Wyman Bridge location?

[erie2937]

Look at that satellite view -Acme mapper - posted by Pumpers. You will see what we hiked running north and south east of that pond and west of the road to Freedom. This is well below the scout camp down near the bridge over the BR&P/B&O. We think it is either the TV&C or an early route of the Rochester & State Line which built what became the BR&P. HTG

[pumpers]

HTG, very interesting. Also, between the mapper.acme.com, alternating between topo mode and satellite mode, and the historicaerials.com, it sure seems like there is also an extra ROW from about 1/4 mile north of what you just described, up north to around the southern edge of Crystal Lake, between the B&S and the BRP. Perhaps an extension to the north of what you were on (although on the other side of the BRP) -- maybe what we are looking at came before the BRP so there was not a crossing issue. By the way, which came first, BRP or TV&C? SOmewhere I have seen a post (can't find it now) talking about walking on a Row parallel to the B&S but very close to it in this area.

Then continuing north of Crystal Lake, north of Camp Rd, again with the maps I just described you can make a good case for another ROW just to the east of the B&S. All the way north to Phillippi/Moore Rd. Especially see what looks like fill over a westward corner of Moore's pond -- the B&S was maybe 100 feet west of there, according to the topo map at mapper.acme.com (assuming the ROW they show as a dotted line is indeed the B&S), and more straight. You can sort of see them both on the 1963 photo, but on modern mapper.acme.com the route east of the B&S (perhaps the TV&C), with several bends comapred to the straighter B&S, actually shows up better. JS

[thebigham]

Since we are venturing off topic here, I going to create a new thread for the TV&C between Sandusky and Cuba.

[thebigham]

I will be in Arcade this weekend.

Will anyone be free to look for any remains of the Wyman Bridge?

[thebigham]

Yes, I'm working on scanning parts of the B&S survey map. There are parts on there that show the "old" BA&A under their plan. I'm trying to clean them up enough to make sense out of them.

Pat

Do you have some time now, Pat, to post the B&S survey maps? THANKS

[thebigham]

I'll be in Arcade this weekend so I'll be free if anyone wants to explore the Wyman bridge location.

BUT, Arcade could get a foot of snow. Grr...

[thebigham]

I did a little bit of hiking in Sandusky tonight.

I found 3 places of what I think was the BA&A grade:

http://tinyurl.com/mpwnr9z" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

6. Can easily been seen from the Eagle St. bridge over Clear Creek in Sandusky. The r.ow. seems to be behind a garage.

7. The r.o.w. is along Clear Creek and disappears into a field.

8. This is on the other side of the B&S grade heading towards the present day Gernatt gravel pit.

The narrow gauge Attica and Freedom RR stopped service to Sandusky in 1894.

The Buffalo, Attica and Arcade rebuilt and standard gauged the old TV&C between Arcade and Sandusky in 1901. The Lewis book mentions the railroad "was extended to a large gravel pit just south of town."

This line was re-opened to Sandusky in January 1902.

The Wyman Bridge disaster happened on Oct. 7 and the line was abandoned for a final time. The rails were removed between Arcade and Sandusky in late Nov. 1902.

[thebigham]

Was back in Sandusky today....

My updated Bing Map:

http://tinyurl.com/mye8j8k" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I added Pushpin #9 where the possible bridge abutments would be over the creek. There are a lot of houses there so I'm going to have to knock on some doors to get permission.

I added Pushpin #10. I found more of the BA&A r.o.w before where the creek has washed out the grade and the B&S grade.

At Pushpin #6, the r.o.w. existss for quite a ways. It is heavily overgrown but it sure looks like a railroad grade!

[thebigham]

One piece of evidence probably too good to be true -- http://historicaerials.com has a 1963 map which covers Arcade to Sandusky. If you look just east of Clear Creek just north of Eagle St. in Sandusky, there is a little creek running to the east. There is a pair of abutments clear as day there over that creek, and some trace of a path south of them. - TV&C perhaps? Of course they could have been for a bridge for a farmer to get to a field, and to be honest they look too big for a narrow guage RR or for a farmer's bridge. Who knows..

If you go south from the abutments across Eagle ST, there is a line of trees (former ROW?) which then goes down to join the B&S ROW just after it crosses, coming from Arcade, to the east of of Rte 98. Hmmm.

Comparing the 1963 aerial photo to modern ones, it is clear that Clear Creek north of Sandusky has wandered around. Perhaps exactly why the B&S north of Sandusky chose slightly higher ground and farther from the creek. JS

Yes, I see those abutments over the creek just north of Eagle St. Another place to explore...

And where we think the Wyman Bridge is, on the 1963 aerial map, it looks like an abutment was still there in 1963.

I hiked the creek that parallels Eagle St tonight looking for the-visible-in-1963 bridge abutments. Nothing remains!

[thebigham]

I walked Clear Creek today looking for any remains of the Wyman Bridge.

I might have found a small part of the abutment on the Arcade side of the bridge.

I have permission from the landowner to go back and explore more.

[thebigham]

This is part of the abutment I found for the Wyman Bridge.

it's not much! lol

Once the snow melts, I will explore the "Sandusky" side of the Wyamn bridge and grade.

[thebigham]

^That's not it because I found it today.

I found what looks to be this abutment in a pic of the wreck!

[thebigham]

Here it is in 2016.

I'll post more pics later.

The creek bed is much higher today than it was in 1902,

[thebigham]

4 years after starting this thread, I finally found it!

The deck of the trestle went through the middle here:

[thebigham]

The other side of the pier