Starrucca Viaduct
Encyclopedia
Starrucca Viaduct is a stone arch bridge
that spans Starrucca Creek
near Lanesboro, Pennsylvania
, in the United States
. At the time of its construction, the bridge was thought to be the most expensive railway bridge in the world, at a cost of $320,000 (equal to $ today), and it was the largest stone rail viaduct in the mid-19th century. It was designed by Julius W. Adams and James P. Kirkwood
and built in 1847-1848 by New York and Erie Railroad, of locally-quarried random ashlar bluestone
, except for three brick interior longitudinal spandrel
walls and the concrete base portions of the piers and deck covering. This may have been the first structural use of concrete in American bridge construction.
The viaduct
was built to solve an engineering problem posed by the wide valley of Starrucca Creek. The railroad initially considered building an embankment, but abandoned the idea because it was impractical. The Erie Railroad was well-financed by British investors, but even with money available, most American contractors at the time were incapable of the task. Julius W. Adams, the superintending engineer of construction in the area, hired James P. Kirkwood, a civil engineer who had previously worked on the Long Island Rail Road
. Accounts differ as to whether Kirkwood worked on the bridge himself, or whether Adams was responsible for the plans with Kirkwood working as a subordinate. It took 800 workers, each paid about $1 per day, equal to $ per day today, to complete the bridge in a year. The falsework
for the bridge required more than half a million feet of cored and hewn timbers.
The bridge has been in continual use for more than a century and a half, and is still in use by the Norfolk Southern Railway. In 2005 Norfolk Southern leased the portion of the line from Port Jervis, New York
to Binghamton, New York
to the Delaware Otsego Corporation
, which operates it under the name Central New York Railway. The only railroad currently using it is DO's New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
. The viaduct is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
and is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
Arch bridge
An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
that spans Starrucca Creek
Starrucca Creek
Starrucca Creek is an tributary of the Susquehanna River in Susquehanna and Wayne counties, Pennsylvania, in the United States.The tributary Shadigee Creek joins Starrucca Creek just downstream of the borough of Starrucca....
near Lanesboro, Pennsylvania
Lanesboro, Pennsylvania
Lanesboro is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 588 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lanesboro is located at ....
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. At the time of its construction, the bridge was thought to be the most expensive railway bridge in the world, at a cost of $320,000 (equal to $ today), and it was the largest stone rail viaduct in the mid-19th century. It was designed by Julius W. Adams and James P. Kirkwood
James P. Kirkwood
James Pugh Kirkwood was a 19th-century American civil engineer.He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 27, 1807...
and built in 1847-1848 by New York and Erie Railroad, of locally-quarried random ashlar bluestone
Bluestone
Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...
, except for three brick interior longitudinal spandrel
Spandrel
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure....
walls and the concrete base portions of the piers and deck covering. This may have been the first structural use of concrete in American bridge construction.
The viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
was built to solve an engineering problem posed by the wide valley of Starrucca Creek. The railroad initially considered building an embankment, but abandoned the idea because it was impractical. The Erie Railroad was well-financed by British investors, but even with money available, most American contractors at the time were incapable of the task. Julius W. Adams, the superintending engineer of construction in the area, hired James P. Kirkwood, a civil engineer who had previously worked on the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
. Accounts differ as to whether Kirkwood worked on the bridge himself, or whether Adams was responsible for the plans with Kirkwood working as a subordinate. It took 800 workers, each paid about $1 per day, equal to $ per day today, to complete the bridge in a year. The falsework
Falsework
Falsework consists of temporary structures used in construction to support spanning or arched structures in order to hold the component in place until its construction is sufficiently advanced to support itself...
for the bridge required more than half a million feet of cored and hewn timbers.
The bridge has been in continual use for more than a century and a half, and is still in use by the Norfolk Southern Railway. In 2005 Norfolk Southern leased the portion of the line from Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city on the Delaware River in western Orange County, New York, with a population of 8,860 at the 2000 census. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis, and the towns of Montague, New Jersey and Matamoras, Pennsylvania face the...
to Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
to the Delaware Otsego Corporation
Delaware Otsego Corporation
The Delaware Otsego Corporation is an American railway holding company which owns the subsidiary New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway as well as other, smaller branch line railroads, collectively known as the DO System...
, which operates it under the name Central New York Railway. The only railroad currently using it is DO's New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also known as the Susie-Q, or simply the Susquehanna, is a Class II American freight railway operating over 500 miles of track in the northeastern states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was formed in 1881 from the merger of several...
. The viaduct is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.