Iron railway bridge collapseIn 1849, an iron railway bridge near Mast Hope, Pennsylvania, collapsed as a stock train was crossing. The engineer heard a loud cracking, pulled the throttle wide open, and succeeded in getting the engine across in safety. However, the rest of the train fell into the deep ravine of the Westcolang Creek along with the wrecked bridge. A brakeman and two stockmen lost their lives. The New York and Erie Railroad had that year experimented by building three iron bridges, including the one that failed. In 1850, an article in the Scientific American magazine reported that the company, having lost confidence in iron bridges, would tear down the two remaining and replace them with wooden structures.« |
