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12 Apr 1831
Railroad tunnel |
Railroad tunnel In 1831, the first U.S. railroad tunnel was started between Hollidaysburg and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Driven through slate, the Staple Bend Tunnel was 901 feet long, 25 feet wide and 21 feet high and lined throughout with masonry 18 inches thick. It was for the Allegheny Portage Railroad, the first railroad to go west of the Alleghany Mountains. The project engineer was Solomon White Roberts. The tunnel was completed 18 Mar 1834. The restored tunnel is now a National Historic Site |
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12 Apr 1831
Grenville Mellen Dodge |
birth Grenville Mellen Dodge Born 12 Apr 1831; died 3 Jan 1916 at age 84. American civil engineer who was responsible for much of the railroad construction in the western and southwestern U.S. during the 19th century. Before the Civil War, he did railroad work in the West. During the war, with the Union forces, his skill in rapidly rebuilding the bridges and railroads destroyed by Confederates was of great value to Grant and Sherman in their Western campaigns. He became a Union general. He was severely wounded at the siege of Atlanta. After campaigning (1865-66) against the Native Americans, he left the army (May 1866). Then as chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad, his efficient, rapid construction of that line was his greatest achievement. Dodge was a Republican Congressman from Iowa (1867-69). |
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12 Apr 1831
Broughton Suspension Bridge |
Broughton Suspension Bridge (technology) Broughton Suspension Bridge over the River Irwell in England collapses under marching troops. |
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