The P.W. & B. Railroad Bridge was the first bridge over the Susquehanna River

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

 built by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad

The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania southwest to Baltimore, Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...

 in 1866 as part of the first mainline railroad between Philadelphia and Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

. The bridge was replaced by the Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge

Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge

The Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge is a Howe deck truss structure which carries two tracks of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line across the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville, Maryland.- History :...

 in 1906.

History

The PW&B began operating its main line in 1838, using a ferry

Train ferry

A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...

 operation to transport railroad cars over the Susquehanna.

Construction of the bridge, a wood truss design, began in 1862. The masonry and most of the wooden spans were complete in 1866, but then a tornado

Tornado

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...

 severely damaged the wooden components on July 25, 1866. Repairs were made quickly and the first locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 crossed the bridge on November 20, 1866. The cost of construction, including rebuilding most of the truss portions, was $2.3 million. Passenger trains began service on November 26, 1866.

The PW&B later replaced the wooden spans with iron spans. A draw span was installed in the late 1870s.

The Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

took control of the PW&B in 1881. It built a new bridge during 1904 to 1906.