Muddy Creek Bridge, Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad
Why it's listed
Sunnyburn, in York County, Pennsylvania, is the site of a steel Pratt through-truss bridge carrying the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad across Muddy Creek. Built about 1909 by the railroad company, the bridge replaced earlier trestle bridges along the line. Its roughly forty-yard span rests on two stone abutments and has eight vertical and twelve diagonal braces, with the diagonals in tension and the verticals in compression. The line linked the farms and merchants of southern York County to the Baltimore market. Because Muddy Creek is much wider than the streams the railroad crosses elsewhere, engineers chose a through-truss rather than the girder bridges common on the route. The structure is the only bridge on the line that crosses the creek, and it is regarded as one of the line's most significant engineering works. The bridge has been out of use since the railroad was abandoned in the 1970s, but it remains in good condition.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the bridge is one of the most significant engineering designs on the railroad's route and one of the few through-truss bridges in York County. It was built where the wide creek called for a stronger design than the girder bridges used on the line's smaller tributaries. It also illustrates alternative railroad bridge engineering of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 95000540, listed May 4, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Maryland and Pennsylvania RR tracks over Muddy Cr., E of Creek Ridge Rd., Peach Bottom and Lower Chanceford Townships, Sunnyburn |
|---|---|
| County | York County |
| Listed | May 4, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95000540 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | c. 1909 - 1942 |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | No longer in use; the document states it remains in good condition with its integrity intact. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 39.76034, -76.35105 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 95000540.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6931652
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.