Inception
The Canton Viaduct was erected in 1835 by the B&P, one of the first New England railroads, shortly after its 1831 founding. Thomas B. Wales, one of the original families of Boston, and owner of the T.B. Wales & Co. Shipping Company, was the first president of the B&P, The Taunton Branch Railroad, as well as the Western Railroad Corporation. Due to his friendship with prominent New England families, including the Revere family, they were able to bring the Canton Viaduct to fruition. The T.B. Wales & Co. clipper ships brought raw materials for manufacturing companies from its dock (Wales Wharf) and Counting House (Long Wharf) to various areas in New England. Without the influence of individuals such as Thomas B. Wales, Joseph Warren Revere, owner of the Revere Copper Company and major stockholders (most of whom were Board members), the Canton Viaduct would not have been built. There were better routes through other towns for the location of the railroad line from Boston to Providence. However, building the railroad through Canton placed the line close to Paul Revere's Copper Rolling Mill, where a half mile spur (using strap rails and horse power) connected the mill to Canton Junction and undoubtedly gave a boost to Revere's copper business. The other influencing factor that caused the Canton Viaduct to be built was a fatal accident in 1832 on the Granite Railroad, which used inclined planes to cross a valley. The original plans called for the use of inclined planes to cross the Canton River Valley (Canton Dale), but they were changed after the inclined plane accident, and a viaduct was built instead. This unique viaduct was designed by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Officer and West Point graduate - Captain William Gibbs McNeill. He was assisted by engineers, Major George Washington Whistler (McNeill's brother-in-law), Major General Isaac Ridgeway Trimble and General William Raymond Lee. The viaduct was built by the Dodd & Baldwin company from Pennsylvania. Around this time, Russia was interested in building railroads. Tsar Nicholas I sent workmen to draw extensive diagrams of the Canton Viaduct. He later summoned Whistler to Russia as a consulting engineer to design the Moscow–Saint Petersburg Railway, on which two viaducts were modeled after the Canton Viaduct. A scale model viaduct of similar design is on display at the Oktyabrsky Railroad Museum in St. Petersburg.
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