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1864701882 














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Figure 6.—THE PLATE-GIRDER BRIDGE COMPLETED IN 1847 By MILLHOLLAND for the Baltimore and 
(From Engineering News, October 20, 1888.) 
Susquehanna Railroad. 
track bridge was fabricated from 14-inch boiler iron. 
It was 6 feet deep by 54 feet long, weighing 14 tons. 
Built at the Bolton shops in the winter of 1846 and 
placed in service 19 miles north of Baltimore in April 
1847, it was the first such bridge in America—and 
probably the first of its kind in the world. In 1864 it 
was rebuilt for a double track and continued in use 
for another 18 years |! (see Appendix I). 
In 1848 Millholland was in the prime of life, a 
recognized mechanic and respected engineer whose 
reputation had outgrown his position with the strug- 
1 Engineering News (October 20, 1888), vol. 20, p. 305, con- 
tains a drawing and reproduces a letter (May 1, 1849) from 
Millholland to Herman Haupt describing the bridge. See also 
C. W. Conpitr, American Building Art: the 19th Century (New 
York: Oxford University Press, 1960), pp. 106-107 and 301. 
PAPER 69: JAMES MILLHOLLAND AND EARLY RAILROAD ENGINEERING 
gling Baltimore and Susquehanna. Accordingly, 
when in August 1848 the Philadelphia and Reading 
Railroad offered him the position of master machinist, 
he readily accepted.” 
The Philadelphia and Reading was one of the best 
engineered railroads in the 19th-century United 
States. In contrast to most American roads, it was 
very well constructed, with generous curves, light 
grades, and heavy T rails. Its capitalized cost came 
to $180,000 per mile, more than six times that of most 
Phila- 
other American railroads. Running from 
12 Millholland gives the date of his employment with the 
Reading in a letter (November 9, 1860) to C. T. Parry of the 
Baldwin Locomotive Works. This letter is preserved by the 
Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 
