Why were covered bridges built? I have been searching for a viable reason and cant come up with anything. Railroads tended to be stingy with money, yet it seems like covered bridges would cost more in materials and labor. Anyone have an idea on why they were built?
Regular cover bridges were built to protect the decking from the weather so they would last longer. I don’t know of any railroad having covered bridges.
Generally, they were covered to protect the bridge members against the weather. Almost all are wooden bridges. Almost all are in "bad weather" states.
I guess it makes sense to protect the road deck. There are several around me in Michigan that were converted to bike paths.
There are still many covered bridges in Vermont and New Hampshire. About a decade ago, my daughter was at Dartmouth, and we went hunting for them. Some of them are really out of the way. I'll have to look through my old film pictures.
Im thinking in some cases the roof of covered bridges provided structural integrity...in terms of extra strength and to prevent skewing.
It may have. A roof structure can be pretty rigid. Of the ones I've seen, about a dozen, the roofs and sides seemed to add little to the load bearing structure. The posts and trusses, as well as the iron stay-rods, seemed to be large enough to support the load. But I'd also guess that every little bit helps. I did see one bridge where the roof center beam was connected to the bridge structure; I read that was done at a later date to help support the deck. This bridge was closed to vehicles. A ranger told me that the major problem with most covered bridges was keeping the side walls attached, due to swaying and vibration. Nails were hopeless; they used large-headed screws.
Heres a 2-lane covered bridge still maintained and located on a federal highway. I have been over/through this bridge many times. Philippi Covered Bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Type in Philippi Covered Bridge on google and you'll get pages and pages of pictures and websites.
This covered bridge, built in 1897 by the Rutland Railroad and last used in 1951, has been restored. http://www.virtualvermont.com/coveredbridge/rutlandrr.html http://www.vermontbridges.com/shoreham%20rrcbr.htm http://tc2u.com/home/Vermont_Covere...Shoreham_(RR)_Covered_Bridge_VT_Index_01.html
The main purpose of covering the bridge was as stated - to protect the structure of the bridge. Even if the expense was higher intitally, the RR obviously expected the bridge to last longer. There were plans in an old Model Railroader or perhaps RMC that showed a covered bridge were the tracks ran on the "roof". There was a roof and walls, but below the ties to protect the rest of the structure, not provide cover to the train. Andrew
This could be the case, but does not explain why they are not normally found in warmer climates. As many people explained it primarily protects from the weather. Also snow, and ice would build up faster on bridges then on solid ground due to the cool air under the bridge as opposed to the relatively warmer earth under the roadbed. Brad
Protection is correct. Especially in wetter climates, and where there was snow. Wood treatments in those days was not as we know it now. A famous RR covered bridge, was on the St.Johnsbury & Lamoille County RR. (Which was also known by other company names, before, and after...) There is a site: www.coveredbridgesite.com/vt/fisher.html The Milwaukee Road, in western Washington, had numerous covered bridges. Including at least one that was still covered, into the late 1960's. This was very near where I used to live. Boxcab E50
The Milwaukee Road had a bridge like this. Perhaps it's the one described? It was on their Enumclaw, (WA), branch line. Where they crossed the Green River near Kanaskat. Boxcab E50
Covered bridges were/are truss bridges. The truss members are above the deck and made of wood. The puropse of the cover was to protect the wood not only from rain/snow but also from being dried out and warpped by the sun. As it has been stated before wood perservation was not what it is today. Many of the covered bridges still in service today have been strengthen with steel I-beams placed under the decks. The beams now carry the loads and the trusses and covers are only for show. Many times the old wood trusses could not carry modern loads. In our area Bucks County, PA has quite a few covered bridges. In the Spring they have a covered bridge festival and people come from all over to drive through the bridges. They are all open to regualr everyday traffic. One major problem is morons, usually dunk college students who set the bridges on fire. I just finished a project where we had to restore the cover on the bridge. The existing cover was burnt completely off in the fire. The three men who did the deeed were caught and served jail time. The link shows a photo of the bridge before the fire. East Rockhill Township We hope that the new bridge looks similar when it is complete.
There is a disused railroad covered bridge near Cottage Grove, OR, and I don't know which railroad. There are 51 existing covered bridges in Oregon and my wife and I are on a quest to photograph all of them. We have found (sometimes difficult) over 20 of them so far. Shot a lot of them in New England years ago, and a unique arched one near Clifton Forge, VA. Lots of stories about old time trysts in carriages under the cover of the bridges. Then there are the snow sheds on Donner Pass and elsewhere. Fascinating subject. :tb-biggrin:
white mountain The white mountain central rr at Clarks Trading Post in NH uses a covered bridge to allow their trains to go into "wolfman territorry"
Victoria Bridge...... from Montreal to the South Shore was originally covered when built in 1860 for the Grand Trunk Railway. It was a single tube/track. This lasted until about 1897 when the covering was removed and a second track was added. Later roadways were added on either side of the tracks for motor vehicles. This bridge is still in use (and heavily) by both cars and trains, after 147 years of service. There are two narrowish vehicle lanes in each direction, except at rush hours when everything goes in one direction. Trainwise, there are at least a dozen passenger trains daily that cross the bridge. As well, it provides the main route for freight trains heading east from Montreal/ Dave.
I didn’t know the RR’s built any covered bridges, let alone so many.. I have been around and through many though, Park County Ind, [not far from me] is suppose to be the covered bridge capital with 31 and they have a big countywide festival every fall [Parke County - Covered Bridge Capital of the World ]. I’ve never been to it, to many people and too much walking for me. The wife, her mom and sister’s all go for one day every year, for the yards sales n flea markets. Over by Greenup, IL, the state built a cover bridge bout 3 years ago over the Embarras [em-bra] river on the Cumberland road [old US-40]. It was something to watch them build it. I’ve sure enjoyed this thread.
Fitz, That seems like a worthwhile way to spend an afternoon. Please post some pics of the ones you have found.
