The Capital Region's Whipple Bridges

Squire Whipple is considered "the father of the iron truss bridge". The civil-engineer's design for bowstring truss wrought and cast iron bridges revolutionized bridge building in the mid-19th century. His 1847 book, "A Work on Bridge Building", is considered the "...first significant theoretical formula to calculate stresses in the articulated truss.' (1)

Most of Whipple's bridges were found along the Erie Canal as his bridge design replaced many older wooden structures. Over time, Whipple's bridges could be found in single or multiple spans throughout Northeast and Midwest.

Whipple bowstring truss bridge at Vischer's Ferry. (Adam Prince - December 2006)

Four of Whipple's bowstring truss designs can be found in the Albany area of New York State. The first was built and designed by Mr. Whipple and can be found off of Riverview Road in Vischer's Ferry. The bridge was constructed in 1869 and crossed the enlarged Erie Canal at Sparkers. Like many of the bridges built by Whipple or others using his design, this bridge was moved to Fonda in 1919.

The Whipple bridge connects to the Towpath Trail within the Vischer's Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve. (Adam Prince - December 2006)

Squire Whipple was a graduate of Union College in Schenectady. The former Sprakers and Fonda bridge would later be restored by students, faculty and friends of the college under the direction of Dr. Frank Griggs, Jr. The bridge was moved to cross a remnant of the old canal at Vischer's Ferry in 1998.

Normanskill Farm Bridge. (Doug Kerr - December 2006)

A second Whipple bridge sits not far to the south in Albany County. Located off of NY 443, the Normanskill Farm Bridge is a Whipple Bowstring design that was built by Simon de Graff. Throughout the 1800's, many bridge builders would slightly modify Whipple's design in order to avoid paying royalties and patent fees to Mr. Whipple. (2)

The bridge was constructed in 1867 and moved to its current location in 1899. The bridge is originally thought to have come from Schoharie County but it is not 100% certain. This bridge was moved in order to carry the Albany and Delaware Turnpike over the Normanskill. Today, the bridge serves as a pedestrian bridge that is occasionally used by vehicles near the site of the former Stevens Farm.

A third Albany area Whipple designed bridge is located on the campus of Union College. It is part of a pedestrian walkway near the Achilles Rink. A fourth Whipple bridge, the Shaw Bridge in Claverack is located in Columbia County and will hopefully be restored and returned to use for pedestrian traffic. The Shaw Bridge is a rare double span bowstring truss and was constructed in 1870. It is believed to be the only remaining double span Whipple Bowstring Truss in the country.

Sources:

(1) Whipple, Blaine. "America's Railroads and Skyscrapers Indebted to Civil Engineer Squire Whipple." 1998.
(2) Griggs, Jr., Frank. "The Whipple Bowstring Truss." Structure. January 2015.

Getting There:

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade. This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman. Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga. The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough. Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade. The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding. From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga. The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the 1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...

The Dummy Lights of New York

A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights that were placed in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also originally positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as " dummy lights " and were common until traffic lights were moved onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection. In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights are found in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale. Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east. Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista. Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage. Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale. Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley. Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers. The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908. Early agricu...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog