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HAER PA,6-READ.V,2--8 (CT) 8. ELEVATION VIEW, LOOKING EAST, WITH TRAIN ON BRIDGE. - Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, Peacock's Lock Viaduct, Spanning Schuykill River at Reading Railroad, Reading, Berks County, PA |
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HAER PA,6-READ.V,2--2 2. 3/4 VIEW OF EAST ELEVATION, LOOKING NW. |
"Significance: The Peacock's Lock Viaduct, named after a nearby lock on the Schuylkill Division Canal, may be the only masonry arch bridge in the U.S. with pierced spandrels. The circular openings between arches lighten the structure in both weight and appearance." [HAER_data]
As with many railroad viaducts, it is hard to capture the size of the viaduct in a photo, especially in an area with a lot of trees.
"Nicolls' design for the Peacock's Lock Viaduct included nine semi-circular arch spans of
rough-cut ashlar, each 64'-0" [19.5m] long, on rock-faced ashlar piers." [HAER_data]
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Gavin VanSant, May 2023 |
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Photo by Raymond Klein via BridgeHutner BridgeHunter also has several detail photos by Raymond |
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Rich Taylor posted RDC 9151 or 9152 comes east, probably from Pottsville, across Peacock Lock bridge over the Schuylkill River at Tuckerton; my photo 1/10/76. |
A comment on ArchivedBridgeHunter mentioned a similar bridge over Washington Road and a creek. I don't know why HistoricBridges doesn't have an entry for the Schuylkill River Viaduct, but it does have an entry for the Washington Road Bridge.
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Historic Bridges "This is an extremely rare example of a stone arch bridge with pierced circular openings. The design is more often found in Europe and the United Kingdom, but is almost unheard of in America." |
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Street View, Apr 2025 |