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Old 05-31-2006, 12:36 PM   #1538 (permalink)
Bossnass
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Location: AWOL in Edmonton
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlatan
It is the Pembina River Viaduct and The Yellowhead Highway Bridge... which is near Entwhistle, Alberta.
Yep. I was sure Sticky was going to get it. The bridges are technically outside of town limits, but they are called the "Entwistle Twin Bridges".


Cool background, to me,
Via Wikipedia, which saves me from typing it out..

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
The Pembina River Viaduct

The Grand Trunk Pacific railway bridge whose construction caused Entwistle to spring up is still in operation today. It is a vital part of the Canadian National Railway main line, connecting Canada to the Pacific Ocean. An average of 20 trains travel across it per day. The trestle itself is 910 feet long and 214 feet high. It was the first steel railway trestle built in Western Canada. It is currently the second-highest railway trestle in Western Canada.

Construction on the bridge began in 1908. As there were no cranes big enough to carry steel back then, a massive false bridge and scaffolding was built out of wood. The steel bridge itself was completely pre-fabricated in Scotland. The Scottish engineers assembled the bridge in Scotland, ran their tests on it, and then carefully dismantled it. The bridge was shipped piece-by-piece across the Atlantic, and brought out to Entwistle on the railway. The pieces began arriving in 1909, and the steel bridge was slowly assembled. The engineers’ measurements were so accurate, that no modifications were needed on site. [2]

As the steel structure was laid in place, the wooden scaffolding and false bridge were gradually dismantled. Construction was completed in 1910. As it nears the end of its first century of use, it has required no major repairs; only routine maintenance.
.....

The Yellowhead Highway Bridge

Equally impressive is the Yellowhead Highway Bridge, running parallel to the Pembina River Viaduct.
...
The bridge is 207 feet high and approximately 900 feet long. It cost $1.7 million. When construction was finished in 1962, it was the highest highway bridge in Alberta.
I have a local history book that has a section on how much of a challange the viaduct was; for lack of steel production (due to demands in Chicago and New York), for lack of precision (Not enough engineers on the frontier), and for lack of methods/cranes. The scaffolding alone was a major project.

Last edited by Bossnass; 05-31-2006 at 12:41 PM..
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