This is the Conemaugh Gap Railroad Bridge, often simply called the Conemaugh Gap Bridge, on the east side of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
It spans the railroad tracks near the mouth of the Conemaugh Gap, where the Conemaugh River cuts through Laurel Ridge. From your vantage point, you’re looking toward the wooded mountain that forms the gap. The bridge is one of the most photographed railroad bridges in the Johnstown area because of its distinctive green steel through-truss design and dramatic mountain backdrop.
A few interesting facts:
- Railroad heritage: The bridge carries a railroad line through one of western Pennsylvania’s busiest rail corridors. Johnstown has been a major rail hub since the days of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and freight traffic still passes through regularly.
- Steel construction: The bridge is a classic through-truss design, built to support the heavy loads of coal, steel, and freight trains that have been a part of the region’s economy for over a century.
- Photographer favorite: The location is especially popular at blue hour and night, when the bridge lighting contrasts with the dark mountain silhouette. Your image captures that effect beautifully, with the illuminated bridge beneath a star-filled sky.
- Nearby landmarks: Within a few minutes are the historic Johnstown Inclined Plane, Point Stadium, and the Stone Bridge—the famous railroad bridge that survived the catastrophic 1889 flood and became the site of the tragic debris fire.