The Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge (also known as the Union Railroad Rankin Hot Metal Bridge #35) is a truss bridge

Truss bridge

A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...

 that carries a rail line across the Monongahela River

Monongahela River

The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

 between Whitaker, Pennsylvania

Whitaker, Pennsylvania

Whitaker is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is on the Monongahela River upriver from Pittsburgh. The population was 1,271 at the 2010 census.The borough is named for James Whitaker, who was deeded the land in 1788....

 and Rankin, Pennsylvania

Rankin, Pennsylvania

Rankin is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, south of Pittsburgh on the Monongahela River. Early in the 20th century, Rankin specialized in manufacturing steel and wire goods...

.

History

The bridge was built to carry freight between Whitaker and the USS Carrie Furnace

Carrie Furnace

Carrie Furnace is a derelict former blast furnace located along the Monongahela River in the Pittsburgh area industrial town of Rankin, Pennsylvania. It had formed a part of the Homestead Steel Works. The Carrie Furnaces were built in 1884 and they operated until 1982. During its peak, the site...

, with the downstream line shielded for the use of hot metal trains. Currently owned by the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area.