Available in Lockport NY. Great starting price, but postage and handling will cost you! The 2 year window is pretty helpful however.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Train-Trestle-Bridge-Railroad-Track-Real-Wrought-Iron_W0QQitemZ130052027606QQihZ003QQcategoryZ130QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And no, I have no involvement in the sale...

I wonder if this is well suited for replacing the missing Sciantic River bridge that the Connecticut Trolley Museum is planning to someday replace for their eventual extension to Broad Brook, Connecticut.

Here are photos of the piers:

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 019212.jpg

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 419115.jpg

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... 418970.jpg


EH

"I did a meterological analysis and this tressel is made of genuine wrought iron metal."

How could this person have performed a test when he doesn't even know what the correct name of the test is? Or did he check to see how well the bridge has weathered the elements over the years? Anyone want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge instead................it sounds like a similar situation?

Don C.

You do not suppose he meant METALURGICAL?? Also suspect was the statement about changing to a wider track gauge. Do you figure this was built to 3 foot narrow gauge or someone merely already pulled the bridge guard rails out?

Bob Kutella

Don, I too wondered what the weather near the bridge had to do with it's composition. If I recall correctly, about 50 years ago in metal shop I constructed a wrought iron sign post. The inner rails and "tressel" (sic) don't give me a lot of confidence in the seller.

"Stone pylons are not included as part of auction, just the bridge structure"

Well, that is a deal killer. If the stone pylons were included, I might have considered it!

ha ha

Fitz,
I agree and that is what made me a little skeptical. I would also say that the seller's perceived re-gauging of the railroad is nothing more than the removal of the guard rails, as Bob suggests. This will be an interesting one to watch. If the alleged seller actually has rights to the structure, it seems that it would make better fodder for the local scrap merchant.

Don C.

Rather than make fun of the guy, we should be thinking about what it could be used for. I did ask the guy who actually owned it and this was his response:

"I do. It is sitting entirely on 8 acres of property I own. The company that built it and had the right of way went out of business in the 50's. The Tracks are cut off on both ends of it and the business next door just built a warehouse over where they used to run."

So, what can it be used for or by whom?

J.R. May
Wall, NJ

"So, what can it be used for or by whom? "

Of course this has a lot of history in it, and probably should be preserved. But to move it, it would best be dismantled. I did not look too closely but if pin connected that would be easier than a riveted structure.

So, build a falseworks underneath, dismantle after marking, move to a new site, reassemble, again probably with some temporary falseworks. If merely as an exhibit, on or near the ground, what is your guess? I would start with $100K. Double or triple that if you had to design and build piers to have it cross a roadway, stream, etc.

If it were to be used for a rail application, you would have to inspect structurally, and probably de-rate the design for age, just as we do with boilers.

So, if I were sitting on that kind of preservation money, I would have to look closely at my priorities to see what could be accomplished on other projects, before first committing to the bridge.

Bob Kutella

He must have visited RYPN and read this thread. I see his description has been revised and "meterological" has become "metalurgical".

Also, how do we know it was used by an interurban. It sure looks like a standard "steam" railroad bridge to me.

Tim

Saw a show on PBS or a cable channel a few months back that had the Military moving several in tact bridge spans by helicopter to a new location. It was pretty neat and the old roadway bridge was saved and reused in a park.

There are companies out there that buy old structures such as these, dismantle them and then store them for re-use. Then they are sold specifically for the antique appeal. This bridge could easily be taken apart and stored, just like the RR preservation groups do with turntables.

Just a matter of finding the money to take it apart and haul it away.

Chris

Bob,

didn't the Illinois Railway Museum move a two or three section metal bridge about three years ago?

I am sure you go help from the City of Chicago with the project?

If I recall a new bridge was needed to extend the museum's trolley loop.

Your project didn't go anywhere near $100,000 did it?

Ted Miles

> How could this person have performed a test when he
> doesn't even know what the correct name of the test is?

Not everyone is skilled in writing and spelling. I used to work with a foreman who was a real expert in track construction. He knew his craft and knew it very well.

His wife filled out his daily reports for him each day. I thought it was due to her having better handwriting, but after a while he confided that the real reason was that he could not read or write. I don't mean poor spelling, I mean this man literally did not know how to write. He could, just barely, sign his name. That was it. How he got through life like that I'm not certain, but he did.

Had I known that before knowing his work, it would have clouded my opinion of him. As it was, it taught me to not judge others.

While caution would certainly be advised in a case like this, don't jump to conclusions either.

We did get a few sections of a riveted plate girder design, and the intention is to someday bridge our creek toward development of property to our east. I do not know what it cost to take down and haul out to our site.

The engineering and permits to design and site the new location for the existing spans is $20,000. That is before the first shovelful of earth turns. The spans themselves may need an inspection and repair since it has been decades since they were last used for freight. Then I think they were ballasted deck, and that might not be good news for the pans and possible corrosion.

This probably does not exceed 120 feet total and the New York ones total twice that span. It is amazing how fast money can be spent, and a volunteer group often faces a wake up call when it comes to projects that cannot be done with in house free labor.

Bob Kutella

I'm not a metallurgist (however you speel that...) so I don't know the details, but I seem to recall that wrought iron would not be as good as steel if you actually wanted to consider using this structure.

Anyone know details? Does it become brittle with age, or crack more easily, or is it simply just not as strong to begin with?