Cumberland Valley Railroad Bridge

The Cumberland Valley Railroad Bridge is an unused railway bridge. The bridge links Downtown Harrisburg and the western suburbs of Cumberland Valley in Philadelphia. The bridge was originally constructed by the Cumberland Valley Railroad as part of the main line from Harrisburg to Hagerstown via Chambersburg. The Cumberland Valley Railroad was leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The bridge was given to Conrail in 1976, which is still a bridge, and in 1990s it was given to Capital Area Transit, the bridge was planned to be a public transport route in Philadelphia.

The first crossing began construction in 1836 and was opened in January 16, 1839. It was destroyed by fire on December 4, 1844. The four eastern spans remained, but were washed away by spring floods in 1846.

A second crossing which is slightly different location began construction on February 3, 1845 and was completed in 1846. The bridge had an upper deck for railroad traffic and lower deck for pedestrian traffic. Use of the lower deck was discontinued when the bridge was straightened in 1850. The bridge latticework's timbers were removed and replaced by heavier braces from 1855 to 1856 and new wooden arches were built in 1872. From 1880 to 1886, the piers beneath the bridge were gradually replaced, allowing it to carry much heavier traffic.

Construction of an open iron truss bridge parallel to the existing wooden span began in September 1886. The work was done by the Union Bridge Company and the Edge Moore Bridge Company. The new bridge, whose eastern piers were 4 feet (1.2 m) higher than the old piers, opened in July 1887.

The present concrete structure was completed about 1916. Although the majority of the bridge has been abandoned for rail use over the past several decades, it has been suggested the bridge become the principal crossing for the Corridor One rail commuter system to serve the renewed rail needs of the metropolitan area and of Harrisburg's west shore. With it's standing ownership agreements, this plan faces major challenges as the bridge is currently shared among three owners. Two of these are the railroads on either side which continue to operate on the tracks immediately off of the bridge on either side. The third owner is Capital Area Transit which currently does not own any property with immediate access to the bridge.