Trail/B&O/BR&P Empire Tunnel southwest of Ridgway, PA

(Satellite)

BR&P = Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh

Nathanael Miller, Oct 2024

The Buffalo Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway Company updated
Approaching Empire Tunnel southbound in the Spring of 2000.

I added a red line to indicate the location of the tunnel.

1958/58 Warren Quad @ 250,000 plus Paint

This map taught me the location of the tunnel. You can use the town of Portland Mills to correlate the maps.

1943/50 Hallton Quad @ 62,500

The tunnel is between Ridgway and Brockway.

Rumsey via Dennis DeBruler

And the route is now served by the BPRR.

gwrr_bprr via Dennis DeBruler

(CSX+Amtrak)/B&O Falls Cut Tunnel west of Fairhope, PA

North (Timetable East) Portal: (Satellite)

South (Timetable West) Portal: (Satellite)

Falls Cut Tunnel is near the bottom of the B&O Sand Patch Grade.

Stanley Short posted
Westbound Baltimore & Ohio manifest the "Chicagoian" bursts out of Falls Cut Tunnel, on Sand Patch Grade near Fairhope, PA, on Aug. 1, 1981 with C&O GP40-2 No. 4274, GP40-2 No. 4434, and GP30 No. 6948.

At the south portal there is the namesake waterfall.

Lyrica Lancaster, Jul 2025

1967/70 Fairhope Quad @ 24,000

South 10th Street Bridges over Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, PA

1903: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter)

1933: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; pghbridges; Satellite)

Street View, Oct 2024
The arch bridge in the background is the Birmingham+Brady Bridge.

HistoricBridges
"This bridge features the longest span crossing the Monongahela River. It is also the only cable suspension bridge on the three big rivers in Pittsburgh....These towers feature an attractive design that features a stepped appearance on the interior that has a bit of an art deco look to it."
The 1,275' (389m) long bridge has a main span of 725' (221m).
The navigation clearance is 50' (15m).
[When I read "only cable suspension bridge," I was surprised because there are three suspension bridges over the Allegheny River. Then the adjective "cable" sunk into my brain cells. The Three Sister Bridges are eye-bar suspension bridges.]

This view shows the stepped appearance and the "dino geese" art at the top.

Street View, Sep 2024

pghbridges
"Longest span on Monongahela River. Fourth longest span in Allegheny County (West End, 755 ft; I-79 Neville Island, 752 ft; McKees Rocks, 750 ft)."

The predecessor bridge was bank-to-bank rather than bluff-to-bluff.

Photo from Pittsburgh Bridges via BridgeHunter

City Life Adventures by Carla Cardello posted four photos with the comment:

Do you the story about the dino geese painted on Pittsburgh’s 10th Street Bridge in South Side? 

Artist Tim Kaulen painted them up there during the mid 1990s. However, in 2017 the bridge was renovated and repainted, removing the art. Luckily Kaulen was invited back to repaint them and they’re here to stay. 

Carla Cardello shared with the comment: "Dino geese painted on Pittsburgh’s 10th Street Bridge."

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High Falls and Genesee Brew on Genesee River in Rochester, NY

Falls: (Satellite)

Brew: (Satellite)

Rochester also has a lower falls.

Clara Murphy, Jul 2025

Bob Zimmermann posted four photos with the comments: "Conrail and its predecessors switched the Genesee Brewery for many years, by way of wooden trestles on the east side of the Genesee River gorge, next to the Upper Falls in Rochester, NY.  When the trestles deteriorated, the brewery stopped rail service and switched to trucks.  People can sit outside the visitors center and view the main line."

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The brewery looks big.

Satellite

The industrial spur used to go all the way to Bausch Street.

1952/54 Rochester West and East Quads @ 24,000

1877-1991 Maria Pia Bridge over Douro River between Porto and Gaia, Portugal

(Satellite)

Street View, Jun 2025

Bridges Now and Then posted
The Maria Pia Bridge in northern Portugal made its public debut on November 4, 1877. (Transportation History)

BridgeInfo
The 563m long bridge has a main span of 160m. The height is 60m.
"The Maria Pia bridge was the world's largest arch bridge until the Garabit Viaduct opened in 1884."
The technique of avoiding falsework in the river by using towers and cables was first used in the construction of this bridge.

asce
As expected by the date, this bridge was made with iron rather than steel.
Gustave Eiffel designed this bridge, and his chief assistant, Téophile Seyrig, designed the nearby, and similar, Luis I Bridge.

GustaveEiffel

TheFogWatch
The bridge was used until 1991 when it was replaced by the concrete bridge that we see in the background of this photo.

1971 Beltzville Dam on Pohopoco Creek

(Satellite)

USACE, Philadelphia District posted three photos with the comment: "Beltzville Dam was officially commissioned 54 years ago in 1971!🎉 The construction of this Dam was authorized primarily for flood risk management, water supply, and low flow augmentation; and authorized secondarily for water quality and recreation purposes. Since its construction, Beltzville Dam has prevented millions in flood damages, and continues to reduce flooding in communities along the Lehigh River."

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[The brown horizontal stripe in the background is part of the emergency spillway.]

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The dam is left of center and the spillway is the green stripe down the right side.

USACE

This shows the outlet works.

USACE

In the foreground is the spillway, and the dam is left of center.

Charles, J, Sep 2024

USACE

I couldn't find any dimensions for the dam nor capacities for the reservoir.

Lock #28B & Powerhouse and Truss Bridge on Erie Canal in Newark, NY

Lock: (Satellite)

Bridge: (Satellite)

Powerhouse: (Satellite)

The building on the left side is the powerhouse. The bridge is in the distant background.

Street View, Jun 2024

Street View, Aug 2015

A view that has both the lock and the bridge.

Brian Dible, Aug 2025

Brian Dible, Aug 2025

Brian Dible, Aug 2025

 Andrew “Spanky” Mencher, May 2025

 Andrew “Spanky” Mencher, May 2025

This view out of the window indicates that this building must have been the powerhouse.

 Andrew “Spanky” Mencher, May 2025

The stonework on the right side of this photo is the north abutment of the bridge.

John Kucko Digital posted
The Seneca Chief Arrives in Newark, NY:  The Seneca Chief replica vessel pushed east today [Sep 30, 2025] as it left Fairport, NY this morning and entered Wayne County.  Fitting that I parked myself under an apple tree there as Wayne County has some of the best orchards in America.

The building on the left side of this view is the building in John's photo above.

Street View, Nov 2023

1836,1927 Broad Street Bridge/Erie Canal Aqueduct over Genesee River in Rochester, NY

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

The lower row of arches held the Erie Canal Aqueduct from 1842 to 1919. The upper row of arches was added during the 1920s to carry Broad Street across the river.

Street View, Jun 2017

HistoricBridges and BridgeHunter
Structure as seen in 1890.

Postcard via BridgeHunter

Note the contrast in river levels in the two historical photos.

c1906 photo, credit: LoC from Detroit Publishing Co. via BridgeHunter

Alex Fleissig posted two photos with the comment:

Genesee Aqueduct, 1897 and 2025

The Erie Canal’s second aqueduct over the Genesee River was constructed in 1836-1842. In 1927 the canal bed in downtown Rochester was converted to a subway system, and a road for automobile traffic was build on top of the aqueduct. This structure became what we now call the Broad Street Bridge.

The subway system was abandoned in 1956.

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[Several comments mentioned that downtown Rochester is now "dead." No people is one thing, but no cars is hard to imagine.]

As mentioned, the canal was moved south of town in 1919, and it now crosses the river here. I fired up the time machine to see where the canal used to cross the river.

1895/95 Rochester Quad @ 62,500