Scenery
Travelers are rewarded with 360-degree views of the surrounding forests and farmland reward travelers when crossing the 1,908-foot Salisbury Viaduct, which soars 101 feet above the Casselman River just west of Meyersdale. The longest trestle on the Great Allegheny Passage, it’s a magnificent place to watch the sunrise or sunset, and breathtaking during a foggy fall morning. A small family cemetery sits just past the western edge, next to a picturesque farm.
Construction
This steel structure was an engineering achievement for the Western Maryland Railway, and it was not built without human cost. During construction in 1911, disaster struck when a traveling electric crane crashed to the ground while lifting a 14.5 ton girder. Six men were killed and one was seriously injured in the accident. A month later, another worker died when he fell off the deck of the viaduct. Like all the bridges on this part of the Western Maryland, it was built to accommodate a second track, which was never added. Hundreds of spectators cheered when the first train crossed in 1912. Abandoned as a through-route in 1975, it was decked for bike and pedestrian use in 1998.
Visitor Information
Open daily, dawn to dusk. The closest parking is at the Meyersdale Area Historical Society, along the GAP in Meyersdale.