Railroad construction inherently involves a great deal of engineering effort.  Preparation of railroad routes often involve extensive grading work, including numerous excavations and fills, especially in hilly country; indeed, many mid 19th century railroad corridors survive today as witnesses to the enormous engineering effort required to build them.  In addition, at various locations along their routes, the railroad companies sometimes faced substantial mountains or chasms--often these challenging obstacles could only be accommodated by the construction of expensive tunnels, bridges, and trestles.  Early tunnels usually survive, although continued use over time sometimes results in bore enlargement to accommodate larger rolling stock.  Early bridges and trestles rarely survive, partly due to Civil War destruction, but also because they were normally replaced by more advanced structures that could handle the added weight and larger dimensions of later railroad equipment.  However, some bridge supporting structures, such as stone abutments and piers, may survive and become incorporated into later bridge complexes.  The early railroad engineering structures seem particularly impressive in view of the modest construction technologies that were available at the time, which typically included much hand work and black powder blasting, with minimal mechanized equipment to maneuver heavy and bulky materials.

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Last update:  June 8, 2000