ON THE COVER
The northbound Royal Palm was the first train to cross the Southern's new bridge over the Cumberland River at Burnside, Kentucky. It was opened to northbound traffic on Thursday, August 3, 1950; southbound traffic did not use the bridge until August 8. Extra cars were added at Burnside to carry more than 400 of the city's residents on this history-making trip.
Soon, the rising waters of the reservoir behind the Wolf Creek Dam, located many miles downstream, will flood all the lowland area seen in this picture. They will also cover the site of the old Cumberland River bridge - that's the "why" of this new one.