Perryville, MD PRR/Amtrak Bridge

tomgears · **Posted:** Sat Dec 30, 2006 9:38 pm

I was out over the last few days enjoying the mild weather and got some good detail photos of the Perryville Amtrak (PRR) Bridge. This is quite a structure and turned 100 years old during 2006.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tgears1/PerryvilleBridge

Tom Richards · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:04 am **Posts:** 137

Good shots, Tom. One assumes the center section of the bridge rotates? What's the upstream structure with the riveted plates at the waterline and the stone above? Or, rather, what was it part of?

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Sun Dec 31, 2006 12:10 am

The piers in question were part of an earlier span across the Susquehanna; I recall (but have just packed away the books that would tell me for sure) that the bridge in question was a former railroad bridge converted or rebuilt to a highway bridge in 1910 or thereabouts and later converted to double-decker status. The highway function was replaced around 1940 by the now-nearby Rt. 40 steel-arch bridge, now itself largely supplanted by the Interstate 95 bridge a mile or so upstream.

From Wikipedia, "Home of the C-minus Term Paper":

Quote:

The State Roads Commission (SRC), predecessor of the Authority, bought the bridge in 1923 and continued to operate it as a toll facility. The structure was extremely narrow -- with a roadway only 13 feet wide. Heavy trucks inched past each other, and there were many side-swiping accidents on the bridge. Traffic usually moved at a snail’s pace. To alleviate the problem, the SRC dualized the bridge in 1926 by building a deck over the old bridge, converting each level into a crossing for one-way traffic. This project was considered one of the most ingenious bridge-engineering feats of the time. Then, new problems surfaced. The new deck had a vertical clearance of 12.5 feet -- barely sufficient to accommodate the growing number of commercial vehicles traveling the bridge in the 1930s. Frequently, trucks stacked too high with freight became wedged between the deck and the overhead structure and could proceed only after their tires were deflated to allow adequate clearance. The need for a newer, more modern, structure became apparent in the mid-1930s.

In other notes, yes, the draw span of the ex-PRR bridge does operate if needed, extremely rare but possible. The Susquehanna is still used by tugboats hauling quarried rock from quarries north of the bridge and below the Conowingo Dam.

If you want to pay attention to bridges up there, look at and document the B&O/CSX bridge a mile or so upstream. The rumor mills are rife with allegations that the bridge is in horrendous condition, to the point where it may be the biggest Achille's heel in the Northeast's rail network, vulnerable to catastrophic failure. How much of those rumors are based in fact and how much are only trash-talking by railroad rank-and-file and trackside railfans is anyone's guess.

tomgears · **Posted:** Sun Dec 31, 2006 12:53 am

I plan on doing a similar photo study of the CSX/B&O birdge. I've have boated in Perryville for years and have been under it many times. I can tell you from what I have seen it does not seem in any better or worse shape than the Amtrak/PRR bridge. I think the CSX bridge is in better shape as far and being kept in good paint.

I can tel you this though. The stone barge just makes it through the Amtrak bridge and it has rammed the old piers from the first bridge. I have personally seen it almost ram the Amtrak bridge. The tug was approaching the passage and all at once revved the engines to the point hey were screaming. They were not lined up well and had to stop just before hitting the bridge, turned around and came again for a second try. One of the old piers has been hit so many times it is ready to fell into the river.

Anyway I thought it might be nice to share the phoos and to point out that the bridge is 100 years old. We should have has cake. There is a lot of railroad history in the Perryville area, it is worth a snoop around for sure.

JimBoylan · **Posted:** Sun Dec 31, 2006 3:48 pm

There is a boat manufacturer near Port Deposit that is capable of building ships that are higher than the Amtrak bridge. Some sections of the Ft. McHenry I-95 tunnel were built there and floated to Baltimore, and the bridge had to be opened for every one.

p51 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 31, 2006 8:03 pm

Boy that brings me back to my active duty days at Aberdeen. I used to go over to Havre De Grace all the time (rarely crossed the river at I-95 for no reason, as it's a toll bridge there) and watched metroliners sail through there all the time. I never saw freight on that line except in total darkness.

joecomer · **Posted:** Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:13 pm

I grew up in Havre de Grace, and never realized that the "old" bridge piers were in such bad condition. It truly looks as though that one pier has been rammed one too many times by the Arundel (Quarry) tugs. ... which raises an interesting question. To whom do the old, disused piers belong to? Amtrak? Would they own them since they own the NEC via the PRR lineage?

As for the old B&O bridge... I'm not a civil engineer... but yikes, that bridge looks like it is in bad shape. As you may know, it was once double tracked,
and it appears they've literally left the downstream trackbed supports to rot. My parents live very close to the Havre de Grace side of the bridge, and I used to take many "photo safari" trips down there in the late 90's. Entire I-beams, I estimate 6 to 8" in width, were clearly rusted through. No joke.