About 4 miles (~6.5 km) NW from Port Jervis, NY, between Sparrowbush, NY and Millrift, Pa., is a 165 year old “deck truss” style steel railroad bridge built to extend the NY and Erie Railroad; a project chartered in 1832, to connect Piermont, NY (Hudson River) to Dunkirk, NY, (Lake Erie.) This rusty, erector set – like artifact continues to carry freight trains across the Delaware River today, along well maintained rails.
On a recent visit, we were intrigued with the massive nuts and bolts used to tie the steel together. What particularly interested me was the thought of….how large the open-ended Craftsman wrench must have been and, really now, how large was that guy that built it in 1848? Seriously!
