Railroad Trestles

The steel bridge here is the line's famous one: the American Bridge Company's viaduct across Lawyer's Canyon, about 1,520 feet long and, by the architectural survey's figure, 280 feet at its highest rather than the sign's 296. The rest of the sixty-six-mile line crossed some forty-five bridges, most of them timber, which earned it the name the railroad on stilts. The last revenue train ran over the second subdivision on November 29, 2000. A short line took over part of it in 2002, running across the viaduct as far as Cottonwood.

What the plaque says

Railroad Trestles In order to cross Lawyer's Canyon and other Camas Prairie gorges, a series of high railroad bridges was built in 1908. This highway goes past two of them here. Most were timber, but a metal structure, 1500 feet long and 296 feet high, was needed here. A long high wooden trestle also crossed a nearby side canyon. North Idaho's Camas Prairie Railroad--a joint Northern Pacific and Union Pacific venture--served this region for eight decades. 371 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Heart of the Monster — 20 mi
  Where the Nimiipuu say their story begins: Coyote, a monster, and the heart he tore loose, still on the Clearwater's bank.
• Spalding — 26 mi
  The Nimiipuu went to St. Louis asking about a book. What came back was a mission, a printing press and a museum.

More markers nearby

• Lawyer's Canyon — steps away
• Lewis and Clark — steps away
• Craigmont — 3.1 mi
• Lewis and Clark — 8.6 mi