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Home > Archives > View of the Rockville Bridge and Susquehanna River, 2016.

View of the Rockville Bridge and Susquehanna River, 2016.

Color digital image showing a view of the Rockville Bridge from the cab of the eastbound Pennsylvanian (Pittsburgh-Philadelphia-New York); image dates to May 2016.

View of the Rockville Bridge and Susquehanna River, 2016.

The daily Pennsylvanian covers a 444-mile route that passes through the Appalachian Mountains and Pennsylvania Dutch Country and crosses over the famed Horseshoe Curve. The train is financed primarily through funds made available by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

According to the Historic American Engineering Record, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) completed its first bridge over the Susquehanna River approximately six miles north of Harrisburg in 1849. It was subsequently replaced in 1877, and in 1902 with the present stone arch structure. At the turn of the 20th century, the PRR had embarked on an extensive program to improve its infrastructure, including realigning tracks to eliminate curves, constructing new stations and building masonry bridges.

Although it appears to be built of solid stone, the Rockville Bridge actually has a concrete core with a sandstone exterior. More than a century after it opened to rail traffic, the Rockville Bridge remains the world's longest of its type, at 3,791 feet with 48 arches. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 1975.

Photographer: Chuck Gomez for Amtrak. From the Amtrak Corporate Collection.