Hartford COUNTY · Railways, roads & rivers
Walnut Street Bridge: the structure above the rails
An engineering photo essay records a Hartford road crossing over the railway. Portals, trusses and connections reveal the structure behind an everyday journey.
Historical focus · 1907–20th century
LOOK CLOSER · OPEN ANY IMAGE
The story in photographs
May 1991
1. WEST PORTAL, VIEW EAST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
1. WEST PORTAL, VIEW EAST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
WEST PORTAL, VIEW SOUTHEAST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
2. WEST PORTAL, VIEW SOUTHEAST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
EAST PORTAL, VIEW WEST-NORTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford…
3. EAST PORTAL, VIEW WEST-NORTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
EAST PORTAL, VIEW NORTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
4. EAST PORTAL, VIEW NORTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
5. EAST PORTAL, VIEW WEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
5. EAST PORTAL, VIEW WEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
SOUTH ELEVATION, VIEW NORTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford…
6. SOUTH ELEVATION, VIEW NORTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
NORTH ELEVATION, VIEW SOUTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford…
7. NORTH ELEVATION, VIEW SOUTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
TYPICAL UPPER PORTAL JOINT, VIEW NORTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford,…
8. TYPICAL UPPER PORTAL JOINT, VIEW NORTHWEST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
SOUTH ELEVATION (PART) AND FLOOR SYSTEM NEAR EAST ABUTMENT, VIEW NORTHEAST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut…
9. SOUTH ELEVATION (PART) AND FLOOR SYSTEM NEAR EAST ABUTMENT, VIEW NORTHEAST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
INDUSTRIAL AREA NORTHWEST OF BRIDGE, SEEN THROUGH CENTER PANELS, VIEW NORTH - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut…
10. INDUSTRIAL AREA NORTHWEST OF BRIDGE, SEEN THROUGH CENTER PANELS, VIEW NORTH - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
CENTER PANELS AND TOP BRACING, VIEW NORTH - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford,…
11. CENTER PANELS AND TOP BRACING, VIEW NORTH - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsMay 1991
GUSSET PLATE AT CENTER OF TRUSS, VIEW NORTH - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford,…
12. GUSSET PLATE AT CENTER OF TRUSS, VIEW NORTH - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Moore / Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
Original source · Reuse termsTHE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTOGRAPHS
People, places, and change.
Part of a larger railway program
The Walnut Street Railroad Bridge carried Walnut Street over the railway in Hartford. The federal engineering survey dates its construction to 1907 and places it within the New Haven Railroad’s early-twentieth-century improvement program. Its significance extends beyond appearance: it is a documented example of standard truss construction and the work of the regionally important Boston Bridge Works. [1]
How an engineering survey looks
The survey’s photographs begin with overall and portal views, then move toward structural details. This makes the set useful as a visual sequence. The bridge is both a route across the tracks and an assembly of members and connections. Individual captions identify view direction, allowing a reader to relate close-up details to the larger structure rather than treating them as disconnected pictures. [1]
An ordinary crossing as historical evidence
Large stations and famous locomotives often stand in for railway history. A bridge adds another scale: the places where railway infrastructure and city streets meet. These images document the recorded structure and its condition at the time of the survey. They do not establish present-day structural capacity, access or safety. The original HAER record provides the starting point for a more detailed engineering and local-history study. [1]
Keep the sources close.
Download this collection’s notes, timeline and image credits. Photographs link to their original archives and require an internet connection.
Building dates and photograph dates are recorded separately. Later photographs are identified in their captions; unknown exposure dates remain unknown. Follow each image’s credit and reuse terms.