 You are not logged in. Login  Thomas Viaduct Railroad Bridge
Elkridge and Relay, Maryland Opened: 1835     Claim to Fame: The
first multiple-arch stone railroad viaduct in the United States,
the massive eight-arch Thomas Viaduct Railroad Bridge was built
under unusual site conditions requiring a curved railway
alignment. Thomas Viaduct 1937   Opened in 1835, the Thomas
Viaduct was the first multiple-arch, stone railroad viaduct in
the United States. The viaduct is composed of eight arches each
with a clear span of about 58 feet. The viaduct has an overall
length of 614 feet and a height of about 60 feet above the
Patapsco River. Construction of the viaduct began in August of
1833, and a ceremony marking its completion was conducted on
July 4, 1835. The viaduct was constructed for the Baltimore and
Ohio (B&O) Railroad and is named in honor Philip E. Thomas, who
served from 1827 to 1836 as the first president of the B&O. The
viaduct was designed by civil engineer Benjamin Henry Latrobe,
Jr. (1806-1878), who h