Highline Bridge
This is the Highline trestle in Valley City, built between 1906 and 1908. It is still in use today. The Highline is 3,860 feet long and 162 feet high. We are including it on this site in homage to the importance of the railroad in settling North Dakota. Check out our gallery for another of North Dakota’s trestles, the Gassman Coulee Trestle, here.
Photos by Troy
Copyright Sonic Tremor Media LLC
This IS a wonder. Spent many hours near this bridge when I attended college at VCSU. As you can also see, it is a beautiful area also. Valley City, I believe, is one of those secrets very few people know about – except for those who actually lived there. It is one of the prettiest cities in ND – if not THE prettiest.
It is very beautiful, driving into Valley City, N. D. east on I-94 is the sight that u see and know you are home.
Awsome trestle, very similiar in size to one we had here. It was known as the “Mile Long Bridge”
I grew up living next to this bridge the vibrations of this bridge used to leave cracks on the walls of my child hood home. No one has ever been able to cross this bridge while a train was crossing believe me a friend & myself tried we only made it half way. We always tried when no train was due and 1 always came. I have never made it to the other side. My grandma born in 1912. Said a few men working on it died during the process and a couple were buried alive in the cement. When I moved away in1985 and as far as I know no one has ever died since by accident or by taking their own life. The high school uses this bridge as It’s logo. Hi-Liners
My place of birth, a beautiful town.
My Dad was an Agent-Telegrapher/Operator for the Northern Pacific Railway from late 1949-1980. Back in the 50′s and 60′s the Agents and (telegraph) operators on the east end (roughly Jamestown to Fargo, mainline and branchline) with their families, would get together in the City Park below and a little south of the Hi-Line Bridge and have an all-day picnic and day of fun and games. Softball, Horseshoes, etc. There was a pavilion with tables and benches, and the culinary course was potluck. Just a little southeast of the pavilion stood a small building just large enough to get an elongated stock water tank in and a side window/door opened up on the west side, counter high. The water tank was chuck full of chunks of ice and icewater and it was well stocked with beer, and pop for the kids.
When a train came across the bridge you would look up through the trees and see the train, but without seeing the superstructure that supported the bridge, it appeared as if the train were flying through the sky. This annual summer event is undoubtedly one of the fond memories of my childhood. What great fun we had that day. Now almost all of those depots and many of the branch lines are gone. The telegraph is silent. Vestiges of the past, along with the agent and operators picnic.
Actually, I think it was CHOCK-full of ice….