{"nrhp_refnum":"75001351","name":"Cleveland And Pittsburgh Railroad Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Tinker's Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bedford","county":"Cuyahoga County","state":"OH","lat":41.38467339400006,"lon":-81.53408829899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-07-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A masonry arch railroad viaduct over Tinker's Creek in Bedford, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, built in 1864 for the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. Only the exposed remnant survives.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the viaduct as a monumental example of mid-nineteenth century American engineering skill, of 'truly Roman proportions'. It also marks the railroad's arrival in Bedford in 1852 and the passage of a train carrying the Liberty Bell in 1893.","narrative":"Spanning Tinker's Creek in Bedford, this stone railroad viaduct was completed in 1864 to carry the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad, which had reached the community in 1852. Originally it had four round arches of about fifty feet each, ran over 200 feet in length, and lifted a single track more than 100 feet above the creek bed. It replaced an earlier wooden trestle. The contractor and mason, Al Spafford, is said to have used a derrick over 100 feet high to set the centering and keystones. In 1901 the line was moved west to allow double track, and the viaduct was abandoned. The new right-of-way sits on a large landfill that covers one arch and the lower piers, so the structure is complete but partly hidden. Its significance rests on its engineering and its role in local transportation, including the 1893 passage of a train carrying the Liberty Bell to Chicago. It is owned by the City of Bedford.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific dates 1864; 1901)","architect_builder":"Al Spafford, contractor and mason","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Abandoned in 1901 when the line was relocated; partly buried by landfill but still entirely present. Listed as good condition, altered, on its original site, and unoccupied.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.337151-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001351.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001351/fbc96d6d07-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001351/fbc96d6d07-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ksponsler","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Railroad_bridge_with_tunnel.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ksponsler</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Railroad_bridge_with_tunnel.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987662","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137636221"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/cuyahoga-county/cleveland-and-pittsburgh-railroad-bridge-75001351/"}