![]() ![]() & Stratton had a contract for the easternmost group of eight spans while H. Justīefore work began in April 1900, Railroad Gazette reported that Philadelphia contractors Drake Pier is 19'-0" wide, making it capable of resisting unbalanced thrust from an incomplete structure.Īll of the piers are founded on rock, which lies just below the shallow river's bottom. ![]() To permit breaks in the work, the forty-eight 70'-0" arch spans areĭivided into six groups by "abutment piers." Most of the piers are 8'-0" wide, but every eighth Although PRR was $191 million in debt upon Cassatt's death inġ906, Bezilla states, "Cassatt's rebuilding of the railroad was crucial to its ability to remainĪ structure as large as the Rockville Bridge could not be completed in one construction In a short biography of Cassatt, historian Michael Bezilla attributes PRR's long-term vision to his leadership. Justify the greater expense, given that benefits of durable, low-maintenance construction wouldĪccrue slowly. Older and more labor-intensive technology of masonry arches. Technical journals describing the recently completed structureįound it remarkable that PRR had progressed from wood to iron to steel trusses, only to adopt the Righter actually prepared the plans under Brown's direction. Most sources indicate that Assistant Engineer Traffic with national acclaim on 30 March 1902. ![]() Most impressive artifact from this period in the railroad's history.ĭespite the challenges posed by its record-breaking length of 3,791'-0" betweenĪbutments, the Rockville Bridge was the first of the large structures completed. That the Rockville Bridge has yet to be surpassed in length makes it the As part of the improvements, Brown and his staffĭesigned notably long and expensive stone arch bridges over the Delaware, Juniata, Raritan, and Main line to four tracks across the state. York City, separating passenger and freight traffic in eastern Pennsylvania, and upgrading its Cassatt, PRR spent record amounts tunneling under the Hudson River into New Brown had designed stone arches asĮarly as 1887 at Johnstown, it was a flurry of masonry construction between 19 thatĮarned him a reputation as the railroad's "stone man."Īlexander J. Reflects PRR's monumental capital investment and desire for "permanent" structures in the early The current four-track stone arch bridge, built just downstream from its iron predecessor, erected new double-track ironĭeck trusses on extensions of the existing stone piers.īefore it too began to limit capacity on PRR's profitable main line. From July to December 1877, Delaware Bridge Co. Including a fire in 1868, to become a troublesome single-track restriction on an otherwise double-track line. The wooden structure survived a remarkable twenty-eight years, Contractors Holman, Simon &īurke and Daniel Stone completed twenty-three 160'-0" arch-reinforced Howe deck trusses on Nonetheless, PRRĬontracted for a single-track wooden bridge at Rockville in 1847. Shortest (perpendicular) crossing would require sharp curves at either end. Location was less than ideal for a bridge: the Susquehanna was not particularly narrow, and the On the east bank all the way to Clarks Ferry at the mouth of the Juniata, but the ledge it occupiedīecame too slender for the railroad to share at Rockville, five miles north of Harrisburg. At some point, his route had to cross to the west bank andĪscend the Juniata River valley on its way over the mountains to Pittsburgh. Route for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) that followed the Pennsylvania Canal along the eastīank of the Susquehanna River. Heading north from Harrisburg in 1847, Chief Engineer J. Elliott, contract photographer, Sellersville, Pennsylvania, produced large-format photographs. Jet Lowe, HAER photographer, and Joseph E. Thayer, historian, Fredericksburg, Virginia, conducted preliminary research under contract. Spivey, HAER engineer, researched and wrote the final reports. The project was supported by the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) and a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) conducted the Pennsylvania Historic Railroad Bridges Recording Project during 19, under the direction of Eric N. The Rockville Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in August 1975. It best represents the Pennsylvania Railroad's monumental capital investment and desire for "permanent" structures at the turn of the twentieth century. The stone arch bridge at Rockville remains the world's longest of its type, at 3,791'-0". Kerbaugh, Inc., (Philadelphia), west half. Righter, assistant engineers.ĭrake & Stratton Co. Brown, Chief Engineer, George Nauman and H. S. Harrisburg West, Pennsylvania (7.5-minute series, 1987). Spanning Susquehanna River, north of I-81 Bridge, between Rockville, Dauphin County, and Marysville, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. ![]()
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