1913,1958,2019 Penn Street Viaduct over Schuylkill River at Reading, PA

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

I was going to pass on yet-another-bridge until I saw the date of 1913. That is rather early for a large concrete bridge.

The 1,227' (407.5m) long bridge has a main span of 110' (33.5m). "Constructed in 1913, the bridge is a relatively old surviving example of its kind, and it retains good historic integrity including original ornate concrete railings. The five main spans are open spandrel arches, and the oldest examples in Berks County of this bridge type." [HistoricBridges]

The 2019 rehabilitation restored the historical details from the 1911 bridge drawings by Benjamin Herman Davis. [Apr 24, 2020, comment on ArchivedBridgeHunter]

Chad Blimline, Oct 2023

Gavin VanSant, Jun 2023

They probably call it a viaduct instead of a bridge because it has a long approach on the east side.

Street View, Mar 2025

Metrotrails posted

The Penn Street Bridge over the Schuylkill River between Reading and West Reading Pennsylvania. 

Built in 1913, it is one of the earliest regional examples of open spandrel concrete arches. It is the fourth bridge to span the Schuylkill at this location. 

Always an important crossing site, the river was originally forded at this location. When damning began on the river for the development of the canals, a bridge was absolutely necessary because the depth of the river was too much.

Work began and was stalled several times on the construction of the first bridge with unused Piers in place for over a decade. The first covered Bridge opened at the site in 1816 and lasted until 1884.

Due to concerns with the railroad igniting the bridge, it was replaced by a Pratt through truss bridge in 1885. This bridge was considered overstressed by 1910, which led to the construction of the current bridge.

The bridge carries an average of 34,000 cars per day.

Metrotrails shared

1855 North Bend Rail Trail/B&O #6 (Central Station, Doe Run) Tunnel near West Union, WV

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

The tunnel is 2297' (700m) long. [BridgeHunter]

West Portal:

2014 photo by Robert Elder via BridgeHunter

Evidently, this is the longest tunnel on this former 72-mile B&O route.

North Bend Rail Trail: "One of the most renowned recreational trails in the Appalachians, the North Bend Rail Trail stretches 72 miles across north-central and western West Virginia, crossing through 36 bridges and coursing through 10 tunnels, including a 2,297-foot tunnel and the 'haunted' Silver Run Tunnel." [wvstateparks]

The website below has an extensive discussion of this railroad. Page 1 discusses the route from Parkersburg to Ellenboro.

http://wvncrails.weebly.com/parkersburg-to-clarksburg---wais...

Page 2 lists all of the tunnels and discusses the route from Ellenboro to Clarksburg.

http://wvncrails.weebly.com/parkersburg-to-clarksburg--waist...

[Robert Elder comment on ArchivedBridgeHunter]

Mike Tewkesbury posted two photos with the comment: "The interior of Tunnel Number 6 from the old Parkersburg Branch of the B&O Railroad, now part of the North Bend Rail Trail; Rails to Trails known as Doe Run or Central Station, built 1853-55 of timber and rebuilt with brick and stone in the later 1860s. The tunnel was the second longest of the 23 tunnels built along the branch at 2297 feet. As the tunnel this day in 2016 was very wet from the previous two days and nights of rain, we found that unless we wanted cold feet that we would have to find another way to get to the eastern side. We started in so far, but when the water began to seep into our shoes, we turned around. It was a good call as, not more than a couple of minutes later, we saw bright lights heading our way from the opposite side. We quickly ran outside and waited to see what was going on. It ended up being a worker for the park making his rounds. We never saw the eastern end which is different than the west as it has a wider bricked portal. Nearly ten years later, it's about time to go back. Other photos will be added to the comment section. Thanks for your interest but you should see these fabulous tunnels for yourself."

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Mike Tewkesbury commented on his post
One of the escape alcoves on the eastern side. Notice the water up to the bottom of it. I've been told that most of the tunnels have had their floors worked on and covered with gravel making them a lot drier.

Mike Tewkesbury commented on his post
Noticing lights heading our way. Couldn't be a train?! 😉

Mark Floyd commented on Mike's post
Tunnel 19, the haunted Silver Run tunnel at Cairo, WV.

Comments on Mark's comment

Neal Reynolds commented on Mike's post
Tunnel #6 photo borrowed from WVNC Rails website.

CB&Q Swing Bridge and Lock & Dam at Mouth of Galena River

(Satellite)

I wonder how far up the Galena River steamboats could go back then.

Dale Click posted
Lock and dam at mouth of Galena River c. 1900

Sandy & Beaver Canal Locks 51-54 and Grimms Bridge & Tunnel

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

Gimms Tunnel: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

The lock locations are approximate because I could not find any ruins in the satellite images. And the river has moved since some of the maps were drawn.

E#51: (Satellite) 9' (2.7m) lift [RailsAndTrails_eastward]

E#52: (Satellite) 7' (2.1m) lift [RailsAndTrails_eastward]

E#53: (Satellite) 9' (2.7m) lift [RailsAndTrails_eastward]

E#54: (Satellite) 7' (2.1m) lift [RailsAndTrails_eastward]

Sandy and Beaver Canal Overview

Grimms Bridge

It is pin connected.

Street View, Dec 2015

2016 photo by David Case via BridgeHunter_bridge

Photo by Wayne Grodkiewicz via BridgeHunter_bridge

"Built 1884 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Co.; rehabilitated 1960 and 1997" The span is 154' (47m). [BridgeHunter_bridge]

"This is a spectacular example of the Wrought Iron Bridge Company's work, a ten panel Whipple through truss with pinned connections." "Double-intersection Pratt trusses, also known as Whipple or Murphy-Whipple trusses, were among the most successful of long-span thru truss designs (up to 300' long) of the 1860s to 1890s for both railroad and vehicular crossings." [HistoricBridges]

Given the rather old date of 1884, I wonder if this bridge is made with iron instead of steel.

Gimms Tunnel

The tunnel was built in 1933 for the Youngstown & Southern Railroad. It is 1200' (366m) long. [BridgeHunter_tunnel]

2017 photo by Sherman Cahal via BridgeHunter_tunnel

2017 photo by Sherman Cahal via BridgeHunter_tunnel

Sandy and Beaver Canal Lock E#52

Sandy and Beaver Canal posted
Lock 52, eastern division. St. Clair Township, Columbiana County, Ohio. Below Grimm’s Bridge on Little Beaver Creek.

Seth Watkins commented on the above post
I'd say this is the stone they used up the hill from the lock.

Sandy and Beaver Canal: Seth Watkins quarry marks evident. Very cool!

It is interesting that the two mills did paper instead of grain or lumber.

AmericanCanalSociety_canal, cropped

I found a satellite image that has less tree coverage. The map and photo implies the lock is on the south side of the river just downstream from a bend in the river. But I can't find it. Grimms Bridge is in the upper-left corner of this excerpt. Today's river has bigger meanders than when the above map was drawn.

Google Earth, Apr 2006

1828-52 Sandy and Beaver Canal

The canal name is because the canal followed the Sandy River Valley on the west side and the Little Beaver River Valley on the east side.

In 1828, the Ohio legislature issued a charter for the construction of the Sandy and Beaver Canal. The Sandy and Beaver Canal would eventually extend 73 miles from the Ohio and Erie Canal in Bolivar, Ohio, to Glasgow, Pennsylvania, on the Ohio River. While it is considered by many to be the most scenic canal line in Ohio, the canal's goal  —  to open commerce between the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Ohio River — was never accomplished.

The Sandy and Beaver Canal was an ambitious project that would require two tunnels, thirty dams, ninety locks, three reservoirs, and an aqueduct before its completion. Unfortunately, the canal never fully met the expectations of its builders and planners. From the beginning, the middle section of the canal experienced numerous problems and ultimately fell into disrepair. The eastern and western portions of the Sandy and Beaver Canal were kept busy by the local industry and agriculture. Still, travel along the entire length of the canal was never possible.

By the time of the canal's completion, the expansion of the railroad made the canal less valuable than when originally conceived. In 1852, the canal ceased operations when a flood caused a breach in the Cold Run Reservoir Dam outside of Lisbon, Ohio, ruining a large portion of the canal.

[ohiodnr_canal]

When a canal closes as early as 1852 because of a flood, it doesn't show up on any topo maps. That makes it harder to research.

It is the "proposed canal 76 mile" canal on this map.

Christopher Busta-Peck Flickr, cropped
Published in the Journal of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, vol. 19 (1835).
Used courtesy of the University of Toronto - Gerstein Science Information Centre and the Internet Archive.

This makes it easier to correlate with today's towns. "L" means lock and "T" means tunnel. The summit is at the two tunnels east of Hanoverton. The locks are numbered from the summit. So, I'm putting a W or E in front of the lock number to indicate which division the lock is in.

AmericanCanalSociety_map

OhioMap

Fortunately, this canal is well documented.

West:

AmericanCanalSociety_canal

East:

AmericanCanalSociety_canal

Some features along the canal from west to east.

Locks W#26 and W#25 (Satellite)

These are in Magnolia, OH.

AmericanCanalSociety_canal, cropped

There may be some ruins of the locks in that tree line.

Street View, Jul 2024

The canal bed is better preserved south of this road. I included the flood wall and levee on the right side because I'm impressed that they protected the park from the Sandy River.

Street View, Jul 2024

The lift of W#26 was 6' (1.8m), and the lift of W#25 was 7' (2.1m). [RailsAndTrails_westward]

Magnolia is near the upper-right corner.

RailsAndTrails
Digital Elevation Model of Magnolia area with tracing of canal in light blue, Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad Tuscrarawas Branch in red, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in blue.

RailsAndTrails

1934 Aerial Photo of Magnolia area

Stark County Engineer

Sandy and Beaver Canal posted

Magnolia Flouring Mills, Magnolia, Ohio. Western division. Stark County.

Built in 1834 by Richard Elson along the route of the Sandy & Beaver Canal, the Magnolia Flouring Mills remained in the Elson family for 171 years before being acquired by the Stark County Park District in 2005.

As with many canal towns, where there were locks, there was a mill.

OhioAndErieCanalway (Satellite)
[This has a nice history of the canal. It explains why the middle part of the canal was never usable for commercial traffic. Specifically, they could not maintain a sufficient water depth in the tunnels at the summit.]

Brenda Krekeler, Apr 2018

Brenda Krekeler, Apr 2018

Locks W#20 (Satellite, approx.) and W#19 (Satellite, approx.)

#20 is in Malvern, OH, and #19 is a little east of it. 

hmdb (Satellite, marker's location)
"Planned in 1827 as an important trade route between Glasgow on the Ohio River, to the Ohio Canal at Bolivar, passed here. A basin and toll station were located nearby at Lodi, as well as Locks 19 and 20 and a canal dam. This segment of the Western Division was completed in 1845, and saw regular service between Hanover and Bolivar until 1853. The coming of the railroad and recurring floods caused its abandonment."
"The stones supporting this marker are from Lock 19"

Street View, Jul 2024

A couple of blocks of the canal bed has been preserved near the marker. It looks like they also have a military vehicle in the park.

Street View, Jun 2024

The lift of W#20 was 8.5' (2.6m), and the lift of W#19 was 8' (2.4m). [RailsAndTrails_westward]

Even though the marker uses Lock W#19 stones, the marker is much closer to Lock W#20.

AmericanCanalSociety_canal, cropped

RailsAndTrails
Digital Elevation Model of Malvern area with tracing of canal in light blue, Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad Tuscrarawas Branch in red, Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Carrollton Branch in green.

.

Big and Little Tunnels east of Hanoverton, OH, and Lincoln Highway (US-30)

The red pin marks "St. Philip Neri Church, Dungannon, OH." Note that the canal dipped south of Dungannon.

AmericanCanalSociety_map

Dennis Norris posted, cropped

AmericanCanalSociety_canal, cropped

The Big Tunnel was between the Sandy River and Williard Run watersheds while the Little Tunnel was between the Williard Run and Little Beaver Creek watersheds. Google Maps doesn't know about this Dungannon, OH, but this topo map does show it. And we can see the road east of Hanoverton that was later chosen to be part of the Lincoln Highway (US-30).

1905 Salineville and 1909 Lesbon Quads @ 62,500

Big Tunnel

Satellite plus Paint

Little Tunnel

I think Dennis' map marked the tunnel too far to the East.

Satellite plus Paint

Lusk Lock E#27 (Satellite)

The lift of E#27 was 6' (1.8m). [RailsAndTrails_eastward]

Marm Farm posted eight photos with the comment:

Lusk Lock on the Sandy and Beaver Canal - Columbiana County, Ohio.

Built in 1836, it's known as one of the finest canal locks for its time period.

Joseph Middleton: That trail is great of its the one I'm thinking of it has several locks on it and the further you go on the path the better each one gets and I believe that one is the one at the end. I really like that you can see and pretty much picture how the locks actually worked especially with that one having almost all of the pieces still intact. Like I didn't know they had a continuous running water stream next to each lock to help with over flow and general flow of the canal water.

Marm Farm: Joseph Middleton this one is kinda out on its own with no trail connecting to other locks, but you are correct if you go to Beaver Creek State Park there is a trail with 3 or 4 locks in a row each about a half mile or mile apart. This particular lock is a little ways upstream from those but still part the same canal system which consisted of 90 locks total.

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Assuming that Marm's photos are contemporary (Feb 2026), it appears that someone has done some much needed maintenance in terms of taming mother nature.

OhioDNR
"Lusk Lock’s double-curved stone staircase makes it arguably the most artistic lock on the canal. At its completion in 1836, some considered it to be the finest lock of its kind in the world....Parking for Lusk Lock is available on Lusk Lock Road just off Middle Beaver Road (CR-419). The lock is accessible via a 0.25-mile trail heading downstream along the Little Beaver Creek."

uakron
"One black and white photographic print of two individuals inspecting the bottom of the lock wall on Lock 27, also known as Lusk's Lock, on the Sandy and Beaver Canal in Beaver Creek State Park in East Liverpool in Columbiana County, Ohio. The individuals are dressed in coats and hats and can be seen squatting down at the bottom of the image in the foreground while the lock wall rises above them. Grass and portions of trees can be seen at on the top of the lock wall at the top of the image."

Lock E#36 (Satellite)

The lift of E#36 was 12' (3.7m). [RailsAndTrails_eastward]

Street View, Aug 2025

Street View, Aug 2025

Looking back in the other direction is a one-lane, pin-connected truss bridge.

Street View

On the other side of the lock is the Thomas J. Malone Covered Bridge.

Street View, Aug 2025

bobbie manns, Sep 2021

Grey's Lock E#37 (Satellite, approx)

The lift of the lock was 6' (1.8m). [RailsAndTrails_eastward]

Sandy and Beaver Canal posted

WORK DAY AT LOCK 37 “Grey’s”

TODAY, SATURDAY APRIL 12 

Meet at the Pioneer Village Parking Lot across from Gaston Mill [which is at Lock #36] at 10 AM

330-771-7094 

Lock 37, eastern division, St. Clair Township, Columbiana County, Ohio.

[The map for the event did not make sense.]

AmericanCanalSociety_canal, cropped

Lock E#39 (Satellite, approx.)

The lift of E#39 was 6' (1.8m). [RailsAndTrails_eastward]

See the above map.

Sandy and Beaver Canal posted three photos with the comment:

Lock 39, eastern division. Beaver Creek State Park. This location is steeped in history. Harmony School Rd. once forded  Little Beaver Creek here. William Heald constructed one of the area's initial mills, subsequently owned by Joseph Heap. Attentive observers can still discern vestiges of the foundation. Beaver Creek State Park

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Locks E#51-E#54 and Grimms Bridge & Tunnel