A Tall Tale!

 
      I had Big things on my mind as I headed out
to do my weekly television program on Electric
City TV this week!
       My guests were from the tiny town of
Nicholson in Wyoming County. But for those
who may not know, that small community hosts
one of the biggest attractions in Pennsylvania!
       Officially, it's the Tunkhannock Viaduct.
Locally folks call it the Nicholson Viaduct. But,
whatever, you call it, it is one very big bridge!  
        Towering some 240 feet over Nicholson
the 2375 foot long trestle carries the Canadian
Pacific railroad tracks over Tunkhannock Creek.
         It took over 500 workers three years to
build the huge span between 1912 and 1915.and
it's still used by freight trains every single day!
         The Viaduct has become a tourist
attraction, especially for photographers, and
hundreds of people flock to Nicholson every
September for "Bridge Day." (This year it's
on the 14th.)
          I asked my guests the usual questions about
the construction project and about plans for their
annual celebration.
          But the answer I was really looking for
had to do with the rumor I've been hearing for
years! Was a worker really buried inside one of
those giant support towers when he fell while on
the job?
          We do know that several men lost their lives
while building the Viaduct. Could one of them be
entombed inside the structure, ever to haunt the
rails and the town below?
           The experts say..."No." They call it a "Tall
Tale" that has become a legend associated with the
bridge. I was a little disappointed. An imposing
structure like this deserves its own ghost!
            Steamtown National Historical site still
runs an occasional excursion to the Viaduct, But
the best way to see it is from the town itself. It's
like looking up at the Pyramids or the Eiffel Tower!
But it's a heck of a lot closer!!!!
            You can check with the "locals." There may
be some other interesting stories "buried" beneath
that bridge!
             Hope you stop, look, and listen, and that
all your NEWS is good.