THE "PEG LEG"

1879. Bradford officially becomes a city.
Money – yes.
Ambition – yes.
Common sense – slightly less than ideal.
When people have money and boldness, they allow themselves not only luxury, but experiments.
Sometimes – too bold.
One of those overly bold ideas was the experimental monorail nicknamed “Peg Leg.”
One of the first in the United States.
Sounds cool.
In practice… you’ll see.

January 28, 1879:

• a boiler explosion
•  six people killed
• the project closed forever

This was the moment Bradford realized:
technology is good – but physics deserves respect.
Innovation is good – but safety is more important than ambition.
The city grew up.
But the spirit of invention didn’t disappear.
Someone here was always improving something – not for fame, but for practicality.
And from this environment, something very interesting – and globally famous – would later be born.

In 2003 a tornado tore through the Kinzua Bridge and dropped 11 of its 20 towers into the gorge.
Instead of leaving it or rebuilding the whole span, in 2011 the remaining section was repurposed into the Kinzua Sky Walk.
And the legacy speaks for itself: it’s a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.