Bridges, Trestles, and ballsting

[Fluesheet]

I read, a long time ago, that a train moving from ballasted track to a solid structure would feel a bump. This was confirmed by observation (in fact, the seat of the pants method) over years of commuting.

I was thinking about that myself the other day. My father was one of the founding members of a scenic railway in SE Ohio, and as a result, I did a lot of train riding when young. We had one through-girder bridge on line, and when passing over it, the quality of the ride was harsher (I assume vibration of the bridge) and noisier!

Matt