NORTHWEST PA. Officials to prosecute Kinzua Viaduct thefts

Park officials also have pictures of people taking pieces of the bridge.
PITTSBURGH -- Whether seeking souvenirs or scrap metal, people taking wreckage from a massive train bridge that collapsed in a tornado in western Pennsylvania on Monday will be prosecuted, officials said.
"It's property of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and it is not permitted," said Barrett Clark, manager of the Kinzua Bridge State Park, which owns the partly destroyed Kinzua Viaduct. "Basically what they are doing is stealing from the residents of Pennsylvania."
Clark was investigating a report that at least one person hauled away a pickup truck full of debris. Park officials also have photographs showing people taking items and will be tracking them down.
The wreckage will be analyzed to see if any of it could be used for reconstruction -- if officials determine that's possible -- or for another use, Clark said Thursday. The historical viaduct was in the midst of a $12 million renovation.
Historical significance
The viaduct was once the tallest and largest railroad bridge in the world, standing 301 feet high and stretching almost a half-mile across the Kinzua Valley 110 miles northeast of Pittsburgh on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest.
Built of iron in 1882 and rebuilt of steel in 1900, the bridge is on the National Register of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and National Register of Historic Places.
Besides the fear of looting items of railroading and engineering significance, safety also is a concern.
"The site is extremely, extremely unstable and unsafe," Clark said. "They touch one piece, it could fall and kill them. ... Engineers won't even go into the debris field right now."
The park would likely remain closed for at least another week until crews can clear debris so visitors can view the wreckage.
"We understand there's curiosity seekers and we understand they want to see the damage," Clark said. "There's quite a few people showing up at the gate."
"I wouldn't mind going up there and getting a couple of souvenirs myself," chuckled Dick Robertson, a director of the McKean County Historical Society and longtime admirer of the viaduct. "But being that the park owns the bridge, the park owns the junk when it's down."
What's on eBay
Though no wreckage was being offered as of Thursday afternoon on Internet auction site eBay, 20 items related to the bridge were being auctioned, up from five before Monday. They included postcards, pictures and two newspapers documenting the fall.
People entering the park could be charged with trespassing and anyone taking or possessing items could be charged with receiving stolen property or theft, said Terry Brady, a spokesman with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.