Trail/Pennsy 1912 Bridge over Schuylkill River at Douglassville, PA

(Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges?; SchuylkrillRiverTrail; Satellite)

Gregory D. Pawelski posted two photos with the comment: "Pennsylvania Railroad Schuylkill Branch bridge over the Schuylkill River in Douglassville, Pa. - Then and Now"

1
Pennsylvania Railroad Schuylkill Branch bridge over the Schuylkill River in Douglassville, Pa. in 1964. (Wayne Grepps Collection)

The white lines in each pier shows that this bridge was built using the same construction techniques as the bridge at Phoenixville, PA. Spcifically, the beginning of the arch flare was built as part of forming the piers. Then falsework was erected to pour the rest of the arch.

2
Pennsylvania Railroad Schuylkill Branch bridge (now rail-trail) over the Schuylkill River in Douglassville, Pa. in 2014. (Gregory D. Pawelski Photo)

Someone provided a grant for $60,000 to pay for a crane to clear the debris that had accumulated against the piers. You can see in George's photo above that the debris field is high and wide. The bridge was closed for 8 days because the crane worked from the bridge. That is an advantage of an old railroad bridge, it can easily support a crane. Enough debris had collected because of several severe storms that it had become a hazard to canoe and kayak use. And the pressure of the debris against the piers was becoming a concern. [ReadingEagle]

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