The lower bridge was built in the late 1890s by the Virginia & Southwest Virginia rail road (V&SW). That line was absorbed into the Southern Rail Road in 1916, just a year after this card was mailed.
The upper one, the Copper Creek Viaduct (a word the Marx Brothers had fun with in The Cocoanuts) was built by the C.C. & O in 1908. The stated height now is 185′ , measuring from the river below.
You barely read the writing down the length of the viaduct, but I believe it says “crossed this just today” or something to that effect.
The post card itself appears to have been printed in Germany before WWI.
Blogging the Railroad Tunnels 
A few years ago, a few of my friends and I made the steep climb from the lower tracks to the upper rail to explore a nearby cave. Foolishly, we walked out on the viaduct while we were there. Wow what a height, and an invigorating experience. To this day, that was one of my most memorable caving trips, which is funny because I remember so little about the cave, but so much about the feeling of being so alive while walking out above Copper creek.
I’ve often considered doing something like that, but I always had to be someplace else urgently, or something like that. Great comment. Thank you.
Actually, come to think of it, that’s exactly what my profile photo is on here!
Hello Bob,
As always I admire the posts on here and this one is no different. That being said, in this picture, I happened to notice if you follow the tracks across the viaduct , and southward, I
Believe that you can see to the right the tunnel
Portal of the 1, 115 foot long Moccasin Ridge, or as you note on the diary the Speers Ferry tunnel . I’m pretty sure that this is right, because I have watched a YouTube video of one of the past Santa Claus Specials that CSX hosts the weekend before Thanksgiving , which is a cab ride profile view out to the right side of the locomotive and right before they cross CCV , they pass through a shorter tunnel .
Again, thanks for the site and thanks for sharing these bits of CC&O history!