Columbia Railroad Bridge [SEP] material used
Columbia Railroad Bridge
Columbia Railroad Bridge, also known as "Columbia Bridge", is a 1920 concrete arch bridge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that carries CSX Trenton Subdivision rail lines over the Schuylkill River. Located in Fairmount Park, upstream of the Pennsylvania Railroad Connecting Bridge, it is the third railroad bridge at the site. Near its east abutment are the Schuylkill Grandstand (for viewing rowing regattas) and the "John B. Kelly" statue.
First bridge.
The first bridge at this location was an 1834 covered
had been destroyed by ice. Set on 26 stone piers, the new massive oaken structure was the longest covered bridge in the world (over a mile and a quarter in length). It used timber salvaged from the previous bridge and provided a link for the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad to the Northern Central Railway, as well as for carriages, pedestrians and wagons. A towpath on the southern wall enabled teams of horses or mules to pull boats from the Mainline Canal on the Columbia side to the Tidewater and Susquehanna Canal on