Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge, Steubenville

Caption on front reads: "Steubenville, O. Bridge No. 42. N.E. of bridge." The rest of the caption is illegible, but appears to be a designation number of some kind. Steubenville's first bridge to cross the Ohio River was built between 1857 and 1865. The bridge connected the S&I (Steubenville and Indiana Railroad) and P&S (Pittsburgh and Steubenville Railroad). The new railroad line was operated by the Western Transportation Company as the Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Cincinnati Railroad until 1868, when multiple companies joined together as the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway. All that remains of the original bridge is one pier which now braces the most current railroad bridge, viewable from State Route 7. The Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge, viewed best from LaBelle Avenue and Stanton Boulevard, a mammoth structure more than 1, 000 feet long, was installed as a unit September 29, 1936, to replace the old bridge. New piers were constructed, and the steel work was fabricated and welded on the spot. Traffic was delayed for only seven hours as the bridge was lifted into place by 10 powerful jacks. This massive metal riveted cantilever though truss bridge is sometimes called the Steubenville Railroad Bridge or the Norfolk Southern Railway Bridge