The Richmond-Petersburg Railroad Bridge
The expansion of railroads in the 1830s fueled the growth of iron works like Tredegar, and by the Civil War, five railroads had come into Richmond. The Richmond-Petersburg was the first railroad bridge in the city. It was built by Moncure Robinson, a Virginia native who engineered many early American railroad lines. Completed to Manchester, now part of Richmond, in 1838, the structure was 2,844 feet in length and stood 60 feet above the James River. Constructed primarily out of pine planks, the bridge seemed “air built,” and perhaps dangerous to many Richmonders.
Marker can be reached from Tredegar Street 0.1 miles west of South 5th Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
