The Northwestern Pacific's Haystack bridge in Petaluma, CA is available for free to qualified non-profits. The bridge is being replaced with a bascule structure relocated from Galveston, TX for the new SMART commuter operation. The swing bridge is National Register-eligible, so the transit agency is trying to see that another entity preserves it.

Needless to say, costs of relocating and reconstructing the bridge are up to whomever takes it.

http://www2.sonomamarintrain.org/
http://www2.sonomamarintrain.org/userfiles/Haystack_Bridge_NOA.pdf

More info:

http://bridgehunter.com/ca/sonoma/petaluma-railroad/

Hi,

First Funny, change the round pilings and you could turn a short train on it.

Next, how long is the bridge?

Thanks.

Doug vV

One hundred eighty feet (10110100 feet in binary).

Sure wish I could do something - I need to cross a creek and flood plain for a distance of about 150' here in Georgia.

Doug vV

I'm glad the not-old bridge (replaced in the 1990s I believe) from Galveston is finding a new home!

CD

Does this mean that Galveston, Tex., including its railroad museum, is to be physically isolated from the rest of the National Network?

Not from the looks of this:

http://www.cianbro.com/ProjectsMarkets/ ... ridge.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Causeway

Not at all. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway goes through the Galveston Causeway. The original bridge - hinged from the mainland side - was large enough and served for many decades. Then, the Coast Guard (or some other authority) decided it wasn't big enough, and the opening was widened and a new span (hinged from the island side) was installed around 1990.
Several years ago, the operating authority decided that recent bridge wasn't big enough, and ordered a much larger replacement installed. This is why the existing bridge is headed to California, it's still very young in lifespan with many years of service left.
Thankfully, BNSF (who owns the bridge from ancestor GC&SF) decided it's economically viable to replace the bridge - although there was likely some (highly justified) governmental assistance involved.
ETA: It'd be nice if UP picked up the 'free' bridge to replace the burned ex-SP (GH&SA) bridge over Clear Lake that has been gone 20 years or so!

CD

I believe the Corps Of Engineers paid for the new structure after deciding the old, "new" bridge wasn't big enough. There were rumblings the UP was going to buy the old bridge to use on the Clear Creek Channel, which would essentially give them two main lines to Galveston.

Hi,

My second job after college was at Clear Lake City. I worked at Johnson Space Center. Only for a year - Dad died and had to help out Mom.

But 1982/3 was an exciting time in Mission Control. Now I'll be 60 this November. Gad Thanks for reminding me about a year in my life with Galveston and Clear Lake and NASA and everything else.

Doug vV

All,

It appears to not be pin connected, although it's early enough to be.


Doug,

You could probably disasemble the bridge, ship it to your property and reassemble it for $100k or so - not counting abutments, decking and the spin mechanism. Actually, not a bad price for a 180' span, especially considering it looks like it's in very good shape!

Regards,

Art S.

Yeah, I think I overstated that pin-connected thing. It looks to me like the top chord tension bars are pin-connected, but the rest of the joints are riveted and/or bolted, making this more of hybrid.

I hope it is clear to anyone interested that the bridge cannot span 180'. It needs a center support where the pivot is. This means the maximum span is probably closer to 80'.

The second URL in the original post confirms this - it is two 90-foot trusses tied together at the top with eyebars. I'm not sure how the bottoms are connected.

Hi,

$100,000 for a bridge is out of my range. I'll probably just use an old flat car and drive through instead of over the flood plain.

Doug vV