Gill, do you mean the first (low) bridge across the Pecos? Or the first (high) bridge, which would be the second actual bridge across the Pecos. The 3rd Pecos RR bridge is the same one standing today. Ecerpt: Known to railway historians as the Pecos Viaduct, this bridge was the second across the Pecos and was designed to solve a host of problems that had plagued the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio. The first crossing of the Pecos River had been incredibly expensive to construct and was proving to be quite costly to operate and maintain. Steep grades and degrees of curvature combined to impose severe length and weight restrictions on all trains using this section of track. It was necessary that two tunnels -both in excess of 1,500 feet in length- be blasted through solid rock. In addition, 3,600 feet of wooden trestle and 2,730 feet of iron trestle works were also required. Perhaps the most significant aspect was that the original configuration of the route effectively limited future profitability at a time when trains were getting longer, larger, and carrying greater weights. Trivia: The one and only Vampire bat (hairy-legged vampire, Diphylla ecaudata ) found in the USA was found in one of these railroad tunnels around 1967. It was a female, and taken for collection (proof) to a bio-lab. Distribution in Texas. From southern Texas southward to eastern Peru and Brazil. Known from Texas on the basis of one female taken May 24, 1967 from an abandoned railroad tunnel 19 km west of Comstock, Val Verde County Re dismantling: I've heard many, many different stories about the dismantling of the second bridge and pieces parts being sent to different places. I don't think anyone really knows the whole truth. Here's the story from the Amistad website (and it's taking about the second actual RR bridge: The 1890's Pecos Viaduct was kept as a standby for nearly five years following the completion of the new bridge. In 1949, the Southern Pacific contracted with the Robinson Erection Company (St. Louis, Missouri) to dismantle the historic bridge. Initially, the Southern Pacific had made plans for the purchase of the entire structure by the government of Guatemala for use in that county. Current literature on the subject provides conflicting stories on the fate of the old bridge. The Odessa News (October 15, 1978) states that the bridge was in fact sold to Guatemala, and, is still in operation in that country today. A post card of the 1892 bridge (Old West Collectors Series No. 46) states that "Because it was so well engineered the West Texas bridge was dismantled after 56 years [1948] and rebuilt across the Wabash River in Indiana." T.L. Baker writes that, initially, the Southern Pacific had made plans to sell the bridge to the government of Guatemala; however, the deal fell through resulting in the piecemeal sale of individual spans from the bridge to several different states and local governments for use as shorter bridges across streams within their political jurisdictions. Most of the other pieces and parts were sold to scrap metal dealers. I encourage you all to read the piece on the Pecos Viaduct. It will answer a lot of "trivia" questions about the bridges. http://www.nps.gov/amis/historyculture/viaduct.htm AM >Trivia: The first Southern Pacific bridge across the Pecos was dismantled >back about 1895 and sent to some South American country--Peru perhaps. >There are rumors that it is still in use today. Lemme look up the >specifics and get back to ya.
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