Canton Viaduct - Canton, MA
Posted by: NorStar
N 42° 09.493 W 071° 09.254
19T E 322029 N 4669589
The Canton Viaduct, an ASCE Landmark, is one of two oldest stone arch railroad bridges in the United States still in mainline use. It now supports both Amtrak and MBTA passenger traffic.
Waymark Code: WM205N
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/13/2007
Views: 86
The plaque reads:
"Canton Viaduct
"Constructed in 1835
"National Register
"of Historic Places
"Placed by the Canton Historical Commission
"Dedicated on July 4, 1993
"National Historic
"Civil Engineering Landmark
"Designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers
"Dedicated in 1999
"The Canton Viaduct is one of the two oldest surviving multiple arch stone railroad bridges still in active mainline use in the United States"
The plaque is prominetly located in a grassy (and bushy) area where the Canton River meets Neponset Street. The coordinates are centered here.
There is a second item to the left that is carved stone slabs with the names of the designers and builders.
Statistics and Alterations Made (from the ASCE web site)
615 feet long, 70 feet high, and 22 feet wide. It originally carried a single track. In 1860, a second track was added. In 1952, a hole in one of the archways was made to allow automobiles through (it's barely wide enough for two lanes). In the 1990s extensive rennovations were made to the top of the viaduct to prepare it for high speed electric train service as part of the Northeast Corridor Route (at that point the New England portion had not been electrified). Despite these rennovations, the viaduct structure remains as it was originally built.
While you're in the area, go into Canton Center on Washington Street. Where the Canton River crosses the street, there is a rock with a listing of industries that used to be there engraved on it. The details of this waymark are here (
visit link) .