced concrete stringers, piers, and abutments, was constructed in 1928 to replace the original 1918 wooden trestle. Here the decommissioned remnants remain, spanning Beulah Street., The FBMRR passenger service was discontinued after the Korean War but the railroad remained in use moving supplies until the last locomotive left Fort Belvoir in 1993.