Tuscarora Creek railroad bridge
The Tuscarora Creek bridge is a 63.5-foot (19.4 m) single-span, steel, through-girder bridge with a floor beam/stringer system supporting a 12-inch thick concrete slab south of Walkersville, Maryland. Originally constructed by the Frederick and Pennsylvania Line Railroad Company (F&PL) in 1872. It was later rebuilt by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1907 as a thru girder concrete deck bridge using an older bridge from the Northern Central Railway. In 1915, the bridge was surveyed as part of the Interstate Commerce Commission's effort to establish freight rates for the Parent railroad.
Tuscarora Creek (Monocacy River) bridge | |
|---|---|
 Tuscarora Creek (Monocacy River) bridge (1915 ICC photo) | |
| Coordinates | 39°27′48″N 77°23′37″W |
| Carries | Walkersville Southern RR, formerly Frederick and Pennsylvania Line Railroad Company (F&PL) |
| Crosses |
|
| Locale | Frederick County, Maryland |
| Official name | Tuscarora Creek (Monocacy River) bridge |
| ID number | Bridge 65.40 (MTA Chainage) Bridge 65.36 (ICC Chainage) |
| Followed by | PRR rebuilt the bridge using steel and reconfigured single-span steel through-girder bridge with floor beam/stringer system and a 12-inch thick concrete slab. |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | "Bollman suspension truss" a design patented by Bollman in 1852. |
| Material | Mixture of wrought and cast iron. |
| Total length | 63.5 feet (19.4 m) |
| Longest span | 63.5 feet (19.4 m) |
| No. of spans | Single span over Tuscarora Creek. |
| Piers in water | None |
| Clearance below | 10 feet (3.0 m) above the water |
| History | |
| Designer | Wendel Bollman |
| Constructed by | Patapsco Bridge and Iron Works of Baltimore, Maryland.
|
| Fabrication by | Patapsco Bridge and Iron Works of Baltimore, Maryland. |
| Construction start | 1871 |
| Construction end | 1872 |
| Inaugurated | April 1872 |
| Location | |
As of 2021, the bridge is in active rail service, operated by the Walkersville Southern RR.
History
Bollman Iron Bridge
The original plan for the railroad called for it to cross the Monocacy River below Tuscarora Creek and therefore, no bridge was located by Gitt in 1867. The finalized location for the railroad called for a bridge over Tuscarora Creek approximately 300 feet south of the Monocacy river crossing for the road. Like the other bridges on the road, the Tuscarora Creek bridge was to be a "Bollman suspension truss" with a creek span of 63 feet, 10 feet above water. In 1872, Bollman's firm, Patapsco Bridge and Iron Works completed the bridge.
Pennsylvania Railroad Rebuilds
The ICC survey work papers [lower-alpha 1] indicate one rebuild after the 1872 construction but prior to the 1915 inspection:
- The Bollman iron truss span for Monocacy was replaced by the Pennsylvania railroad in 1907 but the masonry abutments were left in place.
- Pennsylvania replaced the Bollman truss with a 63.5-foot (19.4 m) single-span, steel, through-girder bridge. The 1915 ICC inspection reports indicate that the steel girders at that time were 3/8's of an inch in thickness and 50 inches deep. This 1907 replacement did not use new materials but instead, bridge 65.35 had been previously used by the Northern Central RR, or NCR as NCR bridge #33 built in 1882.
- Subsequent to this ICC survey, Pennsylvania replaced the NCR bridge with a second thru girder bridge using 76½" deep x ⅝" thick web side girders and a 12 inch thick concrete deck. This probably occurred at the same time as the Monocacy river rebuild in 1927.
No later rebuild by PRR was made after 1927 and prior to 1982 when the bridge was conveyed to the State of Maryland..
United States Railway Administration (USRA) Rebuild
There is no evidence of a rebuild by the USRA.
State Railroad Administration (SRA 1982-1989)
Subsequent to the conveyance of the railroad from Conrail to the State of Maryland in 1982, State Railroad Administration developed a Maryland State Rail Plan.[1] The plan called for no action on Tuscarora Creek bridge. Currently, the Maryland Dept. of Transportation owns the bridge.
Notes
- ICC work papers from the 1915 field survey were dated June 13, 1916 for bridge 65.35, page 9. These work papers also list dimensions of the girder members and dates of reconstruction and sources of material if the bridges were from another bridge.
Original from National Archives at College Park, MD: NACP, record group 134, stack area 570, row 43, compartment 30, shelf 02, accessed March 2013.