| Carrollton Viaduct |
Article Index for Carrollton |
Website Links For Carrollton |
Information AboutCarrollton Viaduct |
|
The Carrollton Viaduct, located over in November 1829, at the cost of $58,106.73. The bridge, 312 feet (95 m) in length, rises from its foundations about 65 feet (20 m). It is 51 feet, 9 inches (15.8 m) above Gwynn's Falls. It consists of a full-centered arch with a clear span length of 80 feet (24 m) over the stream, and a space for two railroad tracks on its deck. To provide an underpass for a wagon road, an arched passageway, 16 feet (5 m) in width, was built through one of the masonry-walled approaches. Originally planned as one arch of 40 feet (12 m) chord, the dimensions were enlarged to quiet the concern of the proprietor of the mills located immediately above the bridge site, who feared that 40 feet would be insufficient if the stream was flooded. The heavy Granite blocks which form the arches and exterior walls were procured from Ellicott's Mills and Port Deposit. A temporary wooden framework supporting the central span held 1,500 tons (1,360 tonnes) of this stone during construction. A white cornerstone at one end of the bridge bears the inscription "James Lloyd of Maryland, Builder A.D. 1829." Andrew Jackson , the first President of the United States to ride on a railroad train, crossed the bridge on a trip between Ellicott's Mills and Baltimore on June 6 , 1833 . The Carrollton Viaduct has provided continual service to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and its modern corporate successor, CSX Transportation . The Viaduct was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 11 , 1971 and was automatically listed on the National Register Of Historic Places the same day. In 1982 it was designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society Of Civil Engineers . REFERENCES AND FOOTNOTES
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|