Given that bridges are not frt cars, discussions about bridges are now terminated.

Mike Brock
STMFC Owner

--- In STMFC@..., "Mike Brock" <brockm@...> wrote:

Given that bridges are not frt cars, discussions about bridges are

now

terminated.

Mike Brock
STMFC Owner

Mike and all: Granted that bridges are not freight cars, but I
guarantee you that freight cars are bridges inasmuch as their sides
and underframes must support both dead and live loads between the
bolsters, analagous to a land bridge's piers. Freight car sides are
sometimes Howe truss (many Milwaukee single-sheathed cars) and
sometimes Pratt truss (many Great Northern single-sheathed cars) and
sometimes plate girder (steel sides). Even the great John Allen "had"
to admit chagrin when a scratch built car side he had begun turned
out "wrong" because he forgot which was Pratt and which was Howe. I
don't mean this to sound smarty pants, but it just sems good to
remind ourselves that the framing inside the walls of both freight
cars, passenger cars, and hood unit diesels do in fact follow bridge
engineering principles. Thank you for listening. Jim here.

Jim Sabol writes:

"I
don't mean this to sound smarty pants, but it just sems good to
remind ourselves that the framing inside the walls of both freight
cars, passenger cars, and hood unit diesels do in fact follow bridge
engineering principles."

True enough. OTOH, after looking through my frt conductor's book for 1949, I'm yet to find a bridge in any of the 35 frt trains listed.

Mike Brock

Mike Brock wrote:

OTOH, after looking through my frt conductor's book for 1949, I'm yet to find a bridge in any of the 35 frt trains listed.

What makes sense to me is to restrict any bridge discussions to their applicability to freight car design. What we just had was a thread about how bridges themselves are built, clearly off topic, but Jim Sabol is right that not ALL bridge-related material should be out of bounds.
BTW, Mike, I bet those conductors CROSSED plenty of bridges, without which their runs would have been WAY shorter . . . <g>

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@...
Publishers of books on railroad history

Tony Thompson says:

"What makes sense to me is to restrict any bridge discussions to
their applicability to freight car design."

Yes. The termination is with regard to stand alone bridge discussion. Discussion about "bridge" designs used in frt cat construction, just as discussion regarding the advantages of wood vs steel, various brake systems or end designs in frt car design is within scope.

"BTW, Mike, I bet those conductors CROSSED plenty of bridges,
without which their runs would have been WAY shorter . . . <g>

True enough...but luckily for you...my frt conductor book covers Laramie to Green River. Had it covered only Sherman Hill...it would not be true. Nary a true bridge in sight...much to my chagrin <G>. Bridges are neat things...just not on a frt car group.

Mike Brock