| Name | Canton Viaduct |
| Address | 343 Neponset St.Canton, 02021 |
| Brief Description | Second oldest multipe arch stone railroad bridge in the US |
| Type | Attraction |
| Category | Historic Site |
| Description | 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 bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1999.
The Canton Viaduct is 615' long, 70' high above Canton River, 38' wide at the deck and it's built on a 1° curve (5,730' radius). The viaduct opened for regular passenger service on July 28th, 1835 and has been in continuous service ever since.
The bridge will be 175 years old on July 28th, 2010.
The Canton Viaduct is a very unique structure due to its continuous parallel walls and 21 individual hollow chambers.
The Canton Viaduct was built by the Boston & Providence Railroad Corporation and was the final link on the 41 mile railroad between Boston, MA and Providence , RI. Architectural design for the bridge was provided by Dodd & Baldwin and construction was supervised by Chief Engineer, Major General William Gibbs McNeill, a graduate of West Point Military Academy. Major General George Washington Whistler, father of the famous artist James McNeill Whistler, served as assistant and consulting engineer on the project.
There are two other bridges similar to the Canton Viaduct in the world, both designed by George Washington Whistler located on the October Railroad between Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia. Whistler was summoned to Russia in 1842 at the request of Tsar Nicholas I to consult on the construction of the 403 mile railroad, originally known as the Nicholas Railroad before the Russian Revolution in 1917. The names and exact locations of these two viaducts are unknown...
Visit the Canton Viaduct website for more information: www.cantonviaduct.us
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| Phone 1 | (480) 726-0576 |
| Email | info@cantonviaduct.us |
| Handicapped Accessible | Yes |
| Time Allowance | At least 1 hour |
| Website | www.cantonviaduct.us |
| Local Visitor Bureau | www.bostonusa.com |
| Last Updated | 4/3/2008 |
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