Bridges - favorite, least, newest and falling down?

[KauaiJohn]

It was replaced 30 or more years ago but the old 7 mile bridge built by Flagler for the railroad to Key West and later converted to the overseas highway, was a fantastic experience.

 

[Thirdrail7]

I think we should tip our hats to the Mighty Conn Bridge



and to Metro North's always entertaining Mianus River Bridge

The lack of catenary over the movable portion as well as its proximity between two interlockings has been know to cause havoc!

 

[John Bobinyec]

Come on! Portal deserves at least an honorable mention.

jb

 

[sitzplatz17]

I think we should tip our hats to the Mighty Conn Bridge

I never knew about the Mianus river bridge and the missing catenary section.

All the videos I found show Acelas and EMUs with multiple pantographs rolling over it, how does it work with a NER with only one pantograph on the loco? Just cuts the power for 10 seconds and have to make sure there's enough momentum to make it back to the catenary?

 

[Thirdrail7]

I never knew about the Mianus river bridge and the missing catenary section.

All the videos I found show Acelas and EMUs with multiple pantographs rolling over it, how does it work with a NER with only one pantograph on the loco? Just cuts the power for 10 seconds and have to make sure there's enough momentum to make it back to the catenary?

That about sums it up. You drift along, hoping you have the momentum to make it over the gap. At track speed, this is not an issue. However, that is where the aforementioned "proximity between interlockings" comes into play. There are also train stations on either side of the bridge. The rule of thumb is "one speed under cab signal indication," that way you won't have to brake and risk a penalty. It 'usually" works.

 

[caravanman]

I like old industrial items, and the heavyweight riveted bridges tick that box for me.

I was watching an "amazing trains" type programme on an obscure channel earlier tonight, and they featured an item about freight rail wagons being loaded onto rail barges and taken across the Hudson river into New York. Apparently this was a common thing back in the day, but still exists in limited form today. The loading/docking terminals looked very interesting, anyone know where they can be viewed from?

Ed.

 

[Thirdrail7]

It travels between Brooklyn Yards via Fresh Ponds in Queens and the old Greenville Branch in Jersey City. Here is an article that contains a video: Behind the Scenes at The Floating Freight Rail Line That Crosses the Hudson River in NYC

 

[Pere Flyer]

Got to mention the Mighty Mac, spanning five miles of choppy freshwater and connecting the two Michigan peninsulas.



Also of note in Michigan is the Sault Ste Marie International Bridge:



Two bridges responsible for most cross-water commerce in the Great Lakes State.

Sent from my iPhone using http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=84941]Amtrak Forum

 

[Thirdrail7]

Got to mention the Mighty Mac, spanning five miles of choppy freshwater and connecting the two Michigan peninsulas.

Neither bridge carries train traffic though. This thread is for railroad bridges.

 

[Pere Flyer]

Got to mention the Mighty Mac, spanning five miles of choppy freshwater and connecting the two Michigan peninsulas.

My mistake. Didn’t read the first post. Mods, please feel free to delete if desired.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

 

[Thirdrail7]

My mistake. Didn’t read the first post. Mods, please feel free to delete if desired.

Sent from my iPhone using Amtrak Forum

How can you ask anyone to delete something that references Mighty Mac??? There's an interesting footnote regarding that bridge. Originally, the builder and designer for the bridge was the same person behind the ill-fated Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The plan was for similarly slender bridge stiffened with a shallow plate girder. Can you imagine if they would have built that?

Fortunately, when the project was quick started later, size mattered!

 

[willem]

The Arsenal Bridge (called such on Google Maps) crosses the Mississippi River between Davenport, IA, and Rock Island, IL. It is a double-deck bridge, with vehicles on the lower deck and two train tracks on the upper deck. (In this part of the world, the river runs east-west, and the bridge runs mostly north-south.) The south end of the bridge swings to allow river traffic at Locks and Dam 15, and to allow upstream access to the roller gates of Dam 15.

At the north end of the bridge, the tracks have a relatively sharp curve. Modern (long) cars must use the outside track because they would clip the bridge truss if on the inside track. Also at the north end, the bridge crosses another train track.

The superstructure is built-up sections, riveted together. I understand that Lieutenant Robert E Lee surveyed this part of the river, and Abraham Lincoln defended the railroad in a lawsuit brought by ship companies concerning the hazard to navigation caused by the bridge.