Kinzua Bridge
The milder-than-expected temperatures we have been experiencing since we arrived in November have meant little snow, something the kids have been anxiously anticipating. Instead we have enjoyed some cool but sunny days.
Today my dad proposed a drive out to the Kinzua Bridge State Park after lunch.
The viaduct was originally built in the 19th century and was, in its day, the highest railroad bridge in the United States. Freight was carried across it until 1959. Beginning in the late 1980sl, a excursion train operated in the summer and fall, crossing the bridge daily. The train stopped in 2002 when the bridge was closed for extensive repairs. These were never completed as a 2003 tornado fell much of the steel supports. It wasn't until September of this year that the surviving part of the bridge was re-opened to the public.
I have not been to the bridge since long before the 2003 tornado, so it was a little jarring to see the bridge end in mid-air. I expected it, and had even seen pictures, but had not seen it in person yet.
More after the jump
We walked across the bridge, or what was left of it, to a viewing platform that had been added where the tracks now ended.
The new platform includes a plexiglass floor, in case anyone misses that terrifying feeling of looking through the train tracks to the ground so far below. Brigid and my niece Mia showed no fear of running across and around it.
I, on the other hand, could barely force myself to lean over to take a picture through the glass to the ground, about 300 feet below.
The twisted supports of the bridge remain in the valley, so much more visible in December than in the tourist seasons in the summer and fall.
Myles was surprised to see so much steel just lying around. Why hasn't it been recycled, he wondered? In China, steel (even the occassional manhole covers) doesn't often just lie around.
Even without the thrill of the trains, it was still an interesting excurion. It will probably never be the tourist draw it once was. Or maybe it will. Myles certainly was as excited to see the destruction as the standing bridge. And how often does any child have an opportunity to drop ice from a few hundred feet up and watch it until it is no longer visible? And not get into trouble doing it?
Brigid: But I can't see a Great Wall!
Today my dad proposed a drive out to the Kinzua Bridge State Park after lunch.
The viaduct was originally built in the 19th century and was, in its day, the highest railroad bridge in the United States. Freight was carried across it until 1959. Beginning in the late 1980sl, a excursion train operated in the summer and fall, crossing the bridge daily. The train stopped in 2002 when the bridge was closed for extensive repairs. These were never completed as a 2003 tornado fell much of the steel supports. It wasn't until September of this year that the surviving part of the bridge was re-opened to the public.
I have not been to the bridge since long before the 2003 tornado, so it was a little jarring to see the bridge end in mid-air. I expected it, and had even seen pictures, but had not seen it in person yet.
More after the jump
We walked across the bridge, or what was left of it, to a viewing platform that had been added where the tracks now ended.
The new platform includes a plexiglass floor, in case anyone misses that terrifying feeling of looking through the train tracks to the ground so far below. Brigid and my niece Mia showed no fear of running across and around it.
I, on the other hand, could barely force myself to lean over to take a picture through the glass to the ground, about 300 feet below.
The twisted supports of the bridge remain in the valley, so much more visible in December than in the tourist seasons in the summer and fall.
Myles was surprised to see so much steel just lying around. Why hasn't it been recycled, he wondered? In China, steel (even the occassional manhole covers) doesn't often just lie around.
Even without the thrill of the trains, it was still an interesting excurion. It will probably never be the tourist draw it once was. Or maybe it will. Myles certainly was as excited to see the destruction as the standing bridge. And how often does any child have an opportunity to drop ice from a few hundred feet up and watch it until it is no longer visible? And not get into trouble doing it?
Brigid: But I can't see a Great Wall!
Comments