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How much weight can a bridge hold?

E

El Toro

Well-known Member
What does a house weigh? Hal
5o9q3b.jpg
 
Looks like they put concrete on wooden posts. Probably at the weight limit with its own concrete.
 
Look at where it failed, a little point loading from those axles, seems odd the trailer did not have more axles to spread out the load.

One would think that the responsible parties doing the rigging would have figured the weight of that load, so you could determine how much is on the axles, so you could check the bridge ratings etc. etc. but that is not to say that even after doing the math something may still fail. Does make a person wonder, did they do the math or just wing it.
 
Around here they knew enough to drive the steamer over first. Then use a logging chain to pull the threashing machine over.
Used to lay down planks as well.
 
We got something like that here in Pa. called 'Falling water' that's been designated a landmark. Now the goverment has allocated a couple million to keep it from falling in the crick!
 
ive been analizing the problem, here,[ used to have a wrecker service in the late 70's early 80's, until some gent bought it from me] now, the thresher looks like it could have been recovered by pulling it backwards with another steamer, up the ramp and to safety, but given that the heavy steamer itself is nearly vertical, with at least one wheel through the bridge planking that i can see, if not both rear wheels, given the mobile equipment available in the 1920's was fairly light duty compared to what we have now days how did they manage to get that out, this is not the only steamer to fall through a bridge back in the day , does anybody know or have old pic's?
 
Son Says MAYBE IT"S SUPPOSED TO BE A TUCK UNDER GARAGE.!!!!!!Why would any fool attempt to try a stunt like that????
LOU.
 
Creek level is low and the bed is gravel. Maybe able to also tow the engine backwards and along/up the bank.
Feederhouse and front axle of the thresher look like writeoffs.
 
And in this case, just general stupidity.

The problem here is, the house mover will be held responsible for rebuilding the bridge, so of course, he will immediately declare bankruptcy and walk away. House owner will lose the house, and the county will end up springing for the whole thing.
 
Got a half page on bad bridges when moving traction engines in my Young Engineers Guide (1907?): heavy planks, 50 feet of stout hemp rope, so you can separate your separator and tow it across at the end of the fifty foot rope (good for up to 40-45 foot long bridges, I guess)...
Looks like they didn"t have a copy...
What"s a separator??
 
Archives aren't online...have to go to the "old" Corydon Library to access them, if the library has copies for that year. Other copies are stored at the Corydon nnalert office. I've seen the copies from the 1880's at the library, and copies from 1938 at the newspaper office, so I'm not sure where 1915 would be.
 
Around here a threshing machine was more often referred to being a "separator".
Something similar we called going back to the "bush" to hunt deer were you would say "woods" or "forest".
Never heard tell of grits either but porridge is common.
 

The "Falling Waters" house is known for being designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. I remember reading something about it needing repairs a few years ago.

KEH
 
I have been involved in a few house moves (not my houses). A house of this design and weight would probably be supported on 2 main steel beams with maybe 6 cross beams. The mains are extended out under one end of the house about 8 to 10 ft, and a cross beam fastened above the mains at their ends. At the center of this cross beam, a flat plate with a 5th wheel pin is attached. A long wheel base tandem axle semi tractor is connected to the 5th wheel pin. So this end of the house's weight is supported by the drive axles of the semi tractor.

Then 2 double axle tandem "trucks" (or dollys) are rolled under the the mains near the rear, and fastened to the mains so that they are carrying about 2/3 of the total weight and the semi truck is carrying about 1/3 of the total loaded weight. The better dollys used today have air brakes on all wheels. I have watched a house mover pull a loaded house at 45 mph!! (No Springs or air suspension!!).

I have participated in 4 house moves, in which my PU was one of the safety cars (strobes flashing). The rules here in the Mpls area only allow houses to be on the road from 1:30 am to 5:30 am. One night some drunk(??) passed the house we were moving by driving around the 2 safety cars and passing the house on the right shoulder. Idiots like that keep my BIL (the mortician) employed.

The house mover I followed had a story about a house they were moving when they hit a bad pothole at an intersection and the shock to the house caused it to collapse right there. They had to call for 20 big dumpsters and a few bobcats to clean the mess up before morning rush hour traffic. UGH!!!

Paul in MN
 
If that were in Iowa, as long as the mover gave a correct axle and gross vehicle weight, the state would be stuck with the bill for cleanup/repair. The clerk that gave the route would have a 3 day unpaid vacation on a first offense, a permanent vacation for a 2nd...
 
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