[7] The first Kinzua Bridge was built by a crew of 40 from 1,552 short tons (1,408 t) of wrought iron in just 94 working days, between May 10 and August 29, 1882.

[1] Excursion trains from as far away as Buffalo, New York, and Pittsburgh would come just to cross the Kinzua Bridge,[10] which held the height record until the Garabit viaduct, 401 feet (122 m) tall, was completed in France in 1884.

[10] People sometimes visited the bridge in hopes of finding the loot of a bank robber, who supposedly hid $40,000 in gold and currency under or near it.

[13] By the start of the 20th century, locomotives were almost 85 percent heavier and the iron bridge could no longer safely carry trains.

When the train was a short distance from the bridge, the crew would send the brakeman over the rooftops of the cars to check on a small supposed problem.

As the train crossed the bridge, the rookie "suddenly found himself terrified, staring down three hundred feet (90 m) from the roof of a rocking boxcar".

Regular commercial service ended on June 21, 1959, and the Erie sold the bridge to the Kovalchick Salvage Company of Indiana, Pennsylvania, for $76,000.

[13] According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Kinzua Bridge "was a critical structure in facilitating the transport of coal from Northwestern Pennsylvania to the Eastern Great Lakes region, and is credited with causing an increase in coal mining that led to significant economic growth.

"[22] Kovalchick worked with local groups who wanted to save the structure, and Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton signed a bill into law on August 12, 1963, to purchase the bridge and nearby land for $50,000 and create Kinzua Bridge State Park.

[25] In 1988 it operated the longest steam train excursion in the United States, a 97-mile (156 km) round trip to the bridge from the village of Marienville in Forest County, with a stop in Kane.

The New York Times described being on the bridge as "more akin to ballooning than railroading" and noted "You stare straight out with nothing between you and an immense sea of verdure a hundred yards [91 m] below.

"[26] The railroad still operated excursions through the forest and stopped at the bridge's western approach until October 2004.

[6] Since 2002, the Kinzua Bridge had been closed to all "recreational pedestrian and railroad usage" after it was determined that the structure was at risk to high winds.

The northern portion of the MCS contained a long-lived mesocyclone, a thunderstorm with a rotating updraft that is often conducive to tornados.

The tornado, classified as F1 on the Fujita scale, passed by the bridge and continued another 2.5 miles (4 km) before it lifted.

[32] When the tornado touched down, the winds had increased to at least 94 miles per hour (151 km/h) and were coming from the east, perpendicular to the bridge, which ran north–south.

[33] Meanwhile, Towers 12 through 14 had actually been picked up off their foundations, moved slightly to the northwest and set back down intact and upright, held together by only the railroad tracks on the bridge.

[6] An investigation determined that the tornado had a wind speed of at least 94 miles per hour (151 km/h), which applied an estimated 90 short tons-force (800 kN) of lateral force against the bridge.

[34] The investigation also hypothesized that the whole structure oscillated laterally four to five times before fatigue started to cause the base bolts to fail.

[40] The Knox and Kane Railroad was forced to suspend operations in October 2006 after a 75 percent decline in the number of passengers, possibly brought about by the collapse of the Kinzua Bridge.

[41] The Kovalchick Corporation bought the Knox and Kane's tracks and all other property owned by the railroad, including the locomotives and rolling stock.

It released $700,000 to design repairs on the remaining towers and plan development of the new park facilities in June 2005.

[42] In late 2005, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) put forward an $8 million proposal for a new observation deck and visitors' center, with plans to allow access to the bridge and a hiking trail giving views of the fallen towers.