Reminds me of the B&A stone bridges, such as the ones on the approach to Worcester Union Station. The only difference is that this one is brand new and doesn't look like a relic from ancient Rome.

Jeff, the overall percentage of the grade between Beilers Crossing and Blackhorse Road is not increasing. What is occurring is that the sag at the bridge after the line's ruling grade at Beilers is eliminated and the 1.37% grade is being extended to the cut at Blackhorse. The raise is to allow greater clearance for the new bridge.

As a side note, there are steeper grades on the line, but they are not compounded by a curve as occurs at Beilers. This compounding is quite evident with longer trains.

Back in my college days, I spent a summer on Morristown and Erie's track crew. We had a low bridge that got destroyed by a truck. The driver, working for one company, driving a truck owned by a second company, and hauling a dumpster owned by a third, ignored several "Low Clearence" signs and tried to take a twelve foot load under a ten foot bridge. Fail!

The abutments could be repaired, but the only girders that could be found in a hurry were much higher than the ones destroyed; its been awhile but I think we replaced 18 inch girders with 36 inch girders. We had to raise track on either side of the bridge that difference.

We worked 22 days straight, replacing ties, dumping stone, jacking the track, dumping more stone, jacking the track, etc. I forget exactly, but we got into something like double triple and a half overtime. I'm kidding, of course, but the overtime did help with my next years tuition! We only worked 22 days, but I suspect that the lawyers are still working on the liability issues-

The only diesel locomotive in service at the time was trapped on the wrong side, of course, and had to come home via some now-abandoned Lackawanna trackage. So the railroad fired up Sam Freeman's 148, on lease to M&E's Whippany River passenger operation, and ran her in freight service for a day or so.

To get slightly closer to the topic, the Lackawanna look is great. If you are going to copy something, at least copy something good!

Extra 8618 crosses the new bridge westbound at dawn this morning. It's fitting that the first non-MOW train across is revenue freight.

Is this from a caboose?

Bob

Bob, should be. It was shot from forty-four tonner PRR 9331 who was in residence at Leaman Place to switch out the interchange during construction.

Is the track work at Leaman Place complete or are you folks still working on earth moving there?

Pennsy Power

Pennsy, we've only just begun ....

Great story EDM!

If there were a "like" button here I would be hitting it.

First eastbound yesterday. This one was in the daylight. Sorry, no steam ...

Post that picture as a "where is it", and Strasburg RR would not likely come up as an answer. That is indeed different.

Looks like the Putnam Division about 1962.... great looking bridge!

Howard P.

So, I'm curious. Was there any effort made to document the existing stone abutments. I realize they were very common "back in the day", but they're fairly rare now, especially if it was a dry stone (no mortar) abutment. Wondering if anything interesting was found during the demolition?

Steve,

Any idea when Leaman Place will be completed? I am not fluent in track construction so I am wondering if it is getting too late in the year to work on the track there at Leaman Place? Great job on the bridge guys!

Pennsy Power

Bob, the east abutment, the only original one, was documented as it was dismantled. The limestone ashlars are saved in E. Strasburg Yard. It was two courses, five feet thick at the bridge pier and on the wingwalls. As would be expected, at regular intervals rectangular pieces were laid perpendicular to the faces in order to tie the courses together. Greg Lantz, the excavator, lovingly deposited each piece into the six or so triaxles that carried the stones to Strasburg. He could perform dentistry with that trackhoe ...

No particular care was made to build the dirt fills out of subsoils: the fills were as rich and loamy (albeit compacted) as the five-foot topsoil on the north side at the foot of the drainage. The fills were marked by layers of stone put down at approximately three-foot elevation intervals. At the top was a thin cinder line on top of the dirt berm marking the years 1850-ish to 1926, covered by about eight to ten inches thick of 2A stone put down since 1958.