WNYP = Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad (leased from Norfolk Southern)
This bridge carried Pennsy's mainline between Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Most of that line has been abandoned, but one of the original two tracks that were on this bridge is still used by the WNYP.
July 1971. AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE II, ERIE RAILWAY SURVEY. - Pennsylvania Railroad, Allegheny River Bridge, River Street vicinity, Oil City, Venango County, PA
[It is Pennsy's roundhouse. Erie was on the other side of the river. My understanding of the comments on the following posting is that the modern building on this side of the old building was part of the shops building. The modern part was retained and repurposed as theOil City Warehouse Mall.]
Carl Venzke posted Pennsylvania Railroad, Allegheny River Bridge, River Street vicinity, Oil City, Venango County, PA - photo by Jack Boucher c 1968 Rob NicholsOverheads show single tracked now with the line heading to the upper left now abandoned. Rick FleischerJust out of the picture, to the left, was the Pennsylvania Railroad's roundhouse at Oil City, Pa.
Joe Dunlap commented on Carl's posting Still there. [The satellite caught the river at a higher water level.]
Francis Otterbein shared Kim HughesFrom what I've read Pittsburgh has the most bridges and Pennsylvania's right up there as a state. Beautiful picture thank you. [Comments indicate that there used to be a double crossover when both tracks were intact. Someone wants to know how to model guard rails in a turnout on a bridge.] Matt MarshallThis side of oil city was the PRR, the Erie came up the other side of the river. Thomas JamesonHard fitting a railroad in those river valleys!
Dennis DeBruler commented on Francis' share One advantage of roundhouses is that they leave a very distinctive land scar. Since railroads a reluctant to clean up their polluted ground, you can still see where many of the roundhouses stood. https://www.google.com/.../@41.4233535,-79.../data=!3m1!1e3 Matt MarshallThe warehouse mall in the pic was part of the shops.
Chris Spear commented on Francis' share with a photo from RRPictureArchives of a steam engine coming off the bridge.
It also crosses Manayunk Canal, which went around Flat Rock Dam.
Robert Wanner posted OK, it's a SEPTA ex-RDG Blueliner special train. But it's crossing the Scuylkill River into Manayunk on the former Pennsylvania Railroad bridge. Now a walk and bike trail void of railroad tracks, at one time it was what may be considered the Gateway to the Schuylkill Valley for the PRR as it made it's way Westward from the Bala and 52nd Street areas. Up and over the hill by the huge cemetery. Slide taken in 1985 or 86 by Robert Wanner.
Greg Murray commented on Robert's posting The PRR ran 4910 and 4913 over that bridge in 1950 taking a trainload of Boy Scouts to a Jamboree at Valley Forge. Photo from Don Ball’s PRR in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
Library Co. of Philadelphia View looks southeast towards Manayunk from Green Lane, with the Green Lane automobile bridge in foreground and Pencoyd Viaduct behind, ca. 1930.
This is one of the first multiple-arch bridges designed by William H. Brown, the Chief Engineer of the Pennsy Railroad. The Rockville Bridge is a good example of one of his later designs.
This side looks "rough" because the bridge was built for just two tracks with the intention of adding two more tracks. So the stones are staggered so that the anticipated new construction could key in with the existing structure.
Photo from HAER PA,36-LANC,10--3 from pa3740 Perspective view of downstream elevation, looking due east. - Pennsylvania Railroad, Conestoga Creek Viaduct, Spanning Conestoga River, South of City Water Works, Lancaster, Lancaster County, PA
William Brown used stone instead of iron because of a suggestion by Pittsburgh Division Superintendent Robert Pitcairn. Only two tracks were built at the time because they decided to use "Gallitzin stone," a sandstone from the Allegheny Mountains, for better durability. To offset the increased transportation costs of that stone, they reduced the width to two tracks. [HAER-data]
Photo from HAER PA,36-LANC,10--1 from pa3740 Upstream elevation, looking south. - Pennsylvania Railroad, Conestoga Creek Viaduct, Spanning Conestoga River, South of City Water Works, Lancaster, Lancaster County, PA
The original bridge was built as part of the Pennsylvania canal system by the state-owned Columbia & Philadelphia Railroad. The 1829 bridge consisted of eleven wooden Town lattice trusses on stone piers for a total length of 1,412'. The PRR acquired the troubled canal system in 1857. In 1863 they "filled the approaches, reducing the viaduct's length to 349', and replaced the spans with a series of iron Whipple trusses." They must have needed a stronger bridge to carry Civil War supply trains because one seldom sees railroad upgrades done during the Civil War because the North would be spending railroad construction resources repairing tracks damaged down south by the Confederates. In 1886, the PRR began another round of main-line improvements. Foundations were laid for four tracks, but the width was never increased. The four-track main line from Philadelphia to Harrisburg was completed in 1900, but two of the stone bridges, Lancaster and Coatesville, had just two tracks. "Perhaps the PRR was then already planning a low-grade freight bypass, constructed from 1902 to 1905, which reduced traffic on the main line." [HAER-data]
Gregory D. Pawelski posted three photos with the comment: "Pennsylvania Railroad Conestoga River Bridge in Lancaster, Pa. - Then, Then and Now."
1 Pennsylvania Railroad Conestoga River Bridge in Lancaster, Pa. circa 1870-1880. (William T. Purviance Photo New York Public Library) Robert WannerWasn't built to support heavier Main Line trains, soon replaced.
2 Pennsylvania Railroad Conestoga River Bridge in Lancaster, Pa. circa 1900. (Fred J. Moll Collection) Robert WannerAdequate construction that is still there in 2018.
3 Pennsylvania Railroad Conestoga River Bridge in Lancaster, Pa. in July 2011. (Google Image Capture)
Harold Castleman commented on Gregory's post Here's GG-1 No. 4877 leading an excursion over the Conestoga River circa 1980.
The north side was finished with a weather-resistant facing. But the south side was intended to be inside a four-track bridge and thus protected from the weather. Since it was not protected, in 1930, Belmont Iron Works added bracing to tie the spandrel walls together. [HAER-data]
MichaelFroio, comments in source talk about Cambria Iron Works In a beautiful image by William H. Rau we see the Conestoga River bridge, one of Brown's first stone bridges. Utilizing the figure and boat as a device for scale in the foreground Rau is looking south, as noted by the finished facade of the bridge. To the left out of view is the Lancaster Water Works which still survives today. Photograph collection American Premier Underwriters, Inc
Ray Brunner posted PRR main line bridge over the Conestoga Creek, Lancaster Pennsylvania. Photo by A. J. Brunner c1940
NJT = New Jersey Transit CSAO = Conrail Shared Assets Operations That means that both CSX and NS trains use it.
This bridge was built with a swing span in 1896. Rather than replace the movable span, they added a 542' lift span with 135' clearance next to it in 1960. The swing span has been taken out of service, but leaving it saved the the cost of removing the center pier of the swing span. It was the first bridge between Philadelphia and New Jersey. [Bridge Hunter] Another reason a lift span was built next to the existing swing span is that the US Army Core of Engineers dredged a deeper channel. [sjrail]
sjrail, cropped Deleware River Railroad and Bridge Company (Delair Bridge) circa 1890
[The following text is from HAER, pp2-5] In 1896, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) was the first to accomplish the goal of spanning the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. For three decades until the Benjamin Franklin Bridge opened to automobile traffic, the PRR's bridge (commonly known as the Delair Bridge) was the only crossing downstream of Trenton. The lower Delaware's extreme width, tidal current, and soft bottom made foundation work difficult, meaning that a successful design would need extremely long spans. When completed, the Delair Bridge had 533'-0" Petit through trust spans. This was an impressive length for the time, albeit a few feet shorter than the Chesapeake & Ohio's 1889 Ohio River bridge at Cincinnati, the record holder at 542'-6". Complicating the design further, heavy traffic on the lower Delaware required a high bridge, or else a movable one. PRR engineers compromised by building the fixed spans 50'-0" above the water and providing a swing span for the tallest vessels. The Delair Bridge is also significant for having set records at two widely separated points in its existence. In the mid-twentieth century, PRR retained Hardesty & Hanover to design a 542'-0'vertical lift span over a new navigation channel proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. While setting a record for the longest vertical-lift bridge with two tracks, it was two feet shy of the overall record, set by the New York, New Haven & Hartford's single-track bridge at Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, in 1935. As a result, the Delair Bridge hosts an unusual combination of two different movable spans m one structure (although the swing span was subsequently taken out of service). The Delair Bridge is 4,396' long, of which 2,453'-0" is riveted deck girder approach trestles. A lengthy trestle was necessary on the Philadelphia side to carry the railroad over city streets while climbin an 0.7-percent grade to the high truss spans over the river; the New Jersey approach is mostly earthen emabnkment. The girder spans are mostly 40', with some exceptions where the approach crosses Carbon Street (50'-3") and Delaware Avenue (77'-6") on the Philadelphia side. Each trestle bent is supported by four stepped granite footings on a wooden pile foundation. The shore piers, Nos. 1 and 6, are also carried on wooden pile foundations with 190 piles in each group, driven to bearing in a sand and gravel layer and capped capped with a timber grillage at 30' below water level. All of the river piers, Nos. 2 through 5, were excavated by Drake & Stratton using timber caissons; these were rectangular, except for a hexagonal caisson accommodating the cylindrical swing span pivot pier, No. 4. Pier masonry consisted of a concrete core sheathed in large granite blocks 18"to 24" thick, or 30" in the coping, with some blocks weighing more than 20 tons. The river spans originally consisted of three 533'-0" pin-connected Petit through truss spans, one on the New Jersey side of the 323'-0" swing span and two on die Pennsylvania side. Invented by a PRR bridge engineer, the Petit (or Pennsylvania) truss is a variant o fthe Pratt miss, with diagonal members in tension, a polygonally curved top chord, and intermediate floor beams hung from a secondary diagonal system. The intermediate floor beams reduce the length of longitudinal stringers between panel points, making a more efficient structure capable of spanning up to 600'.The fixed trusses are 84'-0" deep at mid-span and divided into 66'-7-l/2" main panels, with intermediate floor beams at half that interval. In the swing span, a 60'-deep pin-connected Petit through truss, the six main panels are each 53'-4", with intermediate floor beams at 26'-8". Pencoyd Iron Works used a traveling gantry crane to erect the fixed spans, each weighing 2,091 tons, on temporary wooden falsework. The swing span (931 tons including machinery) was erected in the open position, using the fender pier as a working platform.Several sources, including PRR annual reports, describe the Delair Bridge as "an iron structure," but this is simply the persistence of a nineteenth-century paradigm for metal bridges; the specifications called for open-hearth steel. The Delair Bridge is most significant for its two movable spans, representing the state of the art in the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. The 1896 swing span has several innovative features, probably devised by C. C. Schneider, chief engineer of Pencoyd Iron Works' Bridge and Construction Department, who was known for his swing bridge designs.At midspan, two heavy floor beams deliver the truss's weight to the center bearing, an unprecedentedly large steel casting with a phosphor bronze bearing surface 27" in diameter. The Delair Bridge's vertical-lift span represents more man six decades of development in that type. A vertical-lift bridge is defined by a truss raised and lowered between two towers, balanced by counterweights falling and rising at either end. The U.S. had but one long-span vertical-lift bridge in 1896, at South Halsted Street in Chicago, designed by J. A. L. Waddeill. Because of the prototype's expensive construction and questionable reliability, it was not immediately popular. John L. Harrington, Waddell's partner from 1907 to 1913, seems to have been responsible for developing the vertical-lift bridge into a practicable design.Railroads subsequently embraced the design for long-span movable bridges. When, in the 1950s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed widening and straightening the Delaware River channel to serve industry upstream, a vertical-lift span was PRR's only option for providing the necessary 500' clearance. The railroad turned to New York-based consulting engineers Hardesty & Hanover, one of several descendants of Waddell & Harrington's partnership. They designed a riveted Warden through truss, 542'-0" long between bearings, to replace the fixed truss west of the swing span. Winding machinery atop each of the towers would lift the span up to 135'-0" above the high-water mark.The Delair Bridge's vertical-lift span represents more man six decades of development in that type. A vertical-lift bridge is defined by a truss raised and lowered between two towers, balanced by counterweights falling and rising at either end. The U.S. had but one long-span vertical-lift bridge in 1896, at South Halsted Street in Chicago, designed by J. A. L. Waddell. Because of the prototype's expensive construction and questionable reliability, it was not immediately popular. John L. Harrington, Waddell's partner from 1907 to 1913, seems to have been responsible for developing the vertical-lift bridge into a practicable design.IS Railroads subsequently embraced the design for long-span movable bridges. When, in the 1950s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed widening and straightening the Delaware Elver channel to serve industry upstream, a vertical-lift span was PRR's only option for providing the necessary SOO'-O" clearance. The railroad turned to New York-based consulting engineers Hardesty & Hanover, one of several descendants of Waddeil & Harrington's partnership. They designed a riveted Warden through truss, 542'-0" long between bearings* to replace the fixed truss west of the swing span. Winding machinery atop each of the towers would lift the span up to 135'-0" above the high-water mark. American ridge Co...erected the towers around the existing bridge with minimal interruptions to traffic. Meanwhile, another crew constructed the lift span on falsework atop a barge anchored off the Pennsylvania shore. The spans were swapped out, using the rising tide to lift the fixed span off the piers and the falling tide to lower the lift span into place. Once cables were connected to the operating machinery and counterweights, the new vertical-lift bridge was ready for operation. Crews then demolished Pier No. 2 to clear the channel. The bridge remains in active service today, carrying Atlantic City-bound passenger trains as well as freight.
The SS Marie Leonhardt, an oceangoing ship carrying iron ore to the new Fairless Works steel facility in Morrisville, allided with the bridge at about 12:45pm on Jan. 9, 1959, when the operator did not open it in time. This is one of the few lawsuits concerning allisions that was won by the ship owners. The reason the ship won was because the railroad had signaled all clear, but when it then tried to open the span after a train had passed, it could not because it was rusted shut. [sjrail, philadelphia-reflections] Remember, the bridge has a 50' clearance so the span would seldom be opened. But this inaugural run of an iron ore ship for the new USS plant required the span to open.
When built, the 323' swing span set a record as the heaviest to bear on a center pivot. [HAER, p3] That is the first time I have seen that pivot design. Most big swing spans use a bunch of rollers on the bottom of a big drum as shown below.
Michael Froio Photography posted Delair Bridge, looking west across the 542’ lift span over the Delaware River’s ship channel. Over the years my personal work has led to opportunities to serve commercial clients. I’ll be presenting a lecture Monday, October 22nd in Haddon Heights, NJ about these projects and the logistics of documenting fast paced engineering projects on the railroad. For more information please check out the event link https://www.facebook.com/events/1894687810613435/?ti=ia
When news came that the historic Pennsy stone arch bridge in Hobart, Indiana was slated to be replaced this year, I set out to get as many pictures of trains heading across the bridge as I could. Not easy when at most there are three trains a day, and more often than not in the dark. Some days no trains passed.But I did manage to get some of the last handful of trains passing over the 160 year old bridge. Built in 1858 for the P.F.W.&C. this bridge predated the Civil War. Though in recent decades the trains have been few, and for 8 years no trains crossed, for many decades 50-60 trains or more crossed here every day. The first picture is a postcard taken I would guess at least 100 years ago showing a westbound crossing the bridge. The second pic, taken on March 31, 2018, shows 10R crossing the historic bridge in its final months. The last train has since crossed this bridge and it will be replaced soon
This is a reminder that back in the 1850s, stone arch bridges were popular. The UP/C&NW/G&CU still has another example. They were popular because the main alternative back then was wood truss bridges. American could not even make their own iron rails in the 1850s, let alone truss members for bridges. Obviously, stone lasts a lot longer than wood does.
Ken Durkel posted CF&E 06 heads west in Hobart, Indiana and across the 160 year old Pennsy stone arch bridge. Built in 1858 for the Pittsburgh Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad, this bridge for decades saw at least 50-60 trains a day pass overhead. For the last 35 years the trains have trickled across as the former Pennsylvania Railroad Ft. Wayne Line is now only a shadow of its former self. The last train passed over this bridge in October, 2018 and it is currently being replaced. Taken on May 09, 2018.
Pennsy called this junction Indiana Harbor, and IHB called it Fort Wayne because it was Pennsy's Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago route. Note the IHB route was really owned by NYC because it is the northern part of the Kankakee Belt. But it was, and is, operated by IHB.
William Shopotkin posted three images with the comment:
Here are a couple of pix of the tower Indiana Harbor (East Chicago, IN) -- where the IHB x/o PC (PRR). They were taken by Dr. Robert Breese of the back end of Amtrak's EB BROADWAY LIMITED on July 17, 1974. Also included is a diagram of the interlocking. Sadly, the one-time PRR thru the area is but a memory.
Eric PowellThe concrete slab for this tower is still visible, barely, right next to the Cline Avenue bridge going over the IHB.
William Shapotkin posted While I admit the quality leaves a lot to be desired, to-date this is the ONLY image of the Liverpool, IN tower (MC Joliet Cut-off/PRR Xing) -- and darn it if it was not found in a non-NYC or PRR fan magazine.
The yellow rectangle highlights a bridge that still remains from the Michigan Central route. The route bent slightly northeast of the junction.
Robert Daly posted two photos that include the tower with the comment:
PRR and NYC bridges over the Calumet River, Feb 18 1974, looking northwest. Tower controlling the PRR bridge was known as River Branch. Shortly after the PC merger in 1968 the NYC bridge was closed and put in the raised position, where it remains to this day. The PRR bridge continued in service through Conrail and now NS. B&O had a parallel bascule bridge to the right, which was rammed and partially destroyed by a lake boat some time in the 1980s.
Quick question for you guys in Chicago, IL. How many yards does NS have around the Chicago area? Also was wondering what crews run on the Chicago Line between Ft. Wayne and Chicago?
Larry AmalooLanders [Wabash], Calumet [NKP], Ashland [NYC], 55th Street [Pennsy], Park Manor [NYC], Colehour [Pennsy] are the major NS terminals up here, most are intermodal terminals as well. The NS Crew districts are Toledo-Chicago, Elkhart-Chicago for Dearborn Division, Fort Wayne-Chicago, Bellevue-Chicago for Lake Division. Kankakee Yard and Burns Harbor Yard I do not think are grouped with the Chicago Yards.
Andrew Stephenson NS also has the vehicle mixing center in Hegeswisch. [I assume he means the IHB Gibson Yard that is shared by all of the Chicago trunk lines to switch autorack cars.]
Stan Stanovich ...Chicago has traditionally been an “away from home terminal!!!” Road crews run into Chicago from Toledo and Elkhart on the Chicago Line and Ft. Wayne and in certain cases Bellevue on the Nickel Plate! There is no road work which radiates out of Chicago on NS. Conrail was basically the same!!!
Bill Molony posted Gulf, Mobile & Ohio train #2, The Abraham Lincoln, easing past the Pennsylvania Railroad's coach yard as it approaches Chicago Union Station - circa 1963. An E7A-F3A-E7A combination powered the all-lightweight, 16-car consist on that day. On the left is the PRR's all-private room Broadway Limited, waiting for its 5:00 PM overnight run to New York City. Roger Dean Elliott 103-A on point. [The photo is old enough that the B&OCT bridge is in the down position.]
One of six Rick Burn photos posted by Marty Bernard. Pennsy's yard is in the left background, CB&Q's commuter storage is on the right.
Wayne O'Shell commented on Joe's share Chicago....from high above the city......... [After the Pennsy yard has been rebuilt for Amtrak service.]
Bill Molony posted Pennsylvania Railroad class S2 6-8-6 steam turbine #6200 arriving in Chicago with the Manhattan Limited on the afternoon of June 13, 1947.
It was built in 1948, which is rather late for a truss RR bridge. In the satellite image it appears you can see the piers of the previous bridge south of the existing bridge.
Paul Puljic posted Massillon, Ohio. Picture taken from The Veterans Memorial bridge looking south.
