Circa 1930 (top): The Wabash Bridge carried rail traffic from the elaborate Wabash Terminal in downtown Pittsburgh to the Wabash Tunnel in Mt. Washington. The rail cars were from the Wabash-Pittsburg Terminal Railroad, an ill-fated venture by George Jay Gould to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad in Pittsburgh. We’re not certain when this picture was taken. We based the circa date on the deterioration and color of the print, which resembles others made in the 1920s and ’30s.
1948 (bottom): After less than half a century, the Wabash was considered a “hard luck” bridge, haunted by its history, and an eyesore. In 1946, fire destroyed the terminal. The bridge had become a useless hulk, and was dismantled two years later. The Wabash lives on, in a sense, though. Some of its steel was melted down for use in the Dravosburg Bridge, which was being built in 1948.
