1881/1931 Trail over Abandoned Philadelphia & Reading Railroad

(Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite)

"Built in 1881 in the Pottsville shops of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, it was used as an overhead crossing on a branch just west of Reading. Sometime between 1907 and 1935 it was moved to its present location. The trail is maintained by The Horse-Shoe Trail Conservancy. Best access is via Sparrow Lane. Follow yellow blazed trail." [BridgeHunter]

HAER PA,6-SCAMI,1--15 (CT)
VIEW OF SOUTH TRUSS AND DECK FROM EAST END LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Scarlets Mill Bridge, Spanning former Reading Railroad, Scarlets Mill, Berks County, PA

"The use of a rolled beam for the top chord gives the bridge an almost modern look to it, and is quite a contrast to the shaped cast iron vertical members which make the bridge look decades older than an 1881 bridge." [HistoricBridges]

HAER PA,6-SCAMI,1--16 (CT)
VIEW OF WEST END OF SOUTH TRUSS WITH RAILING AND ABUTMENT LOOKING NORTH

"Significance: The Scarlets Mill Bridge is a cast and wrought-iron Pratt-type truss with a rolled upper chord arched in the form of an ellipse, one of many built in the 1870s and 1880s for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. It is unusual in its use of the elliptical form and in its late use of cast iron for principal structural members. It is one of only two of these 'overhead bowstring bridges' known to survive." [HAER-data, p2]

 

1 of many Jun 2021 photos by Chester Gehman posted on BridgeHunter

This map shows that today's Lloyd Lane is on the right-of-way of the now abandoned Reading Railroad. 

1956 Elverson Quad @ 24,000

I included "Long Mtn" in the topo extract above to confirm that the trail has been moved since 1956. The trail now follows the western slope of Long Mountain.

FastestKnownTime

The pin on BridgeHunter maps is too far south. I dropped a pin where I think the bridge is. It is hidden by the tree canopy. 

Satellite

This 1951 aerial confirms I'm right.

EarthExplorer: Apr 23, 1952 @ 24,000; AR1OY0000030191

The top guard rail still existed in 2015. It is missing in the 2019 Bridge Hunter photos.

Gregory D. Pawelski posted
Scarlets Mill Pony Truss Bridge on the Horseshoe Trail at Scarlets Mill, Pa. along the abandon part of the Reading Company W&N Branch. It is a cast- and wrought-iron Pratt-type truss with a rolled upper chord arched in the form of an ellipse, one of many built in the 1870s and 1880s for the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, relocated in 1931 from the Reading Company Lebanon Valley Branch in West Lawn, Pa. It is one of only two of these "overhead bowstring bridges" known to survive, shown here on March 17, 2015. (Gregory D. Pawelski Photo)

Dennis DeBruler commented on Gregory's post
The tree canopy hides the bridge from satellite view.
 https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x0...
But this 1951 aerial confirms the location.