Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Martin's Creek Viaduct



In the tiny town of Kingsley, Pennsylvania sits a man made marvel. Spanning 1600 feet over the Martin's creek the Kingsley bridge is quite an engineering feat. The concrete structure consists of 10 arches, the highest being 150 feet.

The viaduct was built between 1912-14 and was completed one year ahead of schedule. Construction came during the Summit cutoff, a major overhaul of the local tracks done by the Delaware-Lackawanna & Western railroad. The new construction of several viaducts in the area would cut the traveling time of trains traveling from Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania to Hallstead, Pennsylvania. Marin's creek viaduct is often considered the little brother of the Tunkahannock.  The structure is quite impressive to see, though it does pale in comparison to the local Tunkahannock viaduct.

 The viaduct was important enough to our country that it was guarded from attack during World War 1. Troops slept in the swampy marshes surrounding the area, in order to protect this historical structure.


No comments: