You might say Susan Anderson was weeding through history, or perhaps digging up the past.

But her work yanking and cutting weeds and other vegetation away from the historic granite walls of the Thomas Viaduct on May 17 was really about the future, she said.

The 62-year-old Anderson wants to stop the famous structure that spans the Patapsco River between Relay and Elkridge from being swallowed by greenery, so that her three grandchildren will be able to enjoy it -- just as she has enjoyed it for the last four decades while living in Jessup, then Arbutus, and now in Elkridge.

"I just want to clean it off so people can see it and take pictures of it and enjoy it, because that's what it's here for," Anderson said as she stood on the stepped wall of the viaduct along Levering Avenue in Elkridge, a pair of pruning shears in hand.

"People should be able to enjoy their community history."

In that thought, Anderson is not alone.

On both sides of the river, residents are raising concern that the viaduct, built as part of the B&O Railroad in 1835 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964, isn't receiving the care it should.

In addition to weeding the structure, planning its restoration and calling officials at CSX Transportation -- the freight company that owns the viaduct and still uses it to carry trains between Baltimore and Washington -- the volunteers are taking it upon themselves to act as stewards of the structure.

"We're trying to generate some activity," said John Ferguson, a Catonsville resident and sculptor who has been working with his friend James Dilts, of Baltimore City, to form a restoration plan that could be presented to CSX.

"We need to get it renovated or restored, whichever word you want to use," Ferguson said.

He and other residents said they lament the fact that the viaduct's original cast iron railings are in a state of disrepair.

They note that some of the viaduct's granite stones seem precariously positioned.

And they cringe at the thought of the 175-year-old white stone obelisk -- which stands in honor of the viaduct at its Relay end -- being covered in profane and racist graffiti.

"It's one of those things where we're watching (the viaduct) deteriorate, and it's sad," said Kim Box, president of the Relay Improvement Association.

"We feel it almost personally, because it's our neighborhood," she said.

"But to (CSX), it's functional," she said. "There's nothing about the viaduct that is non-functional for their purposes, so of course you're going to have two different views of how much effort and money should be placed into it."

According to Bob Sullivan, a CSX spokesman, the viaduct is "inspected regularly" -- the last time was in April -- and there are "no issues there that require any repairs at this time."

He added that CSX "certainly wants to be a good neighbor," and is open to having discussions with community residents about some of the non-structural elements of the bridge.

"If there are concerns or proposals, we're certainly always open to working with members of the community," he said.

Residents, however, seem unconvinced, and express frustration for what they deem to be CSX's disregard for the viaduct's historical and cultural relevance.

"I don't want to degrade the railroad; they have to make money, and I understand that," said Ray Chism, a resident of Relay since the 1940s and a member of the Relay Improvement Association.

"But I do think they could take a little more interest."

Dilts, who published a book about the B&O Railroad in 1993 called "The Great Road," said he and Ferguson are "not interested in badmouthing CSX." They are, however, "interested in improving conditions" by organizing the community.

They and others said they've witnessed a swelling of interest in the viaduct recently, and are encouraged.

Still, community organization has not always meant solutions at the viaduct.

According to John Slater, vice president of the Friends of Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway group, he and other group members drafted a detailed plan years ago to use the Patapsco Valley State Park's access to the viaduct as a launching point for an elaborate public area from which to view the viaduct and the trains that travel across it.

"In short, we were trying to create an old-fashioned train platform, one that would have been reminiscent of the type of platform that would have been there in the past," said Slater, a Columbia resident and president of Slater Associates, a landscape architecture firm.

"It would have been safe, had railings and an interpretive panel or two that would have talked about different aspects of the viaduct and the (Viaduct Hotel) that was there," he said.

But "in working with CSX, we kind of hit a roadblock," Slater said.

"Their concerns for safety and so forth were such that we finally decided we would just give it a rest for a while."

Now, Slater said, it is "time for us to get active again."

Ferguson and Dilts said they are ready to assist in any way they can.

"Dilts is a piranha, and I'm a piranha's best friend, and we're going to make this happen," Ferguson said.

As for Anderson, she said she'll continue to do her part by hacking away at the weeds growing over the stones.

She likes the solitude, and the opportunity to think about all the work that went into building the structure so long ago, she said.

Her friends sometimes tell her that what she is doing is a "thankless job," she said, but she doesn't look at it that way.

"I do it on my own when I have the time," she said. "It's enjoyable for me."

Pointing to a set of 20 steps bordered by with an old, rusting railing that rises up the side of the viaduct, she said, "You know what bothers me? You could hardly see those steps before."

Now, thanks to Anderson, the steps are clear of overgrowth, almost stark in their steep, steeped-in-history stance.

Their visibility, Anderson said, is the only reward she'll ever need.

"I get a certain sense of peace out of doing this," she said. "I'll do it until I can't do it any more."

---

user comments (0)