Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Bridge No. 460

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) Bridge No. 460, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a Scherzer rolling lift bascule bridge featuring a Warren through truss main span that crosses the Cuyahoga River.

This bridge was originally built in 1906 by the B&O to facilitate access to the American Steel & Wire Company’s Central Furnace Plant, primarily transporting coal and coke to the plant’s blast furnaces. ^[1][2] B&O engineers D. D. Carothers and J. E. Greiner oversaw the construction of the 205-foot double-track bridge, based on designs from the Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Company. The main span of the bridge measured 160 feet in length, and the entire structure, fabricated by the American Bridge Company’s Toledo Plant, weighed 775 tons, not including the 800-ton cast iron counterweight.

In 1950, the bridge’s original lift span motors, two General Electric 50 horsepower railway-type motors, were replaced with modern electric motors. ^[1][2]

By 1973, the B&O, along with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and the Western Maryland Railway, were incorporated under the Chessie System banner. However, they continued to operate as distinct entities. In 1980, Chessie System merged with Seaboard Coast Line to create CSX. The B&O was formally integrated into CSX in 1987.