Barrel Bridge

And so begin the nighttime photo excursions for the winter of 2010-2011. First stop was Lorton, and the old bridge over what used to be a spur of the Lorton & Occoquan RR, used for prisoner and supply transport to and from the nearby Lorton Reformatory, which finally closed in November of 2001 after 92 years.

Not sure about what year this thing was built (I'll be back for that info later), but I know the prisoners themselves were the ones who built it, likely sometime after 1911 as that's the date I've read for the start of the L&O. Interestingly enough, the spur lines (one of which ran under this bridge) amounted to almost as much distance in terms of track as the mainline itself. Seems there's still a fair amount of track/remnants left over in places along the RoW, so I'll be checking that out soon as well. Supposedly I-95 even goes over a set of tunnels that used to connect the L&O with the RF&P. Sounds like they were just closed off rather than filled in entirely if I read right.

See pages 4-6: [link]

See also § 7, p. 67: [link]

Lorton, VA
November 2010

<sub>Nikon D90 DSLR
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8

© Michael Mueller (Fritzchen | Fotografie). You may NOT use, replicate, manipulate, or modify this image without my permission. All Rights Reserved.</sub>