Western Railway Lift Bridge (photo by National Park Service)

The Western Maryland Railway Lift Bridge is located at Mile 99.5 on the C&O Canal towpath, a short walk from the Williamsport Visitor Center. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.

The Western Maryland Railway Lift Bridge was built in 1923, one year before the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal closed for business. The bridge could be lifted up when canal boats came through and lowered when trains came through, very similar to lift-type draw bridges still in use today where roads cross boating channels. It is the only such bridge on the C&O Canal. When the canal closed in 1924, the lift mechanism was no longer needed and the bridge remained in its lowered position. The bridge was used by the railroad until 1970.

In 2016 the National Park Service had the lift bridge permanently raised. Staircases on either end of the bridge were recently constructed so pedestrians could use the railway bridge to cross the canal and access the towpath on the other side. The photo above was taken before the staircases were added.

The photos below were taken in 2014 when the bridge was still in the lowered position. As they do now, pedestrians used it to cross the canal.