Skywatch Friday #54
This photo was taken at Kinzua Bridge State Park in Mt. Jewett, PA. The bridge was 301 feet (92 m) tall and 2,052 feet (625 m) long prior to its collapse.
The bridge was originally built from iron in 1882 and was billed as the "Eighth Wonder of the World", holding the record as the tallest railroad bridge in the world for two years. In 1900 the bridge was dismantled and simultaneously rebuilt out of steel to allow it to accommodate heavier trains. It stayed in commercial service until 1959 and was sold to the state government of Pennsylvania in 1963, becoming the centerpiece of a state park. Restoration of the bridge began in 2002, but before it was finished, a tornado struck the bridge in 2003 causing a large portion of the bridge to collapse. Contributing to the collapse was the failure, caused by corrosion, of the anchor bolts holding the bridge towers to their foundations.
If you want to see more sky shots from around the world, stop over at Skywatch Friday.
Labels: meme, photos, Skywatch Friday
posted by Gretchen at
7:34 AM
8 Comments:
Gretchen: Yours was a neat SWF photo. Wonderful story and it is a shame what happened to the structure. The Kinzua area is a neat place.
This is a neat photograph, Gretcen. I enjoyed the story as well. Very nice shot for SkyWatch Friday.
Pick a Peck of Pixels
What a bridge! Thanks for the information! It's a pity it was damaged! Thanks for your visit.
Remember the movie Stand By Me? This made me think of the bridge scene. Gorgeous picture!
So very pretty... a glimpse of heaven. ~ Maria
I have seen pictures of this bridge elsewhere. It was an engineering feat in its day. It is too bad it was not saved. How engineering has advanced. Compare it with the Viaduct of Millau in France, a modern magnificent structure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct
Gretchen,
I see your flagcounter is set for 50 countries. (I peeked at your source code). You could increase it by going into your coded template and finding the code for the flagcounter and erase the 50 and put in a larger number. Mine is set for 80. If you didn't know already how to do this I thought you might like to know.
A bridge with a very special history. One must be glad that there was no train on the bridge when the tornado struck.
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