Temporary Service Pause

ACDL has made the difficult decision to temporarily pause our Hoopla and Kanopy services as we resolve budget concerns. Patrons may continue to use Libby as an alternative way to download digital materials. We apologize for any inconvenience. 

Upper-Ashtabula River Railroad Lift Bridge

Usually overshadowed by it's much younger road counterpart which services State Route 531, the railroad lift-bridge was built in 1911 for the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway, which later merged into the New York Central Railroad, by the Pennsylvania Steel Company. 

The bridge is itself unique just like the road lift-bridge. It is the earliest surviving example of a Strauss heel-trunnion bascule bridge with the final design implements. 

It is unaltered, and is noted to have a strange riveted steel plate shell around the counterweight. The bridge, along with the control building still exist and actively used by the railroads that service the harbor, as it is the only way for railroad equipment to get to the docks on the east side of the river, although the bridge today is most commonly seen lifted up in the air.


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