overkill railroad bridge

[kc7jty]

http://www.kentuckyroads.com/images/...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.


;)

[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...

Clipboard01.jpg

Click image for larger view..

[WA4TM]

Here is an even better one... http://www.kentuckyroads.com/images/...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....