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Nisbet or Linden or Williamsport Railroad, Lycoming County

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Inventory Number: PA/38-41-38x
County: Lycoming County
Township: Susquehanna - Woodward
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Nisbet or Linden or Williamsport Railroad
Crosses: West Branch Susquehanna River
Truss type: Howe & Arch
Spans: 7
Length: 1126'
Roadway Width:
Built: bef 1865
Builder: Philadelphia and Erie Railroad
When Lost: 1909
Cause: Dismantled
Latitude: N41 13.505
Longitude: W077 06.589
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: Pennsylvania Railroad between the western end of Williamsport and the village of Nisbet. The north shore area was also known as Linden Station.

Nisbet or Williamsport Railroad Bridge, Susquehanna, Lycoming County, PA Dismantled 1909
Todd Clark Collection

Comments:
Per the Report of the Chief Engineer in the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., to the Stockholders, February 20, 1866, in referring to the floods of March, 1865, "Linden bridge escaped with loss of some weatherboarding and floor timbers, having withstood the pressure of the wreck of three long spans of road bridge piled up against it. It is a Burr bridge with an arch, and the lower ends of a large number of the posts were broken off at their junction with the lower chords, requiring considerable labor to make it passable." This bridge was replaced with a seven span wrought iron or steel Warren through truss bridge, started in 1907, that was still standing in July 2007. The covered bridge had mostly 14-panel spans, but the north end span was 10-panel. The 1907 replacement was built about 180 feet downstream on the north shore and effectively shared the same abutment with the original bridge on the south shore. The replacement was to be 1,128 feet long. The original bridge was likely 1,080 feet, based on measuring between what appear to be the original abutments.

Sources:
Nineteenth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., to the Stockholders, February 20, 1866, Philadelphia, E. C. Markley & Sons, 1866.
Moll, Fred J.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges - Our Heritage, 2004, pages 114-115
Kipphorn, Thomas. Information received by email, July 2007

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