The Thomas Viaduct spans the Patapsco River and Patapsco Valley between Relay, Maryland and Elkridge, Maryland, USA. It was commissioned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O); built between July 4, 1833, and July 4, 1835; and named for Philip E. Thomas, the company's first president. Some claim it to be the world's oldest multiple arched stone railroad bridge. However, the Sankey Viaduct on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was opened in 1830 and finally completed in 1833.
Thomas Viaduct
Thomas Viaduct, c. 1858
The Royal Blue on the Thomas Viaduct, Relay, Maryland, in 1937
Aerial view, c. 1977
The Patapsco River mainstem is a 39-mile (63 km) river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore. With its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howard County, Maryland. The name "Patapsco" is derived from the Algonquian pota-psk-ut, which translates to "backwater" or "tide covered with froth".
Patapsco Valley State Park at Catonsville
The Inner Harbor viewed from the Baltimore Aquarium
Liberty Reservoir
Volunteers at a community cleanup of Herbert Run, a tributary of the Patapsco River running through Arbutus, Maryland