Railroad Bridges Over the Pecos

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Now, the Pecos River has never been what you'd call cooperative. A major tributary of the Rio Grande, it carved itself a gorge so deep and so sheer where it once met the Rio Grande that for a long time, the land on either side might as well have been two different worlds.

Crossing it wasn't a nuisance — it was a genuine barrier to transportation. But the Southern Pacific Railroad had a transcontinental route to build across the lower portion of the United States, and a canyon, no matter how ornery, was not going to stop that. So in 1882, they put up the first railroad bridge over the Pecos.

Deep in the canyon it sat, and getting to it was no straightforward thing — you had to wind your way down through a circuitous route and two tunnels just to reach the thing. It worked. But it wasn't elegant.

By 1890, Southern Pacific officials started looking at that winding, tunneling approach and thinking there had to be a better way. What if you didn't go down into the canyon at all? What if you went straight across the top — a high-line viaduct, cutting directly across the ravine, saving miles and straightening the whole route?

Planning began, work started in late 1891, and here is where the story gets good: they finished the thing within three months. Three months. At a cost of more than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, they raised a bridge supported by twenty-four towers.

And when it was done, it was the highest railroad bridge in North America. Third highest in the world. You want to talk about a structure that commands a little respect — passenger trains slowed to six miles per hour before they even set foot on it.

And they didn't just slow down. They stopped. Right there on the bridge, mid-crossing, so travelers could take in the view dropping away beneath them.

Whatever that view was worth, somebody decided it was worth the stop. Then came World War II, and suddenly this bridge wasn't a scenic curiosity — it was essential. War materials needed to move, and the Pecos High Bridge was part of how they moved.

Heavier trains, relentless demand, and a bridge that had been doing that work since the 1890s. Something had to give. In 1944, with special permission from the War Production Board to use what they called critical materials, a new bridge was built to take on that load.

And here's the thing — that 1944 Pecos High Bridge is still in use today. The gorge beneath it isn't quite what it once was. When Amistad Reservoir was constructed, the river rose, and the canyon that once swallowed everything in its shadow grew a little less deep.

The Pecos is still the Pecos, still running where it always has. But the world around it has shifted, just a little, the way it tends to do. Two bridges, one impossible canyon, and a railroad that refused to go around.

What the marker says

Railroad Bridges Over the Pecos A major tributary of the Rio Grande, the Pecos River was long a barrier to transportation, particularly across the deep gorge that once marked its joining with the Rio Grande. Construction of the first railroad bridge over the Pecos took place in 1882 as part of the transcontinental route of the Southern Pacific Railroad across the lower portion of the United States. Access to the bridge, which was then deep in the canyon, was by means of a circuitous route and two tunnels. In 1890, Southern Pacific officials began planning for a new bridge, one that would cut directly across the ravine by means of a high-line viaduct that would save miles and straighten the route. Work began in late 1891 and was completed within three months at a cost of more than $250,000. Supported by 24 towers, the bridge was the highest in North America and the third highest in the world at the time of its completion. Passenger trains slowed to six miles per hour before crossing it and stopped while on the bridge to afford travelers a view. During World War II, the Pecos High Bridge became essential to the transportation of war materials. In response to heavier trains and the war demand, a new bridge was built in 1944, with special permission from the War Production Board to use "critical materials" in its construction. The 1944 Pecos High Bridge remains in use, although the gorge is not so deep as it once was, due to the rising of the river with the construction of Amistad Reservoir. (2002)