lift bridge

[jim currie]

neat one 88 the canal looks a lot better than the one i found at the LOC site.
jim

[P5se Camelback]

Nice one, Double 8's Guy!

And look ... when the banks are cleaned up and trimmed ... that little stream is actually a navigable canal!

But ... remember the song ...

"Low Bridge, everybody down. Low bridge, 'cause we're goin' through a town. And you'll always know your neighbor, you'll alway know your pal, if you've ever navigated on the Erie Canal."

O.K. ... I'm done singing now ... you can take the beans out of your ears!

[BR60103]

I am reading a book called The Age of Steam which has a couple of chapters on inland waterways. The Erie Canal was completed in 1825: "a narrow ribbon of water 363 miles long, 40 feet wide and 4 feet deep." Remember that this was dug by hand. The locks were 90 by 15 feet and boats were built up to the size of the locks.
The C&O canal was supposed to run from the Potomac at Washington to the Ohio river and was started in July 1828. But it was opposed by the upstart Baltimore and Ohio Railroad which would bring prosperity to a different town. The two outfits would be using the same Potomac river basin for miles. The canal opened up the Cumberland coal fields but never reached the Ohio.
A horse and wagon could transport one ton; a horse and barge could pull 30 tons up a river and 50 tons on a canal.

Did you realize that the natural ocean port for Pittsburgh is New Orleans?

[Sumpter250]

Did you realize that the natural ocean port for Pittsburgh is New Orleans?

I had forgotten, but yes, from Pittsburgh "down the O-hi-o" to the Mississippi, and from there to New Orleans.
Otherwise known as "A long way to the waterfront".

[boppa]

scary- but I do have to ask
is that a real bridge or a good model???

because I know of several bridges that use similar lifts- but it looks more like an o gauge model than a 1:1 picture

[Sumpter250]

scary- but I do have to ask
is that a real bridge or a good model??? because I know of several bridges that use similar lifts- but it looks more like an o gauge model than a 1:1 picture

I wish I could build an O scale diorama that looked even half as good as that !.........but that is a tempting project.

To paraphrase "Fearless Leader" 's signature...I wonder what that would look like in 1:160 .

[Drew]

Here's a vertical-lift bridge we have here in Louisville that's been operating daily for over 140 years!

Check out the panoramic view...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_...hio_River)

[Bob C]

Thanks for that link and bundle of information, 88 ! Having worked the PC, CR Conemaugh Mainline, am particularly aware of the remnants of the PRR's predecessor canal system, and some of the remnants still visible along the route Johnstown to Pittsburgh, including aqueducts crossing the Allegheny at Freeport and Pittsburgh. More Googling to do now - and thanks to you, Jim, for coming up with this fine bit of inspiration and history. Bob C.