4K video of Wheeling & Lake Erie on the Big Bridges of the P&WV

Dan, That's certainly a nice job on the video!  What is the trestle that follows the river under the Speers Ferry Trestle?

@Mark Boyce posted:

Dan, That's certainly a nice job on the video!  What is the trestle that follows the river under the Speers Ferry Trestle?

The trestle underneath is part of the Matt Branch. According to Gene Schaffer’s P&WV book, it used to be a separate carrier. It meets with the Pittsburgh sub a few miles east (behind the thumbnail) in Belle Vernon. Every so often the counterpart train (617) takes empty W&LE coke hoppers down the branch to be loaded at Monessen. I’ve yet to see it (617 usually is held up by CSX, and their call time got pushed back a few hours), but I’ve seen the empties go from Rook to Connellsville the day before on 618.

Thank you for the detailed answer, Dan!  I never heard of the Matt Branch, so I’m glad I asked!

Nice video Daniel. Enjoyed it very much. I pass Rook everyday.

Dan & Matt, if I could interject a comment on the small trestle under the Speers- Belle  Vernon trestle. I worked as a brakeman in 1977 on the industrial Monessen Southwestern Railroad that served the Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel’s Monessen works. The lower trestle was called the high-line. We would push dump cars full of cold slag from the Gipson Yard section where the waste from the Blast and BOF furnaces, up the hill to a spot approximately 2 miles north of where the WLE trestle goes over RT 201near the Walmart. Another job would go up the hill where there was a switch where the P& LE would drop loaded scrap cars to be delivered to the BOF. I remember that I had a large, brass key for the lock if we needed to set cars out to their siding. Had to turn it in when they cut brakemen and fireman jobs.

There was also a plan for another trestle to cross the Monongahela River under the I-70 bridge and serve the Allenport plant about 10 miles south of Belle Vernon.

ed