I keep seeing references that Kinzua bridge was strong enough to support a UP Big Boy--Q: did a Big Boy ever get shipped west that way or was this just conjecture?

Wrinnbo@aol.com

If the bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places, the remainder of it can't be torn down, can it?

> If the bridge is on the National Register of
> Historic Places, the remainder of it can't
> be torn down, can it?

It sure can ...Registration is no guarantee against demolition it just changes the steps you have to go through to accomplish it.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

National Regester listing does not prevent a building or structure from being torn. Some local communities have laws, which protect old buildings, and recongnize National Regester listings. The closest to teeth in the National Regester is limits on Federal funded projects which threaten National Regester buildings.

Randy Hees

> If the bridge is on the National Register of
> Historic Places, the remainder of it can't
> be torn down, can it?


http://www.spcrr.org
hees@ix.netcom.com

I say disassemble it and reconstruct it down South where the vegetation can grow over it.
We can then call it the Kudzua Viaduct.

> If the bridge is on the National Register of
> Historic Places, the remainder of it can't
> be torn down, can it?

> I keep seeing references that Kinzua bridge
> was strong enough to support a UP Big
> Boy--Q: did a Big Boy ever get shipped west
> that way or was this just conjecture?

Jim,

To (sort of) answer your original question, I doubt the Big Boys ever made a trip over the Kinzua viaduct. I tried to find the specs on the bridge, but no luck. Without the numbers, I can't say for sure the bridge wouldn't have held a Big-Boy, however...

The present bridge was rebuilt in 1900 using steel instead of the original iron. In regular service days, the Erie ran quite a bit of coal traffic over it, but the largest locos they used were the N class Mikados. Routing a Big Boy over it would have been a very strange route to deliver locos to the UP.

The Erie mainline was probably used to deliver the Big Boys since it had the best clearances going west from Schenectady.

jgunning@cfl.rr.com

Thanks all. I was wondering about that.

TheBR&P had trackage rights over the bridge and used heavier power than the Erie.Besides their Mikes they used 2-6-6-2's that weighed as much as 434000 lbs substantialy more than the Erie 2-10-2's which I believe all were under 400000 lbs


ktpituch@charterpa.net

I would agree with the two previous messages. Regardless of whether or not the bridge could handle the axle loadings or not, the line was a branch line that lead to a N-S B&O line and therefore not a very likely choice for a major western Class I to route delivery of such a large locomotive.

Bridge was originally a timber structure replaced with wrought iron, then replaced with steel as it is today.

I've read that the original timber structure swayed as much as 10' in the wind! Also read in the same article that a showman of sorts put on a show by pulling himself across the bridge by his hands suspended from the ends of the bridge ties while the line was in service. Supposedly he made it across.

This bridge was one of the first imposing rail structures I ever saw at the age of about 5 or 6. That first experience of walking across the bridge and hiking the path beneath it is an awe-inspiring experience. Strange as it seems, the viaduct seemed invincible to me and so its tragic end is hard to grasp.

As far as rebuilding the structure, it is highly unlikely as I would estimate replacing the collapsed portion of the bridge at $50M plus not to mention what remains to be done to the portion still standing. If anything could be done with public, this one could. We don't want to "mess with" private companies trying to compete against a highly competitive global economy, but we'll all-too-easily throw tax-payer dollars at projects that just don't make sense. Granted, if money were no object, I would love to see the bridge restored. I'd love to see the line rebuilt on north to Bradford with regular excursions off of the B&P and WNY&P making their way to Kinzua, but these ventures just don't fly in today's economy. Even so, the loss of this attraction could and probably will be a tremendous blow to the seasonal tourism economy of McKean County. Enough for now.

rtrain@nls.net

As another person said, this would have been a weird way to ship any locomotive west from Schenectady, and even more so a Big Boy.

If a Big Boy ever did roll across Kinzua, I feel pretty certain that someone would have photographed it and published it ad infinitum. So far, no such image has surfaced. I suspect that this reference is more the product of a fan/local booster/Chamber of Commerce enthusiasm than anything having a basis in fact.

Dan Cupper
Harrisburg, Pa.

cupper@att.net