We recently received another railroad article from our friend, Mr. Thom Horvath, of Bridgewater, N.J.

He has forwarded a few articles and photos over the last year. These articles were especially interesting to our local railroad buffs. We hope you enjoy the information he has shared with our readers.

Do you recall Hurricane Agnes in 1972? In the Lehigh Valley, winds lasted several days, power outages were common and more than 19 inches of rain fell in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. At the time, the estimated damage of the storm was $2.1 billion across the United States.

While hiking at the Susquehanna Riverlands State Park in York, Mr. Horvath viewed the rebuilt Shocks Bridge from the Schulls Rock Overlook. He recalled the damage to the railroad industry because of Hurricane Agnes.

The storm destroyed or damaged 48 Penn Central Railroad bridges. In 1972, Agnes destroyed Shocks Mill Bridge, a landmark and important transportation link in York.

On July 1, 1972, a Penn Central freight train with 80 freight cars was about to cross the bridge when the engineer discovered the tracks had sunk six inches. He notified the switch operator, and the bridge was closed, averting a near tragedy. The six center piers of the bridge collapsed 1 a.m. July 2.

As a result, the bridge was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. In August 1973, the bridge was reopened at a cost of $7.5 million. Today, the trains continue to use the bridge to bring needed products to market.

“I did manage to see a Norfolk Southern train destined for Baltimore cross Shocks Mill Bridge during a recent visit,” Mr. Horvath said. “For me, seeing this train would conclude my day at edge Overlook. During the hike back to my car, I reminisced about the one constant that did not change over the years. The Overlook at Schulls Rock still continued to be a good place to watch trains crossing the Susquehanna on a summer’s day.”

Thank you, Thom, for sharing this railroad history with our loyal readers!