Guyandotte's Cursed Railroad Bridge

In the late 1800s, the railroad was beginning to push its way through the little town of Guyandotte, West Virginia. In 1871, Collis Potter Huntington established the new town of Huntington, just west of Guyandotte. The new city would become the primary location of operation of the C&O railroad line that Huntington built.

Many of the residents of Guyandotte worked for both the C&O railroad and the B&O railroad, both lines ran right through town. While many of the men of Guyandotte worked for the railroad to provide for their families, there were also many hazards associated with working in the rail industry. Over the years, numerous railroad accidents have taken the lives of some of those men. One incident took place involved a man driving home from work, he was driving over the tracks at the old Buffington St. crossing, when an oncoming train crashed into his vehicle, killing him. The train derailed as a result of the crash, stopping just short of plunging into the Guyandotte River at the Main St. crossing. The old bridge near that crossing is still standing abandoned today.

The other rail bridge in Guyandotte that is still in use today and has seen its share of tragic events. That bridge was once part of the old C&O rail line that is today owned and operated by CSX. The bridge spans the Guyandotte river just at the end of Special Metals Corp. Many years ago, this bridge gained the reputation as being cursed with many referring to it as the "hoodoo" bridge.

Three separate accidents have left their mark on this ill-fated bridge, these took place in 1880, 1889 and again in 1913. I was unable to locate information on the 1880 accident, but the subsequent accidents certainly resulted in fatalities. On November 27, 1889, a freight train fell through the bridge, one man was killed as well as a horse that was being shipped to Brownstown, West Virginia.

The last accident that occurred on this bridge happened on January 1, 1913. A second track was being added to the bridge, men were on the bridge working when a train approached to cross. The workers signaled to the engineer to proceed across the bridge. Once the trains engine made its way to the center, the bridge gave way, sending the train, the train's engineer and the men working on the bridge, into the icy waters of the Guyandotte River. The engineer and six men that were working on the bridge were killed. Some of the bodies were recovered days later, including the engineer. The bridge once again was repaired and has been in use ever since.

In more recent times, several people have been killed by trains while attempting to cross the bridge on foot.

All photos on this site are property of Melissa Stanley unless otherwise noted. Top photo - Modern photo of the bridge. Middle photo - from Marshall University Special Collections Jan 1, 1913 accident. Bottom photo - source unknown, from the Jan 1, 1913 accident.