Re: (rshsdepot) Poughkeepsie RR Bridge

[CoolGuy127_@_aol.com]

In a message dated 12/19/2007 9:07:52 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
luckyshow_@_mindspring.com writes:

they  aren't meaning the entire length of bridge, correct?
    The statement in the newspaper article that the  Poughkeepsie Bridge was 
"the longest bridge in the world" when built in 1888 is  obviously incorrect.  
However, the bridge was a great engineering  achievement, whose significance 
is described in William D. Middleton's work  "Landmarks on the Iron Road" as 
follows (p. 37):
 
    "To provide the clear spans needed for navigational  clearances, the 
cantilever form was adopted for the main river crossing.   It was one of the 
earliest major cantilever spans built in North America; and in  both overall length 
and the length of its clear spans, the Poughkeepsie bridge  substantially 
exceeded anything that preceded it.  And unlike the several  earlier cantilevers, 
which were built either partially or entirely with wrought  iron, the 
Poughkeepsie bridge was built entirely of steel."
 
    So what the reporter "really meant to say" was that  it was the longest 
cantilever bridge in the world at the time of its  construction in 1888.
 
            Daniel  Chazin
            Teaneck,  NJ



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