Thursday Postcard Hunt - Iron and Rail Bridges

 Thursday Postcard Hunt

Iron and/or Rail Bridges

Jay Street Bridge between Lock Haven and Lockport, PA taken from the boat dock on the Susquehanna River.

Originally a covered wooden bridge, after it burnt in 1919 it was replaced by an iron bridge, depicted on this postcard from the 1960s.   In 1986 a new steel bridge was constructed.

A railway bridge over the Canadian River near Tucumcari, New Mexico.  If you're interested in the rail history of Tucumcari, here's a pdf from their railway museum.  1940s postcard

https://multistorymedia.com/stories/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TucumcariTheRailroadTown2.pdf

The Mt. Lowe Railway Circular Bridge

The railway was built as a scenic tourist railroad.   It was the only scenic mountain electric traction railroad built in the U.S.   At the top of Mt. Lowe (originally Oak Mountain, later renamed after  Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, the railway owner, and said to be the first person to set foot, and set a flag into, the peak) was a Victorian hotel, and nearby a chalet, dance hall, casino, observatory, and much more.  The railway opened in 1893, but was not a financial success, so Lowe sold it seven years later.  It suffered a series of natural disasters, and finally was abandoned in 1938 after property was washed off the mountainside in a flood.

Elster Viaduct in Germany (in what was formerly East Germany) was built between 1846 and 1851.  It used more than 12 million bricks.  It was partially destroyed in 1945, necessitating a temporary bridge be built to accommodate rail traffic. The original structure reopened in 1950.   It is the second largest brick bridge in the world.  (I couldn't find any information on why Vogtl. Schweiz is on the front.)  Postcard c1910.  

Wood Bridges.  Covered Bridges. Swinging Bridges.

Those are for next week.