Tuesday, April 30, 2024

1907,1959,2011 Longfellow Bridge over Charles River at Boston, MA

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic BridgesSatellite, 2,722 photos) Cambridge Bridge, Salt and Pepper Shaker Bridge

River View, Oct 2015

"The deck, 105 feet wide and 1728 feet long, is supported by eleven steel-arch spans varying in length from 101 to 188 feet." [HAER_data]

Bridge Hunter and Historic Bridges disagree with the HAER_data:
Length of largest span: 243.1 ft.
Total length: 2,134.9 ft. (0.4 mi.)
Deck width: 90.6 ft.

HAER MASS,13-BOST,80--3
3. Detail view of the piers and towers - Longfellow Bridge, Spanning Charles River at Main Street, Boston, Suffolk County, MA

"The restoration of this bridge is the first known bridge in Massachusetts to use historically correct riveting in the restoration project. Specifically, rivets were used to create replica v-laced columns for the arch spans." [HistoricBridges]

They have sacrificed traffic lanes for bike paths. The tracks carry the Red Line.
Satellite

Street View, Nov 2022

Roger Williams added
Looking at the Longfellow Bridge in Boston in front of the Prudential Center
Roger Williams shared
Roger Williams shared

Two of the construction photos from HistoricBridges:
a and Report, p85

b and Report, p89

HistoricBridges and Archive, p18

Archive, p76

Archive, p78


Monday, April 29, 2024

1914-1976 Lost/NP #4 Bridge over Salmon Bay in Seattle, WA

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Satellite, they filled in the trestle to make a dock.)

Cropped from a 1950 photo, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)

Kurt Einar Armbruster posted
Casey Jones! In 1956 retired Seattle theatrical promoter Carol Cornish and a group of friends thought it would be cool to take people on ‘old-time’ train rides with steam power. So they started Casey Jones Excursions and hit a home run. At first steam-hauled, the chartered Northern Pacific trains became a local institution with their leisurely rambles, often on freight-only branch lines. On Sunday, April 28, 1957, young Seattle railfan Bil Baker snaps Ten-wheeler 1372 heading the third Casey Jones train over the Salmon Bay drawbridge en route to Snoqualmie (a consarned diesel pushing on the rear). And in the second-to-last open-window, red-plush, heavyweight coach, Fred Armbruster, Kurt, Garnis, and Norman take it all in, their first and only trip behind steam locomotion—a day to remember!—Bill Baker photo, Pacific Northwest Railroad Archive
Peter Kim: This may be the first color photo I’ve seen of the NP drawbridge.
Kurt Einar Armbruster posted with the same comment
David Sprau: Thanks for posting. This was part of the original NP (Former Seattle Lake Shore and Eastern / Seattle International) main line from Seattle to Sumas, and I always felt it was neglected as far as photographic documentation goes. Just for the record the line started at Seattle Waterfront, later changed over to start at King St. station, ran via the tunnel to North Portal where it paralleled the GN double track to Interbay, then took off going behind GN roundhouse and onward to this bridge about a mile upstream from the GN bridge bearing same number (4). Then it continued thru U district to Kenmore, Bothell, Woodinville, Maltby, Snohomish, Hartford, Arlington, and Sedro Woolley until reaching Sumas. Totally different route than GN used to reach Canada border.
Evan Beck: This is an extremely rare photo of this bridge. For some reason, there's very few photos of it, especially in color. I believe it was dismantled in 1975? Up until recently, there was a small amount of the approach on the south side of the canal still in place, and was being used as a big carport where some vehicles were stored. Sadly, it was removed last year.
[Someone misidentified this as the Ballard Bridge and that caused quite a few comments about the counterweight problem on that bridge.]

Because of Evan's comment above, I saved a satellite image of the south approach.
Satellite

When I first looked at that photo, I thought it was the Ballard Bridge. But then I noticed the NP Monad on the counterweight. The Ballard Bridge was a GN bridge. So I dug deeper.

StreetSmartNaturalist
"A steel Strauss bascule bridge completed in 1914 as a “permanent and rapid acting type required by the war department,” it was taken down by dynamite on December 10, 1976."

MOHAI, ca. 1917
 
Douglas Butler posted
From Seattlepi.com bridgehunter.com Northern Pacific Salmon Bay Strauss Heel Trunnion Railroad Bascule Bridge in Seattle, WA constructed in 1914 was used by the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railroad was removed in the year of 1976. The span is 191 ft long and is a single track.

From the north, the GN came to Seattle along the west side while the NP came along the east side.
Unfortunately, the new USGS topo website identifies this as 1964 Seattle @ 62,500. Since the Lake Washington Ship Canal was completed in 1917, I knew this map was wrong. So I went back to the old software, and it identifies this as 1909 Seattle @ 62,500.

I was able to find some maps that correctly show the location of this bridge. When GN and NP merged in 1970 to form BN, these two routes became redundant. Obviously, BN choose to use the GN route.
1968 Shilshole Bay and North Seattle Quad @ 24,000

A history about NP and Seattle

Sunday, April 28, 2024

NS/Pennsy Bridge over Olentangy River near Delaware, OH

(Satellite)

The Big Four depot and freight house is extant.

MP Rail Photography posted
NS 426, a train of coke loads, crosses over the Olentangy River in Delaware, Ohio.
April 14, 2024
Delaware, Ohio
Power:
NS 8169 - ES44AC
MP Rail Photography shared

Dennis DeBruler commented on the above share
This was a former Pennsy route. The Pennsy did cross the river in Delaware, OH, but a satellite image showed that it no longer had any tracks. (https://maps.app.goo.gl/1Hj8z5hmh9BptMvVA) Zooming out on a topo map shows that Pennsy had built a freight bypass around the town. That bypass not only keeps it out of the flood plain, it avoids the grades of going down to the river and backup from the river. Your photo does a good job of catching the embankment that was necessary to help cross the river. (I see that the Big Four also had a freight cutoff east of town.)
1924 Delaware Quad @ 24,000

A higher resolution copy of the topo map

MP Rail Photography posted
A set of BNSF GEs lead NS intermodal 266 across the Olentangy River on the NS Sandusky District.
April 28, 2024
Delaware, Ohio
Power:
BNSF 6949 - ES44C4
BNSF 4389 - C44-9W
Roger Riblett shared


Saturday, April 27, 2024

1972 M/V STEWART J. CORT was the first footer on the Great Lakes

A footer is a Great Lakes freighter whose length is 1000' (305m) or more. Because that is too long to fit in the locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway, they have to be built on the Great Lakes. Or at least finished on the Lakes. The first one, Stewart J. Cort had the bow and stern built in Pascagoula, MS, and joined together as Stubby. The other 12 footers were built on the Great Lakes.
Russ Plumb posted
Forty-nine years ago today [6/13/2019], Stubby (Hull 1173) departed the Welland Canal and headed for Erie, PA. Once there, Stubby was cut in half and joined to either end of an 815 foot body section under construction in the shipyard. In 1972, the new vessel joined the Bethlehem Transportation Company fleet and entered service as the first 1000 footer on the Great Lakes -- the Stewart J. Cort (Lake Carriers Bulletin, June-July 1970).
John Lyle There were a few Canadian Lakers built the same way. They were built in Scottish ship yards (bow and stern only. Sailed across the Atlantic then the bow and stern were separated and the cargo section inserted.
Darryl Harper Sections were also added to the sides of the bow and stern to match the width of the center section, to expand from Seaway max of 78 feet to approx 100 feet.( cant recall exact width).
David G. Small I knew the chief engineer, he said every time they picked up a pilot his first question was what is this thing. [When going up the St. Lawrence Seaway.]

"The Cort is the only 1000-footer with pilot house forward. All crew accommodations are also forward. Her self-unloading system’s shuttle boom is contained within the after cabin structure." [interlake]

"The construction length was 182 ft. x 75 ft. wide." The final dimensions are "1000 ft. x 106 ft. x 45 ft." [Freehan, Robert. "Stewart J. Cort." Clio: Your Guide to History. February 26, 2023. Accessed April 27, 2024https://theclio.com/entry/164545
Stubby's width above of 75' must be wrong because it is 106' wide.

I knew it was an old Laker because it has a superstructure on the bow. It was the only Footer built with her pilot house forward. The rest of the 1000-footers were built in shipyards on the Great Lakes.
Interlake

Destination Duluth posted
The First and Last (and Longest)...
Stewart J. Cort (the first 1000-footer in 1972) takes a delay at the Port of Duluth while the Paul R. Tregurtha (the last built in 1981 and longest footer at 1,013.5 feet) glides past with coal loaded at Midwest Energy for DTE St. Clair, Michigan. Duluth, MN - April 3, 2023 

She has a regular route carrying iron ore between Superior, WI, and Burns Harbor, IN. When I accessed MarineTraffic, it had recently docked at Burns Harbor. She has a stern self-unloader instead of the more typical boom self-unloader. This makes it easier to load and faster to unload, but it limits the docks that can accommodate her. But if she unloads only at Burns Harbor, that is not a big deal.
MarineTraffic
[A popup on that page indicates that its speed range is 5.18-12.70 knots.]

National Museum of the Great Lakes posted three photos with the comment:
This #ThrowbackThursday we take a look at July 3, 1972, and the launching of the Lakes' first 1,000 footer! This massive vessel was built in three sections. The forward and stern were assembled in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and later floated to Erie, Pennsylvania where the 815-foot mid-section was waiting to be attached. Bethlehem Steel launched the CORT making it the vessel first in its own class. 
👉 DID YOU KNOW: There are now thirteen 1,000 footers to date, all of which are still in operation today.
[The comments have contemporary photos and a video.]
Great Lakes Shipping History shared
1

2

3
Anne Boyd Earle: "Stubby"!

Paul Erspamer commented on Great Lakes Shipping History's share
CORT taking shape in Erie, 1972.
Kevin Skow: Cort is on the right, Presque Isle is in the the middle of the photo.

Apr 26, 2024:
Interlake Steamship Company posted
Our M/V Stewart J. Cort is back in the water again as the dry dock is flooded at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding this evening.
Mychel Mazza: What does M/V stand for????? Interlake Steamship Company: Mychel Mazza motor vessel! [As opposed to SS, which means steamship. (other prefixes)] James Torgeson shared
The former Bethlehem Steel Great Lakes flagship and the first 1000' lake freighter, the Stewart J. Cort, is floated from a drydock [in Sturgeon Bay] after needed work and USCG inspection. She's now owned by MassMutual, but sails for the Interlake Steamship Company. (Note that the wide angle lens used for the photograph has distorted the ship's proportions!) Shaun Connelly: I see that ship all the time at Cliffs burns harbor. James Torgeson: Shaun Connelly That's her only destination, and the one she was built to serve!

Sep 26, 2024:
Andrew Dean Detroit posted three photos with the comment:
Stewart J. Cort heading up St. Mary’s River. The trees are just starting to show some signs of fall colors. 
So nice to finally get some drone shots of the first 1000 footer ever built!
1

2

3


A video of Stewart J. Cort at the Soo Bridges (source)  1970, BoatNerd.

A time-lapse video of the M/V Stewart J. Cort going to the BNSF dock in Superior WI.

It has its own Facebook group, but it is private.


Friday, April 26, 2024

Pathway, Peace and Fox Hollow Pedestrian Bridges in Calgary, AB

Pathway: (Satellite) over Bow River 
Peace: (Satellite, 9,837 photos) over Bow River 
Eric Harvie: (Satellite, 134 photos) over Bow River
Fox Hollow: (Satellite) over Deerfoot Trail (an expressway)

While looking for the "Pathway" bridge in this post, I noticed that this town has a lot of pedestrian bridges over the Bow River! The Peace Bridge struck me as extra special.

Tanweer Malik posted three photos with the comment: "An interesting and good-looking double-deck bridge over Bow River in Calgary. The upper deck carries Light Rail Transit. The lower deck is for pedestrians. The lower deck passes through a large hole in each pier where it rests on bearings. But the lower deck is also supported by tension hangers connected to the upper deck."
Kyle Ack: This is a very unique bridge, basically an upside down structural system. main structural component of the span is a hollow cast box girder that is at the same elevation as the trackbed and rests between the inbound and outbound tracks. This is unconventional and was done to reduce the overall elevation change as the trackbed crosses the river
1

2

3

Maybe this is unusual for concrete girder bridges, but it is very common for steel girder bridges.
Tanweer Malik commented on Kyle's comment
I found this online. The diagram explains the deck system.
.

Peace Bridge


 Asset Reconnaissance International, Jul 2021

Tanweer Malik posted five photos with the comment: "Peace Bridge - a landmark pedestrian bridge over the Bow River in Calgary. A plaque for this bridge describes the steel structure as a "sculptural, mathematically derived form". Then it quotes the designer Santiago Calatrava about the geometry (last photo)."
1

2

3

4

5
.

Eric Harvie


Tanweer Malik posted four photos with the comment: "Eric Harvey Bridge over Bow River in Calgary, Canada."
1

2

3

4
.

1996 Fox Hollow


Street View, Jul 2023

It is a rod-stayed bridge, but I'm using the "bridgeCable" label for it. 

Tanweer Malik posted four photos on Linkdin with the comment: "Fox Hollow Pedestrian Bridge over Deerfoot Trail in Calgary. The A-frame tower and the deck segments of this rod-stayed bridge are consisted of precast concrete segments. The following paper includes structural drawings and construction photos of this interesting bridge. Compared to the original construction, the rod stays of the present bridge have been stiffened with additional hold-downs and wires. This measure likely reduces the wind-induced vibration and fatigue of the rods. https://lnkd.in/ghT_jsmz"
1

2

3

4

pci
"The new $920,000 Fox Hollow Pedestrian Bridge (see Fig. 1) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is a two-span symmetrical cable-stayed structure with a total length of 90 m (295 ft). The bridge stays are in a harp or parallel [harp] arrangement and are supported by a single A-frame tower at the median. The deck and tower components are all constructed using precast concrete....The two spans are each 45 m (147.6 ft) long, making an overall span of 90 m (295 ft)....The A-frame tower rises 30 m (98 ft) above the median."

Tanweer Malick posted five photos with the comment: "Fox Hollow Pedestrian Bridge over Deerfoot Trail in Calgary, Canada."
1

2

3

4

5