Heavy/Light House

Cadyville, New York    

Site Information    The Cadyville trestle, built as part of the Delaware and Hudson railroad in 1879, spans the Saranac River in upstate New York, about 10 miles west of Plattsburgh. The Cadyville Bridge was built as part of the Chateaugay Branch of the Delaware and Hudson railroad in 1879. This branch of the D&H was first built to deliver coal and supplies to the State Prison at Dannemora. It was later extended to the Lyon Mountain iron ore mines and by 1887 it had reached the town of Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. The rails were active for many years carrying timber, iron ore and supplies, as well as travelers, tourists and prisoners. But in the 20th century, in keeping with trends across the country, rail activity began to slow and, in the late1940’s, portions of the tracks in the Adirondacks were abandoned. The mines on Lyon Mountain closed in 1970, and the tracks over the Cadyville Bridge were eventually pulled up in 1981.

Sheer cliffs of Potsdam sandstone rise to support the bridge seventy-five feet above the rushing, turbulent water.  A hydroelectric power station stands next to the trestle across the river from the client’s home.

The existing girder bridge consists of ½” thick steel plates riveted together with steel angles. These two steel plate girders are 100 feet long, 10 feet tall and have a clear interior dimension of 9 feet. X Braces occur about every 20 feet between these girders, but structural analysis indicates that part of these braces can be removed with no adverse effects.

Image Credit:  Information on the history of the D&H, as well as the diagram  of the railroads used in the site map above comes from Michael Kudish's amazing book: Railroads of the Adirondacks: A History, Purple Mountain Press, Ltd., P.O. Box E3, Fleischmanns, NY 12430.