Wills Creek Bollman Bridge

Last updated
Wills Creek Bollman Bridge
Wells-creek-bollman-bridge.jpg
Wills Creek Bollman Bridge, pictured at former location
Coordinates 39°49′06″N78°59′41″W / 39.81833°N 78.99472°W / 39.81833; -78.99472 Coordinates: 39°49′06″N78°59′41″W / 39.81833°N 78.99472°W / 39.81833; -78.99472
CarriesAllegheny Highlands section of Great Allegheny Passage trail
CrossesScratch Hill Road
Locale Meyersdale, Pennsylvania
Characteristics
Design truss bridge
Total length81 feet (25 m)
Width13 feet (4.0 m)
History
Opened1871
Location
Wills Creek Bollman Bridge

The Wills Creek Bollman Bridge originally served the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Pittsburgh Division main line.

Contents

Designed by the self-taught civil engineer Wendel Bollman in 1871, this truss bridge is the last remaining span of the Pittsburgh Division line associated with Bollman. Around 1910, it was moved from Wills Creek to a location 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, after it was no longer able to safely carry heavier modern locomotives. It served as a vehicular bridge crossing CSX tracks on Long Road (Summit Township Road 381) at 39°49′48″N79°02′34″W / 39.83°N 79.042778°W / 39.83; -79.042778 . [1] The bridge was again relocated in 2007 to a location east of Meyersdale, where it now carries the Great Allegheny Passage trail over Scratch Hill Road at 39°49′06″N78°59′41″W / 39.81833°N 78.99472°W / 39.81833; -78.99472 . [2]

Though it was designed by Wendell Bollman, it does not employ his famous Bollman truss, but rather a Warren truss. It is 81 feet (25 m) long and 13 feet (4.0 m) wide. The east abutments are constructed of concrete, while the west are earthen with wood ties. This bridge has a wood deck, and ornate cast iron end pieces, lacework, and compression members. End posts and tension members are constructed of wrought iron.

The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 1978. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania, United States

The Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the Conestoga River in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the oldest bridge in the county still in use. A county-owned and maintained bridge, its official designation is the Big Conestoga #2 Bridge. The bridge is also called Martin's Mill Bridge, Eberly's Cider Mill Covered Bridge, and Fiand's/Fiantz's Covered Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Grove Covered Bridge</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania, United States

The Pine Grove Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the East Branch of Octoraro Creek on the border between Lancaster County and Chester County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is the longest covered bridge in Lancaster County. The bridge was built in 1884 by Elias McMellen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truss bridge</span> Bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss

A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. The basic types of truss bridges shown in this article have simple designs which could be easily analyzed by 19th and early 20th-century engineers. A truss bridge is economical to construct because it uses materials efficiently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaver Bridge (Ohio River)</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania and Beaver, Pennsylvania

The Beaver Bridge is a rail bridge spanning the Ohio River between Monaca and Beaver, Pennsylvania. It consists of two spans: a southern cantilever through truss of 769 feet (234 m) with 320-foot (98 m) anchor arms; and a northern camelback through truss of 370 feet (110 m). The bridge currently carries two tracks of CSX Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West End Bridge (Pittsburgh)</span> Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The West End Bridge is a steel tied-arch bridge over the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) below the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. It connects the West End to the Chateau neighborhood on the North Side of Pittsburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge</span> Historic truss bridge in Savage, Maryland, US

The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge at Savage, Maryland is the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American bridge engineering. The 160-foot (48.8 m) double-span is a suspension truss bridge. The first Bollman bridge was installed on the site; however, the current bridge is not the original. The current bridge was built in 1852 and moved to the site thirty years later. It is one of the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the United States. Currently, however, it is in use carrying the Savage Mill Trail across the Little Patuxent River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendel Bollman</span>

Wendel Bollman was an American self-taught civil engineer, best known for his iron railway bridges. Only one of his patented "Bollman truss" bridges survives, the Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge in Savage, Maryland. The Wells Creek Bollman Bridge near Meyersdale, Pennsylvania is also standing, although that bridge uses the Warren truss system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoenix Iron Works (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania)</span>

The Phoenix Iron Works, located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was a manufacturer of iron and related products during the 19th century and early 20th century. Phoenix Iron Company was a major producer of cannons for the Union Army during the American Civil War. The company also produced the Phoenix column, an advance in construction material. Company facilities are a core component of the Phoenixville Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places site that was in 2006 recognized as a historic landmark by ASM International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Subdivision</span> Railroad line in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, United States

The Metropolitan Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the District of Columbia and the U.S. state of Maryland. The line runs from Washington, D.C., northwest to Weverton, Maryland, along the former Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing</span> United States historic place

The B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing is a 15-acre (6.1 ha) historic site where a set of railroad bridges, originally built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, span the Potomac River between Sandy Hook, Maryland, and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in the United States. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1978 for its significance in commerce, engineering, industry, invention, and transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterford Covered Bridge</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania, United States

The Waterford Covered Bridge is a Town lattice truss covered bridge spanning LeBoeuf Creek in Waterford Township, Erie County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The bridge was built in 1875, and is 85 feet 11 inches (26.2 m) in length. The Waterford Covered Bridge is one of two remaining covered bridges in Erie County, along with the Harrington Covered Bridge. The bridge is also the only Town lattice truss bridge in the county and one of only 19 in Pennsylvania. It was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 2011, the bridge was closed due to its deteriorating condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gross Covered Bridge</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania, United States

The Gross Covered Bridge is 100-foot (30 m) Burr Arch truss covered bridge in the census-designated place of Beaver Springs, Spring Township in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 29, 1997 and was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inclined Plane Bridge</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania, United States

The Inclined Plane Bridge is a 237-foot (72 m), Pennsylvania through truss bridge that spans Stonycreek River in Johnstown, Cambria County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It connects the city to the lower station of the Johnstown Inclined Plane. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridge in Brown Township</span> United States historic place

Bridge in Brown Township is a historic lattice truss bridge spanning Pine Creek at PA 414 in Brown Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1890, by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of East Berlin, Connecticut. The bridge measures 227 feet (69 m) long and 19 feet (5.8 m) wide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridge in Washington Township</span> United States historic place

Bridge in Washington Township, also known as Kralltown Road Bridge, was a double-intersection Pratt truss bridge spanning Bermudian Creek near Kralltown, Washington Township, York County, Pennsylvania. The bridge was built in 1884 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company and measured 153 feet (47 m) in overall length.

The Champion Bridge Company, formerly known as Champion Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Company, is a steel fabrication business based in Wilmington, Ohio, in the United States. It has been in business since the 1870s, and several of its works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Pipe Creek bridge and viaduct</span> Bridge in Frederick and Carroll Counties, Maryland

The Little Pipe Creek bridge and viaduct is a 705-foot (215 m) continuous truss bridge with main span and 19 viaduct sections as well as an active railroad trestle crossing Little Pipe Creek south of Keymar, Maryland. Originally constructed by the Frederick and Pennsylvania Line Railroad Company (F&PL). Construction on the trestle began in late 1871, and continued until April 1872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linville Creek Bridge</span> United States historic place

Linville Creek Bridge is a historic Thacher truss bridge located near Broadway, Rockingham County, Virginia. It was built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company in 1898. It is a single span, measuring 135 feet 11 inches (41.43 m) long. This bridge was formerly identified as a hybrid Whipple, incorporating aspects of both the double-intersection Pratt and the double-intersection Warren. The structure in actuality is a Thacher truss, a hybrid configuration incorporating elements of the Pratt, Warren, Fink, and Bollman trusses that was first patented by Edwin Thacher in 1883. Its unusual configuration and the bewildering number of descriptions that have been applied to it merely reinforce its position as a bridge that is a rare survivor of an uncommon form.

The historic bridges at the Lancaster campus of Ohio University were moved to the campus and sit about a 100 yards apart. The bridges were built in 1881 and 1884-85 very close to each other, both crossing Poplar Creek, and while the first-built is a wood-and-steel covered bridge and the second-built is all-steel, they are similar in design. Original and current locations of both bridges may be seen in OpenStreetMap linked at right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parshallburg Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Parshallburg Bridge, also known as the Ditch Road Bridge, was a bridge that originally carried Ditch Road over the Shiawassee River near Oakley, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. It was the only known Thacher through truss bridge in Michigan, and one of only a few remaining in the nation. In 1999, the bridge was moved to a new location, and in 2008 was washed off its piers and destroyed.

References

  1. Brown, Scott C. "Wills Creek Bollman Bridge" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  2. "The Historic Bollman Bridge". Meyersdale Area Historical Society. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.