The Conestoga Creek Viaduct spans the

Conestoga River The Conestoga River, also referred to as Conestoga Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through the cente ...

east of

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

. The present structure, built in 1887–88, is a five-span, two-track stone arch railroad bridge. The first crossing at this location was a series of 11 wooden Town lattice trusses constructed in 1829 for the

Columbia and Philadelphia Railroad The Main Line of Public Works was a package of legislation passed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1826 to establish a means of transporting freight between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It funded the construction of various long-proposed ...

, which was purchased by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

(PRR) and incorporated into its

main line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

in 1857. PRR shortened the viaduct and replaced the remaining wooden trusses with iron Whipple trusses in 1863. The 1887-88 stone arch replacement was originally intended to be four tracks wide, but only half of the superstructure width (two tracks) was constructed, leaving an unfinished spandrel wall on the southern face. Tie rods were added in 1930 to brace the spandrel walls.

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* * Bridges completed in 1888 Bridges in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Bridges over the Conestoga River Pennsylvania Railroad bridges Railroad bridges in Pennsylvania Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania Viaducts in the United States Stone arch bridges in the United States 1888 establishments in Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-bridge-struct-stub

See also

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