The Carrollton Viaduct, located over Gwynns Falls near Carroll Park in Baltimore, Maryland, is the first stone masonry bridge built for railroad use in the United States.
The bridge is currently the world's oldest railroad bridge still in use, carrying loads far greater than originally envisioned. It was named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence and a director of the Baltimore and Ohio Ra...
more
The Carrollton Viaduct, located over Gwynns Falls near Carroll Park in Baltimore, Maryland, is the first stone masonry bridge built for railroad use in the United States.
The bridge is currently the world's oldest railroad bridge still in use, carrying loads far greater than originally envisioned. It was named after Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence and a director of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, who laid the cornerstone on July 4, 1828. As he laid the first stone he said, "I consider this among the most important acts of my life, second only to my signing the Declaration of Independence." Builder Caspar Weaver and designer James Lloyd completed the structure for the railroad in November 1829, at an officially listed cost of $58,106.73. The actual cost of the construction may have been as high as $100,000.
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)...
less
