Carrollton Viaduct

Carrollton Viaduct
Carrollton Viaduct in 1971
Carries	Two tracks of CSX Transportation
Crosses	Gwynns Falls
Locale	Baltimore, Maryland
Maintained by	CSX Transportation
Design	Arch bridge
Total length	312 feet (95 m)
Longest span	80 feet (24 m)
Clearance below	51 feet, 9 inches (15.8 m)
Opened	1829

Carrollton Viaduct
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Location:	Baltimore, Maryland
Coordinates:	39°16′31.5″N 76°39′17.6″W
Built:	1828
Architect:	James Lloyd; Caspar Weaver
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	71001032
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	November 11, 1971
Designated NHL:	November 11, 1971

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.

Laying of the cornerstone of the B&O.

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 Wever 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) above Gwynns Falls. It consists of a full-centered arch with a clear span length of 80 feet (24 m) over the stream, and a space for two railroad tracks on its deck. To provide an underpass for a wagon road, an arched passageway, 16 feet (5 m) in width, was built through one of the masonry-walled approaches. Originally planned as one arch of 40 feet (12 m) chord, the dimensions were enlarged to quiet the concern of the proprietor of the mills located immediately above the bridge site, who feared that 40 feet would be insufficient if the stream was flooded. The heavy granite blocks which form the arches and exterior walls were procured from Ellicott's Mills and Port Deposit. A temporary wooden framework supporting the central span held 1,500 tons (1,360 tonnes) of this stone during construction. A white cornerstone at one end of the bridge bears the inscription "James Lloyd of Maryland, Builder A.D. 1829."

Andrew Jackson, the first President of the United States to ride on a railroad train, crossed the bridge on a trip between Ellicott's Mills and Baltimore on June 6, 1833. The Carrollton Viaduct has provided continual service to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and its modern corporate successor, CSX Transportation.

The viaduct was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 11, 1971 and was automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places the same day.

In 1982 the viaduct was designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

See also

• Baltimore Terminal Subdivision

References and footnotes

• Cook, Richard J. (1987). The Beauty of Railroad Bridges in North America -- Then and Now. San Marino, California (USA): Golden West Books. ISBN 0-87095-097-5. 
• Historic American Engineering Record survey No. HAER MD,4-BALT, 129- "Significance" section.

External links

• National Historic Landmark information
• National Register Information System (2003 write-up) - National Park Service
• National Register Information System (2002 write-up) - National Park Service
• American Society of Civil Engineers - Carrollton Viaduct
• Library of Congress HABS/HAER - Carrollton Viaduct
• Carrollton Viaduct, Baltimore City, including photo, at Maryland Historical Trust