Pennsylvania Railroad Stone Bridge

Pennsylvania Railroad Stone Bridge (HMZN4)

Location: Johnstown, PA 15901 Cambria County
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Country: United States of America
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N 40° 19.811', W 78° 55.495'

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Inscription
On May 31, 1889, The main main [sic] thrust of the 30-foot wave from the broken South Fork Dam smashed into the hillside to your left, sparing the PRR stone bridge from its full impact. The bridge held, its arches clogged with debris. The raging waters then cut a channel through the railroad embankment on the bridge's east side leaving wreckage spread over 30 acres behind it. Escaped, the waters went on to destroy half the houses and 115 people in Millvale on the Conemaugh River's east side, and to wipe out 148 homes and 350 lives in Cambria City on the west side.

Piled 15 feet higher than the bridge the debris caught fire and burned for three days - a funeral pyre for the 300 bodies later found there. A dynamite crew from Pittsburgh was needed to clear the impacted jam to help avoid the threat of pestilence.
Details
HM NumberHMZN4
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Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, October 27th, 2014 at 1:30pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17T E 676278 N 4466471
Decimal Degrees40.33018333, -78.92491667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 40° 19.811', W 78° 55.495'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds40° 19' 48.66" N, 78° 55' 29.70" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)814
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 2370-2648 Washington St, Johnstown PA 15901, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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