overkill railroad bridge

[kc7jty]

http://www.kentuckyroads.com/images/ohio_river/360-sciotoville-bridge-1-limedale-ky-04-05-04-l.jpg

CSX ex C&O Siloam, KY.

[PA5COR]

Made for extra heavy loads?, overkill indeed.......

[K7SGJ]

It has to be heavy duty. The Teaparty train will be going over it, and it's packed.

[W3MIV]

I suspect the angle at which the photo was taken and the telephoto effect (evident in the reduced foreshortening) make the mass of the span seem greater in the image than it perhaps is in reality. It is the height of the trusses that captivates me. It appears to be a single-track bridge given the shape of the entry portal at the truss; that central span must be a hell of a lot longer than it appears at the angle of the image. Too bad the trees hide the area under the span over the river -- the presence or absence of piers might give some hint of the length.

A quick bit of research indicates the bridge was built in 1916 and consists of two continuous spans, each of 775 feet, which explains the height. The angle of the image, as I suspected, is key to making it look so odd. It was, and is, considered an engineering marvel.

[PA5COR]

Thanks for supplying extra info Albi.
It sure does explain things a lot better.
I think it still is a marvel, getting older lets one appreciate old things more i guess ;)
And my father in law had for 25 years a restaurant in the train station here in Sneek does help.
He still lives there with his wife in the top section.

This steamtrain will ride in the summer for a few weekends for tourists.

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR0qrZotOsJy4yNPTI9o6VzVQdQ_F19-Vrz2vOdSK-5qinI9Yc&t=1&usg=__xaJvNVwp5glyg3xn41L9ynWeCyE=
;)
http://www.sneek.nl/files/9254/OpenbaarVervoerGS8.jpg

[W3MIV]

That locomotive looks German, Cor. Was it built at home in Holland? Germany was still full of them when I was there in the 1960s. All painted black and red, and most having that curious extension of the piston rod thrusting from the front of the cylinders. Looks to be a consolidation (oOOOO), but hard to tell at that angle.

No other machine in history, save perhaps the loom, looks so much alive as a steam locomotive.

[PA5COR]

It is a German steam locomotive, buildt in 1963, then exported to the Netherlands, completly overhauled.
Wagons, inccluding luxurious dining wagon, a Kof ranging loc etc all are as new and frequently used in the summer.

In the restaurant my father in law had till his pension is now the railway museum.
250 volunteers maintain the steamloc, and all other equipment and run the show, my wife is the secretary for the board.
;)

[WA4TM]

Here is a screen capture of the bridge from Google maps street view...

3348

Click image for larger view..

[WA4TM]

Here is an even better one... http://www.kentuckyroads.com/images/ohio_river/360-sciotoville-bridge-at-twilight-sciotodale-oh-05-03-02-l.jpg

[PA5COR]

Thanks for the finds, makes it more clear now, still a magnificant railroad bridge.
Most of ours were bombed away in WW2, replaced by "modern" bridges, yuk....

[NQ6U]

Here's one from the Feather River Canyon. Not as big an engineering feat but pretty damned spectacular--a bridge over a bridge:

http://www.bridgepix.com/bridge_images/large/3213_l.jpg

Not my photo but I've been to this spot many times.

[W3MIV]

Here is an even better one... http://www.kentuckyroads.com/images/ohio_river/360-sciotoville-bridge-at-twilight-sciotodale-oh-05-03-02-l.jpg

As I suspected, very long spans for a riveted iron-truss bridge dating from 1916. A long string of loaded coal hoppers puts a substantial pull on that truss.

[NQ6U]

As I suspected, very long spans for a riveted iron-truss bridge dating from 1916. A long string of loaded coal hoppers puts a substantial pull on that truss.

Which body of water is that bridge crossing?

EDIT: Never mind--it's the Ohio River. Thanks, Google.

[kc7jty]

Find out if the bridge is still in use, it does not appear in either of my railroad atlases 1948 or 1985

[W3MIV]

Find out if the bridge is still in use, it does not appear in either of my railroad atlases 1948 or 1985

More than you want to know, Billbo: Here. (http://www.historicbridges.org/ohio/sciotoville/) Wikipedia says it is still in use.

[kc7jty]

http://bridgehunter.com/oh/scioto/sciotoville/

my atlases show in on the Ohio map but not on the Kentucky map.

[KG4CGC]

Cool classroom here at the Island.

[kc7jty]

Choo choo class.

[W3MIV]

In my experience, the rusty condition shown in the pix do not obviate continued operation today. B&O was pretty good about maintenance, even near the end of its life, but after being absorbed by the C&O the maintenance schedules seem to have stretched out to far longer intervals.

Thing that always amazes me about those old bridges is the numbers of rivets they contain. Close your eyes and imagine the numbers of workers scrambling over the construction, chucking those red-hot rivets up to a guy with a hand-held little bucket to catch it. The din of all those hammers. The steam and smoke of the derricks. Those were the days when the American laborer was a kingpin of a system that never valued him and has since abandoned him.

[kc7jty]

Those were the days when the American laborer was a kingpin of a system that never valued him and has since abandoned him.
Yep, and a certain percentage was expected to die on a large job on both sides (labor and management). And if you were injured you were out, only family to take care of you, just the way it was.

[HUGH]

At last this structure will only need repainting every 10 years instead of being a continuous process..........

http://www.forthbridges.org.uk/images/RailbridgeMain.jpg

Notice the slender road bridge in the background.

[NQ6U]

That's the Firth of Forth bridge, right? What have they done to decrease the painting frequency?

[kc7jty]

At last this structure will only need repainting every 10 years instead of being a continuous process..........

http://www.forthbridges.org.uk/images/RailbridgeMain.jpg

Notice the slender road bridge in the background.

The old CB&Q RR. (just kidding) Those crazy Scotties.

[HUGH]

That's the Firth of Forth bridge, right? What have they done to decrease the painting frequency?

Zinc-based primer, glass-flake epoxy over that and polyurethane gloss to finish in red oxide colour.

[HUGH]

One more then, the steel giant is a 4-lane road bridge over the River Mersey alongside a much older brick-pier and cast iron structure carrying 2 rail tracks. The entrance towers at either end are quite something though

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQwBgtV8CJ5sPf3vJgNyXvyuib3dUBHz qdYm5EouSXU6N6vKyU&t=1&usg=__tRvi7Br6zFATIpwZ0dH_7RbxroU=

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/e/ethelfleda_bridge/etheldlaeda(1960)bridge_old12.jpg

[W3MIV]

What's gone south with their loco, Hugh? Are they watching the points of that turn-out or is it stopped?

[HUGH]

What's gone south with their loco, Hugh? Are they watching the points of that turn-out or is it stopped?

Photoshoot? Don't know, the picture is at least pre WWII with a standard train of the era.