The four arch, brick bridge that spanned Will’s Creek at the western portal of the Narrows was built by the Maryland Mining Company for their railroad to Eckhart Mines. It was constructed in 1846. It stood until early 1998, despite numerous attempts by the waters of Will's creek to push it downstream, and the weight of trains to collapse it. It was a silent monument to the skill of its designers and builders.

One of the operating limitations of the bridge, and thus of the branch, was the load limit of the bridge. The Eckhart Branch had problems with steep grades, tunnel clearances, and the tight radius of the horseshoe curve at Clarysville. In the early days, a Winans Camel engine would be used to haul empty cars up the grade, and ease the loaded ones down to the connection with the Mt. Savage Railroad. In the later C&P days, a single Mt.-Savage-built Consolidation (2-8-0) of weight 174,500 pounds would be used. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Western Maryland Railway Decapods (2-10-0) worked the Eckhart Branch. These engines weighed 195,500 lbs. The branch used coal hoppers of fifty-five tons capacity, because larger cars, such as the 70 ton ones, would derail on the curves. The fifty-five ton hoppers had a tare, or empty weight, of twenty tons, and thus weighed seventy five tons fully loaded.

The bridge was some two hundred and sixty feet long, and the length-in-train of a typical 55 ton hopper is some thirty-three feet, 7 1/2 inches. So, 7 1/2 hoppers would fit on the bridge at one time, for a total load of five hundred and fifty one tons. Operating restrictions of the bridge did not allow an engine and the large crane on the bridge at the same time.

Mr. Arnold of LaVale recounts the story about how B&O engine number 4600, a class Q4 2-8-2, ran low on water at the west end of the Narrows. Seeing a C&P engine on the Eckhart Branch, and the nearby water tank, the B&O crew asked the C&P men if they could get a drink. In the spirit of brotherhood common among operating crews on the road, the C&P crew had them come over and get some water in the tender. The operating weight of a Q4 is 327,400 lbs. The bridge somehow survived.

The metal bracing visible on the sides of the bridge was rail. At one time, it was Mt. Savage produced U channel. This historic product was removed by WM crews, and replaced with pieces of modern rail. The Mt. Savage product was cut up and distributed as souvenirs.

The Eckhart Branch bridge had seen marked changes in railroading over its 152 year history. Numerous times, the raging waters of Will’s Creek have spilled over its top, and uncountable tons of equipment and coal have passed over its back, from Winans Camels to modern diesels.

On January 20, 1998, crews and equipment removed the bridge, because it contributed to upstream flooding in the Locust Grove Community during high water events. CSX, being a good corporate citizen, contributed $100,000 to the destruction of the bridge. Maryland Mining Company's Eckhart Branch Bridge (1846-1998). Good Job. RIP.