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NS - Harrisburg Susquehanna River Bridge

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Photos 

Facing south, east side

I-83 is in background

Photo taken by Jodi Christman 10/08/10

Enlarge

BH Photo #181647

Map 

Street View 

Description 

The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Bridge carries Norfolk Southern rail lines across the Susquehanna River between Cumberland County, Pennsylvania and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was originally built by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad to connect its Harrisburg and Lurgan lines. The bridge has fifty-one concrete arches, three more than the nearby Rockville Bridge. 45,500 cubic yards of concrete and 1,300,000 pounds of reinforced steel were used in its construction. CREDIT: wikipedia.org and Reading Railroad Magazine

Facts 

Overview
Bridge over Susquehanna River on Norfolk Southern Railway
Location
Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1924, later lengthened with additional spans
Builder
- James McGraw Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Railroads
- Conrail (CR)
- Norfolk Southern Railway (NS)
- Philadelphia & Reading Railway (1896-1923) (P&R)
- Reading Railroad (RDG)
Design
Concrete Deck Arch; The total length of this bridge is unknown, HAER and Reading RR company publicity gave a 3507 foot length for the bridge when completed, but noted that "several" arch spans had been added at the east end of the bridge, so the bridge today is a little longer.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 66.0 ft.
Also called
Reading - Susquehanna River Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.25135, -76.88132   (decimal degrees)
40°15'05" N, 76°52'53" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
18/339996/4457352 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Harrisburg West
Inventory number
BH 46448 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Arch (12,823)
Built 1924 (789)
Built during 1920s (10,388)
Closed-spandrel arch (4,332)
Conrail (1,776)
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (126)
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania (150)
Deck arch (12,045)
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (38)
Have street view (30,140)
James McGraw Co. (5)
 Lemoyne, Pennsylvania (6)
Norfolk Southern Railway (2,182)
Open (41,353)
Owned by railroad (13,982)
Pennsylvania (6,399)
Philadelphia & Reading Railway (1896-1923) (32)
Railroad (16,923)
Reading Railroad (227)
Span length 50-75 feet (10,645)
Susquehanna River (173)

Update Log 

  • January 22, 2021: New photos from Geoff Hubbs
  • September 19, 2020: New photos from Andrew Aliferis
  • December 24, 2017: New photos from Royce and Bobette Haley
  • September 10, 2017: New photo from Alexander D. Mitchell IV
  • August 23, 2017: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: Details added
  • June 7, 2015: New photos from Royce and Bobette Haley
  • January 4, 2012: New photos from Jodi Christman
  • October 15, 2010: New photo from Jodi Christman
  • October 8, 2010: Added by Jodi Christman

Related Bridges 

Sources 

  • Jodi Christman - masterofchaos [at] outlook [dot] com
  • Luke
  • Royce and Bobette Haley - roycehaley111 [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Alexander D. Mitchell IV
  • Andrew Aliferis
  • Geoff Hubbs
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Comments 

NS - Harrisburg Susquehanna River Bridge
Posted December 31, 2017, by Ed Hollowell (erhollowell [at] aol [dot] com)

The stone piers next to this bridge were from an uncompleted bridge which was to have been a part of the South Pennsylvania Railroad and were built in 1883 - 1885.