It's hard to explain how I become so endeared with this railroad bridge, to the point that it practically haunts me, even a decade after moving far away, by making recurring appearances in dreams. As a kid growing up in North Little Rock, I loved looking over at it when my family would drive across the I-30 bridge, crossing the Arkansas River directly beside it. I liked the Rock Island Bridge because its big, round spans made it visually more appealing than the other railroad bridges connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock. Also it seemed busier than the others, with trains frequently rolling across.

In 1979 I was bused for second grade to Redwood Elementary, in downtown North Little Rock. Directly in front of the school was the Rock Island's busy main line, just a short distance from the bridge. I loved watching the trains through my classroom windows and during recess. I also liked knowing that when I saw a train on the bridge, it was heading toward or had just passed my school. But in February 1980 I was heartbroken when the trains suddenly stopped rolling by. After two decades of struggling, the bankrupt Rock Island had been shut down. Soon grass would start growing between the rails.

In 1989, as part of a high school research paper, I wrote to Union Pacific, which had reluctantly become owner of the bridge, which it neither needed nor wanted. Viewing it as a liability, the railroad wrote back that it would be taking down the bridge in 1991 or 92, with the lift span to be used on a bridge near Seattle, while the rest of the spans "will be removed and scrapped." Crushed that time would be running out for the bridge, which had been there since 1899 (except for the lift span, which was added in 1972), I started trespassing on the bridge, to get a good look at it. I also frequently took my camera to document the bridge before it was gone.

Below are 15 black and white photos. 10 were taken by me in the early 1990's, while the other five, all of which feature the Second Street overpass, were taken by photographer Louisa T. Taft for the Historic American Engineering Record in 1988 while historic designation was being considered for the little overpass. It ended up being torn down in the mid-90's, but at least the railroad bridge and depot have survived and are seeing a new life.