Union pacific south bound pulling a loaded mixed freight over the Verdigris River. Here is a little bit of history on this bridge. According to the Muskogee Phoenix. "When the rail line reached the Three Forks area, two river bridges had to be built — first over the Verdigris and then three and a half miles further south over the Arkansas. The railroad supervisor expected to have the bridge over the Verdigris completed by Sept. 15 and over the Arkansas by Oct. 1. Again, these deadlines proved unreachable.
Because the ironwork had to be shipped in from the American Bridge Company in Chicago, the three spans of the Verdigris bridge were not in place until Oct. 1. On that fateful day, the center span collapsed, killing several workers and injuring many more. A new span would have to be shipped in from Chicago. But on Oct. 8, the Great Chicago Fire broke out and the American Bridge Company had to delay all its shipments.
Work resumed after this delay, and the Verdigris bridge was completed by the end of October. The tracklayers, who normally could lay a mile of track a day, took 11 days to cross the three and half miles to the Arkansas. They were delayed this time by heavy rains and a jungle of river cane. Then, on Nov. 17, a heavy rainfall flooded the Arkansas and washed out the framework for its bridge. The workers had to start over once again.
By Dec. 7, the bridge was completed and ready for track to be laid across it to the site of old Fort Davis. This was the original site chosen for a large depot, but the terrain proved too uneven. So the tracklayers slogged through more rain, mud and cane to a site three miles further south. Here the depot would be built and named Muscogee Station in honor of the Creek tribe."
