By Harold H. Strayer and Irving L. London

This was the Conemaugh Viaduct—built for the Allegheny Portage Railroad. It was a massive stone structure about seventy feet high and a semi-circular arch of about eighty feet. The Viaduct was often described as the most beautiful railroad bridge in the United States. It was the first big obstacle in the path of the flood waters and it was so well constructed that it momentarily held back the surging currents until the water was about ninety feet high.

It was essential that this bridge be replaced so that help could arrive from the east. Railroad workers arrived from New York and eastern Pennsylvania and erected this temporary trestle in only two and one half working days. They worked around the clock and on June 14th service was restored on the Pennsylvania Railroad.