The Collapse of the Kinzua Viaduct
By Thomas Leech
A combination of design oversight and material fatigue left a century-old railroad bridge vulnerable to an F-1 tornado
This Article From Issue
July-August 2005
Volume 93, Number 4
Page 348
DOI: 10.1511/2005.54.348
With rapid growth in the extraction of mineral resources during the late 19th century, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania saw the development of a complex railroad-transportation network, one that spanned the many gullies, valleys and gorges of the western and north-central parts of the state. Fossil fuels, especially coal, were needed in Great Lakes cities, and rail was the transportation of choice.
Photograph courtesy of Ed Bernik/Penn State Public Broadcasting.
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