early train on the Kragenhofer bridge, Fuldatal, Germany

This first Fulda river bridge of Kragenhof was completed over 1853-1855 and opened on 29 September with a solemn laying of the the capstone. The builder was the Konigliche Eisenbahn-Direktion (Royal Railway Directorate) of Hannover. It had five masonry arches with a total length of 120 metres between the abutments.

It received the typical high explosive treatment in April 1945.

American troops built a steel temporary bridge in August 1945 on the existing pier stumps of the old structure which was used until 1947.  In 1949 under the supervision of the Bundesbahndirektion Kassel a new bridge structure was built. From the original bridge only the two sandstone abutments were reused. The remaining pillar stumps were then broken up to 50 cm below the Fulda. They were replaced with two new reinforced concrete piers with sandstone veneer.