- This page was last modified on 7 June 2025, at 03:30. Suggest an edit.
B & O Railroad Viaduct facts for kids
|
B & O Railroad Viaduct
|
|
The Bellaire Viaduct at the intersection of 31st and Union Streets in Bellaire, Ohio.
|
|
| Location | Bellaire, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Architect | Wendel Bollman and Jacob Hayes Linville |
| NRHP reference No. | 76001370 |
| Added to NRHP | June 22, 1976 |
The B & O Railroad Viaduct is a historic bridge located in Bellaire, Ohio. It was recognized as a very important structure and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1976. This viaduct played a big role in connecting train lines across the Ohio River.
Contents
A Look Back at the B&O Railroad Viaduct
Building the Big Bridge
The B&O Railroad built its first bridge across the Ohio River in 1857. That bridge helped trains travel through Parkersburg, West Virginia. But as the city of Chicago, Illinois grew, it became more important to have a bridge between Benwood, West Virginia, and Bellaire.
In 1865, the B&O Railroad bought two other railway companies. These new lines connected Bellaire to Sandusky, Ohio, which is a port city on Lake Erie. From Sandusky, trains could then reach Chicago. Building a new bridge in Bellaire caused some trouble. People who owned a ferry business there were worried about losing customers. They even tried to stop the bridge construction in court! The railroad company fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won the right to build their bridge.
Discussions about building this new bridge started in the late 1860s. Engineers decided it would be a very long bridge made of strong wrought-iron trusses. A man named Jacob Linville designed the bridge. His company, Keystone Bridge Co., made the huge iron parts. The entire bridge was finished in 1871. The parts leading up to the bridge are made of large, cut sandstone blocks. These blocks lift the train tracks to the correct height. The main part of the bridge has wrought-iron trusses. These rest on six big stone piers that are sunk deep into the riverbed.
You might have seen this bridge in a movie! It was featured in the 2010 film Unstoppable. The movie starred Denzel Washington. Filming on the bridge in Bellaire happened from November 9 to 14, 2009.
How the Bridge Spans Were Built
The different sections, or spans, of the bridge were completed in 1870. The Bellaire side of the bridge has 43 arched sections. Each arch is about 33 feet 4 inches wide. They vary in height from 10 to 20 feet as they go over the streets of downtown Bellaire. This part of the bridge comes from the north and gently curves to the east. Each of these arched sections contains 37 stones. These stones represent the 37 states that were part of the United States when the bridge was finished.
The span on the Benwood side has stone piers with iron truss-work. This supports the railway tracks above. This part of the bridge comes from the south and makes a big 270-degree curve to the west. It crosses over several factory areas and comes very close to West Virginia Route 2.
In total, the entire bridge structure used a huge amount of masonry, which is like stone and brick work. The bridge span itself is 8,566 feet long. Building this massive bridge cost over $1,000,000 back then!
Historic Uses
- The bridge was used for trains and other rail-related activities.