DennyG Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Back in August, workers near Brownsville, PA, struck a bit of the original nearly 200 year old National Road. A slice has been preserved and will be displayed; Possibly as soon as next spring. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a good article here. Big thanks to Jeff Kitso of Pennsylvania Highways who posted the link in the Route 40 egroup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted October 26, 2008 Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Back in August, workers near Brownsville, PA, struck a bit of the original nearly 200 year old National Road. A slice has been preserved and will be displayed; Possibly as soon as next spring. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a good article here. Big thanks to Jeff Kitso of Pennsylvania Highways who posted the link in the Route 40 egroup. Denny, Interesting! I wish though that they had included a photo. They said that the surface was cobble. I have driven on cobble roads in Mexico. They would shake your eye balls out of their sockets, even in a modern car. Imagine a wagon! Thanks for the tip! Keep the Show on the Road! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilene Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 wooooow!! I am almost speechless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 I wish though that they had included a photo. They said that the surface was cobble. I'm certainly curious. My idea of cobble does not match my idea of the early National Road surface. Maybe my ideas are wrong on both subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Rowland Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 I'm certainly curious. My idea of cobble does not match my idea of the early National Road surface. Maybe my ideas are wrong on both subjects. The article mentioned a "cobble roadbed", which I didn't necessarily take to mean the finished road surface. I just assumed that this was one of the deeper layers. Then when replacing the road later, they removed the top finish layer but there was no need to re-do the foundation. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilene Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Ah, that makes sense, Chris. I was under the impression that the NR was mostly macadam or crushed stone. Perhaps cobble was the foundation for the macadam portions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mausting Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Back in August, workers near Brownsville, PA, struck a bit of the original nearly 200 year old National Road. A slice has been preserved and will be displayed; Possibly as soon as next spring. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a good article here. Big thanks to Jeff Kitso of Pennsylvania Highways who posted the link in the Route 40 egroup. Denny, here's another "slice" of the old National Road-taken from the Washington, PA Observer-Reporter concerning an old bridge at Brownsville. Mike Austing Dennison, OH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mausting Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Denny, here's another "slice" of the old National Road-taken from the Washington, PA Observer-Reporter concerning an old bridge at Brownsville. Mike Austing Dennison, OH Sorry! Forgot the link: http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/...wnsville-Bridge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Sorry! Forgot the link: http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/Story/...wnsville-Bridge Mike, Thanks! Darn, the newspaper again left out the photos! Folks can see the bridge at the the Library of Congress American Memory site. Just search for Dunlap Creek Bridge. Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 That bridge really is a valuable piece of American road history. I was by there once in 2006. The banks were quite overgrown and it was really tough to get a look at the underside but the little bridge was still doing its intended job and then some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark G Simon Posted June 21, 2009 Report Share Posted June 21, 2009 They are demolishing a lot of the buildings in downtown Brownsville, including one of the stores which abutted the bridge, and actually extended out over the creek bed, obscuring the bridge itself. The store was there in 2004 when I passed through, but last summer all that was left was the foundation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brull68 Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Mike, Thanks! Darn, the newspaper again left out the photos! Folks can see the bridge at the the Library of Congress American Memory site. Just search for Dunlap Creek Bridge. Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Hey Dave, I checked out the Library of Congress American Memory website and saw the pic of the bridge, as well as a few other pictures of highway 40 by searching U.S. 40 and Route 40. Since most landmarks/bridges/buildings, etc do not have a label of US 40, do you have any other suggestions for searches to see some great pictures? Thanks, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennyG Posted August 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Thanks to Adam Prince, who posted a link in the Route-40 Yahoo group, we can now see a picture of that slice of road. The picture is in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article HERE. It's described as a "cube-like slab" which I'm guessing is something they talked about on that day I missed geometry class. Thanks a bunch for the tip, Adam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep the Show on the Road! Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Thanks to Adam Prince, who posted a link in the Route-40 Yahoo group, we can now see a picture of that slice of road. The picture is in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article HERE. It's described as a "cube-like slab" which I'm guessing is something they talked about on that day I missed geometry class. Thanks a bunch for the tip, Adam. Wow! This has got to be roadie heaven. A conservator is going to preserve a “cube-like slab” of old road bed and it is going to be on permanent display. Now I can die (not soon) knowing that there is nothing more to wait to happen! I know they do this with Viking ships, King Tut, and bog men, but I never dreamed a chunk of roadbed. I wonder where they find “cube-like slab” conservators. Do you have to have a doctorate in the subject or is it experience that counts? Kidding aside, I do think it is interesting to see the construction over the years. It will settle the cobblestone vs. macadam debate! Dave Keep the Show on the Road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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