Railroad Covered Bridge south of Monkton Mills

Evidence of a railroad covered bridge over the Gunpowder Falls just below Monkton Mills comes from various articles in the Baltimore Sun in the mid 1800s. The railroad was originally owned by the Susquehanna Railroad until 1854 when a financial crisis caused its collapse. On March 10, 1854 the Maryland Legislature authorized the Baltimore and Susquehanna, York and Maryland Line, York and Cumberland and Susquehanna Railroads to merge and restructure as the Northern Central Railway Company, frequently referred to as NCRR. The railway crossed the Great Gunpowder Falls a few times as it wound its way along the Gunpowder from Baltimore City to Pennsylvania.

An article in the Baltimore Sun dated May 15, 1854:

STORM--We were visited by a fine shower on Wednesday, accompanied by wind. The railroad bridge below Monkton had its roof blown off, and other damage was done in that section of the county.

Another article in the Baltimore Sun on May 23, 1860 talked about a brief fire on the bridge:

As one of the burden trains passed over the Northern Central Railroad this morning, going out, it set on fire the bridge over the Gunpowder, near Monkton, and had it not been for the accident being discovered by a farmer, who with others extinguished the flames, the bridge would have been destroyed.

And yet one more article in the Baltimore Sun dated November 30, 1861 told about two soldiers being hurt at the railway bridge:

TWO SOLDIERS HURT--At a late hour on Monday night two soldiers of a Pennsylvania regiment were badly injured at a bridge on the Northern Central Railway, near Monkton. They got on top of one of the cars at Harrisburg, and though advised that it was dangerous, insisted on retaining the place. When they neared the bridge, a covered structure, they were both knocked off. The train was checked and the injured men taken up and brought to this city.