Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge
The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge across the Little Patuxent River at Savage, Maryland, is one of the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the United States and the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American bridge engineering. The 160-foot (48.8 m) double-span was built in 1852 at an unknown location on the main line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was moved 35 years later to its present location, where it replaced the very first Bollman bridge. Today, it carries the Savage Mill Trail.
Bollman Suspension and Truss Bridge | |
|---|---|
Bollman Bridge with Savage Mill tower in background, 1970 | |
| Coordinates | 39°8′5″N 76°49′31″W |
| Carries | Savage Mill Trail |
| Crosses | Little Patuxent River |
| Locale | Savage, Maryland |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Bollman Suspension Truss |
| Material | Cast and wrought Iron |
| Total length | 160 feet (48.8 m) |
| Longest span | 2 × 80 feet (24.4 m) |
| No. of spans | 2 |
| Piers in water | 1 |
| Load limit | 36 tons (72000 kips) |
| History | |
| Designer | Wendel Bollman |
| Construction end | 1869 |
| Statistics | |
Bollman Suspension and Trussed Bridge | |
U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000582 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 18, 1972 |
| Designated NHL | February 16, 2000 |
| Location | |
The Bollman design, a through truss bridge, was the first successful all-metal bridge design to be adopted and consistently used on a railroad. The type was named for its inventor, Wendel Bollman, a self-educated Baltimore civil engineer. Bollman formed two companies in Baltimore, the W. Bollman and Company and the Patapsco Bridge Company, to market the bridge in North and South America.
In 1966, the American Society of Civil Engineers designated the bridge as the first National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1972, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on February 16, 2000.