Railway viaduct

“ We now approach one of the most magnificent parts of the railway, and of the scenery skirting it; the Vale Royal Viaduct, over which the line passes for five hundred feet, and beneath which the river Weaver winds through the vale in graceful sweeps, girt with verdant meadows; on the E. it is crossed by the simple old bridge, now looking very humble, in the presence of its magnificent neighbour. The viaduct consists of five arches of immense span, it is built of a reddish stone, and is a noble erection. ”

“ But finally the engineering firm of Clarke, Reeves & Co. agreed to build the viaduct, shown above, for a much less sum than any other method of crossing would have cost. This viaduct was built in four months. It is 305 feet high and about 2,400 feet long. The skeleton piers were first erected by means of their own posts, and afterward the girders were placed by means of a travelling scaffold on the top, projecting over about 80 feet. No staging of any kind was used, nor even ladders, as the men climbed up the diagonal rods of the piers, as a cat will run up a tree. ”

“ Then there is Robert Stephenson’s great railway viaduct, the Royal Border Bridge, which it is the fashion to praise up to the skies, as it well-nigh reaches them. As a successful bit of engineering, it is no doubt all very well ”

“ Near to where the stream is further swollen by receiving the waters of the Ceiriog, it is spanned by the majestic aqueduct which carries the waters of the Ellesmere Canal, one of those few architectural achievements which, placed where Nature has done her utmost, add a new beauty to their surroundings. Even more unrestrained praise might be given to the fine, slender, lofty pillars and arches of the Dee viaduct, which is among the greatest works of the Great Western Railway. The aqueduct is Telford’s work, and the viaduct was built by Robertson. ”

“ Newport Street has only one inhabited side; the other is formed by the railway viaduct, the arches of which are boarded up and made to serve for stables, warehouses, workshops. Moreover, the thoroughfare is very badly lighted; on the railway side one can walk along at night-time without risk of recognition. Totty availed herself of this gloom, and kept nearly opposite to Luke. ”

“ The permanent viaduct girders were put in place from east to west across the avenue, and the girders "C" were supported on the deck of the permanent viaduct approximately under the west elevated railway columns before the west portion of the avenue was excavated, the central portion of the south abutment having been constructed before the west portion. This procedure was adopted only at the north girders "C" at elevated railway column No. 488, the south set of girders "C" being on the rock immediately south of the south abutment. Figs. 2 and 4, Plate XLIX, and Fig. ”

“ Bridges and viaducts consisting of arches of masonry or brickwork form the most substantial and permanent works of construction for railway purposes; once properly built, the expenditure on future maintenance or repairs is merely nominal. For viaducts the span of the arching must be regulated by the height of the viaduct. The greater the height the larger the span. In one case 30-feet spans may be suitable, whereas in another it may be more economical to introduce spans of 60 feet or more, and so reduce the number of lofty piers. ”

“ Probably the most interesting feature of this contract was the support and maintenance of Ninth Avenue, which has a three-track elevated railway structure and a two-track surface railway structure, on which it was necessary to maintain traffic while excavation was made to a depth of about 60 ft., and a viaduct was erected to carry Ninth Avenue. The length of this viaduct is about 375 ft., and the steelwork and its erection was done apart from the North River Division work, but all excavation and underpinning was included in this division. ”

“ The general height of the subways will be about 11 feet 6 inches and their width 7 feet; they will be of brickwork, excepting where they are carried over the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway; there they will be of iron. In each subway provision is made for water, gas, and telegraph pipes, all of which will be so placed that their joints can be inspected, and repairs made without difficulty.
The mode of construction of sewers, drains, and street gullies is such that it will never be necessary to break up the surface of the Viaduct to repair or cleanse them. ”

“ The east and west sides of the avenue were closed, vehicular traffic was turned into the center, and a trestle for pedestrians was constructed west of the westerly elevated railway columns. All structures were then supported on transverse girders, running across the avenue, below the surface, and these rested on concrete piers on the central rock core. The sides of the avenue were then excavated to sub-grade, and the permanent steel viaduct was erected on both sides of the avenue as close as possible to the central rock core. ”

“ Fig. 137 gives the particulars of one 60-foot span of a viaduct carrying a double line of railway over tidal water. The main girders are placed one under each line of rails, and all the four are strongly tied together by lattice-work bracing the full depth of the girders. The outside footpaths for the platelayers are carried on strong brackets, riveted to the main girders. Longitudinal timbers, coped with angle iron, are placed as outside guards, alongside each rail, for the full length of the viaduct. Wrought-iron ballast-plates are placed between the running-rails. ”

“ The necessity of the viaduct, and the manner of its construction, were primarily vested in the discretion of the city authorities, and that they have found cause to leave some part of the street still open to traffic does not afford any reason why the principal part of the traffic, including that of the street railway company, might not, in the interest of the public safety, be required to be carried by the overhead structure. ”

“ The tunnels too are as numerous as the viaducts. In fact the train no sooner emerges from a tunnel than it finds itself skimming over a viaduct, only to plunge once more into a tunnel or a gallery. The device for crossing a lateral valley described above in the case of the Brenner is also resorted to here, and need not be further alluded to.
The proportionate cost of the Semmering railway was more than double that of the Brenner, being about sixty thousand pounds per mile. ”

“ Unluckily, stones have grown locomotive of late, and “Birnam Wood doth come to Dunsinane,” for the fatal rocks have become part of the grand viaduct, which, far from bringing ill to the noble Delamere, is a link in the mighty chain now weaving, which shall bind together art, science, talent, wealth, and greatness, for the good of all who are so blessed as to live in the age of RAILROADS.
The line passes through a deep cutting before arriving at the
HARTFORD STATION. Distance to Birmingham, 653⁄4—Liverpool and Manchester, 313⁄4 miles. ”

“ The principal openings for these large river viaducts are generally constructed for girders, partly on account of the greater facility of girder work for large spans, and also for the advantage of having one uniform height, or headway, from pier to pier.
For a high-level viaduct across a deep-water river, the cost of the lofty piers forms a very important part of the undertaking. Each pier will require its own cofferdam, caisson, or other appliance for obtaining a suitable foundation. The deeper the water, the more costly the arrangement for foundation ”

“ The line not only threads knots of mountains, but also spans numerous rifts. Indeed, so much bridging became necessary that the railway has become known as “The Bridge Line.” In completing this road nearly every type of structure known to the engineer was adopted. The largest structure is the Wingatui Viaduct,197 where the rail is carried about 146 feet above the floor of a broken, winding gorge on a creation of steel comprising three spans, each measuring 196 feet in length, and five smaller spans, each of 66 feet, supported on pyramidal steel towers. ”

“ The traveller who would enjoy glimpses of railroad views, must bear in mind the velocity of his conveyance, and prepare to “see whatever can be seen,” or the most important objects will have glanced by the windows of his comfortable locomotive arm-chair coach, before any second person can warn him of their presence. Emerging from a cutting, which immediately succeeds the viaduct, Dutton Hall is observed on the E. backed by wood. ”

“ When stations are placed on, or near a viaduct, or bridge under the railway, a parapet or fence on each side to be provided of sufficient height to prevent passengers, who may by mistake leave the carriages when not at the platform, from falling from the viaduct or bridge in the dark. ”

“ We haven’t got the mise-en-scène of a tragedy.”
They climbed together, Gordon and he; a zigzag path up the side of the huge embankment, close to the club-house. When it reached the level of the line, it kept close to the trim hedge that marked the boundary of the railway’s property, and so lasted till the very beginning of the viaduct, where it dived under the first arch at a precarious angle and came up the other side. ”

“ The trestle was erected with striking rapidity, the record being the completion of no less than 5,317 feet of track in six working days. Had it been possible to bring the timber up more quickly, a greater length of line could have been laid in the time. At rail-level the viaduct is 16 feet in width, and the track is so smooth and solid that the75 “Overland Limited” can hurtle along at full speed without producing the slightest vibration. ”

“ On January 30, 1894, the city council passed an ordinance requiring the Union Pacific Railway Company to repair that portion of the said Eleventh street viaduct for a distance of two-thirds of the entire length of the viaduct, and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, as grantee and successor of the Omaha & Southwestern Railroad Company, to repair the other one-third portion of said viaduct, said repairs to be made in accordance with plans furnished by the city, and under the supervision of the city engineer, and to be completed within 90 days. ”

“ Emerging from the clough, the difficulty is not which way to get home again, but which pleasant way to give the preference to. We may go past the dyeworks, and through the park to Agecroft Bridge; or turn up the lane that curls back towards Prestwich; or, best of all, make our way under the magnificent viaduct of the East Lancashire Railway, and then across the river to Clifton Aqueduct. ”

“ Richly-wooded country lies on either side the road now, and occasionally peeping through the trees, the masts of vessels passing on the Mersey may be observed. The Mersey Viaduct is next traversed. This, though far less grand in appearance than the Dutton Viaduct, is a fine erection of 200 yards in length, consisting of twelve arches, nine being small, and three of larger span, beneath which the river Mersey, and the Mersey and Irwell Canal pass. ”

“ The Manhattan Elevated Railway, about 34 miles long, is nothing but a long viaduct, and is as strong and durable as iron viaducts on railways usually are, while from the slower speed of its trains it is much safer.
Kinzua Viaduct; Erie Railway.
Valleys and ravines are now crossed by viaducts of iron and steel, of which the Kinzua viaduct, illustrated here, is an example. A branch line from the Erie, connecting that system with valuable coal-fields, strikes the valley of the Kinzua, a small creek, about 15 miles southwest of Bradford, Pa. ”

“ Everybody who has traveled on the London underground railroad will admit that the tunnel system is to be avoided at any reasonable expense. But everybody else who has walked beneath the elevated tracks in New York, or lodged near the line, will say that railways in the public streets are an almost intolerable nuisance.
The only system satisfactory in itself which had been proposed in New York was a great four-track viaduct line, running, not through the streets, but upon its own location cut through the center of the blocks from end to end of the city. ”

“ From there to Farringdon Street it will be 1 in 153, or at the rate of 34 feet in the mile; from Farringdon Street to Hatton Garden, 1 in 143, or at the rate of 35 feet in the mile. For all purposes of traffic the Viaduct may therefore be said to be level.
The Viaduct in its formation will include vaultage beneath each footway for the accommodation of the future houses on either side of the roadway; outside these vaults will be a subway for the gas and water pipes, and between each subway, and forming the centre of the Viaduct, the roadway will be carried on a series of arches. ”

“ Stone bridges so rarely occur upon the roads of America, that they hardly need remark. The Starucca Viaduct, by Mr. Adams, upon the New York and Erie Railroad, and the viaduct over the Patapsco, near the junction of the Washington branch with the main stem of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, show that our engineers are not at all behind those of Europe in this branch of engineering. From the civil let us pass to the mechanical department of railroad engineering. ”

“ Shoe Lane, now at its northern end but 14 feet wide, is to be increased to 30 feet in width, and to be continued northwards, under the Viaduct, to a new street which is to be formed from the corner of Hatton Garden to Farringdon Road. A complete net-work of streets is to extend from the Viaduct to all the existing adjacent streets, and as at the place at which Holborn ends and the Viaduct commences several of these streets concentrate, with the view to remedying the inconvenience which would arise from a too limited area for traffic ”