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Pennsylvania Cabin Trip Four — Kinzua Bridge State Park
In 2003 an F1 tornado swept through this part of Pennsylvania. We don’t think of Pennsylvania as getting tornados, let alone F1s, but it does happen.
The freak storm directly struck the historic Kinzua Viaduct. When it was built, this bridge was over 2000 feet long and 300 feet tall…making it both the longest and tallest railroad structure in the world at the time. It was built in 1882 by a crew of 40 men in wrought iron…with no deaths or serious injuries (In 1882, this was quite the achievement). It was a cheaper option than either detouring around the valley or snaking trains through it and while the speed limit on the bridge, due to the winds, was 5mph, it was still a faster option.
Even at the time, the bridge was a tourist attraction. Excursion trains from New York and Buffalo came out just to carry passengers across it. In 1884 it lost the height record to the Garabit Viaduct in France.
The bridge was rebuilt in steel in 1900 to support heavier trains. It took longer to do the rebuilding than to build the bridge in the first place. For some reason, though, the original iron bolts were reused.
The bridge was closed to train traffic for the last time in 2002 (excursion trains ran from 1987 until that year). At this point it was aging and it was determined no longer…