A ride up the South Tower of the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge, special end view of the horns! May 14,21
76,188
Publicado 2021-05-28
I have never been up the South Tower, with a little bit of whining, it was allowed.....
I did like the view of Duluth from the South side, more picturesque in my mind.
A the end of the video, I squeezed in a little view of the horns they have. I get many requests to see the horns, here it is.... The sound was not live, it was taken from a previous video.
From Wikipedia:
The Aerial Lift Bridge, earlier known as the Aerial Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, is a landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span began life in 1905 as the United States' first transporter bridge: Only one other was ever constructed in the country, Sky Ride in Chicago.[2] The span was converted in 1929–1930 to a vertical-lift bridge — also rather uncommon, although there are six such bridges along Ontario's Welland Canal — and continues to operate today. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1973. The bridge is owned and operated by the City of Duluth. The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains a nearby maritime museum.
Bridge history
The bridge spans the Duluth Ship Canal, which was put through the miles-long sand spit named Minnesota Point — commonly called Park Point by locals — in 1870–1871. The natural mouth of the Saint Louis River is about seven miles (11 km) farther southeast, and is split between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Creating this gap in the sand spit meant that residents who lived on the new island needed to have a way to get across. Several transportation methods were tried, though they were complicated by the weather. Ferries could work in the summer, but ice caused problems in colder months. A swinging footbridge was used, but was considered rather rickety and unsafe.
In 1892, a contest was held to find a solution. The winning design came from John Low Waddell, who drew up plans for a high-rise vertical lift bridge. The city of Duluth was eager to build the bridge, which would have been about 130 feet (40 m) wide. However, the War Department objected to the design, and the project was canceled before it could be built. Waddell's design went on to be built in Chicago, Illinois, as the slightly larger South Halsted Street Bridge, which was removed in 1932.[3][4][5]
New plans were later drawn up for a structure that would ferry people from one side to the other. This type of span, known variously as an aerial transfer, ferry, or transporter bridge, was first demonstrated in Bilbao's Vizcaya Bridge in 1893 and one in France in 1898. Duluth's bridge was inspired by the one in France, though the actual construction is quite different. The architect was a city engineer, Thomas McGilvray.[1]
When it was completed in 1905, the Aerial Bridge's gondola had a capacity of 60 short tons (54 tonnes) and could carry 350 people plus wagons, streetcars or automobiles. A trip across the canal took about one minute, and the ferry car moved across once every five minutes during busy times of the day.[6] A growing population on Minnesota Point, a greater demand for cars, and an increase in tourism soon meant that the bridge's capacity was being stretched to the limit.
A remodeling was planned that would remove the gondola and incorporate a lifting platform into the structure. The firm finally commissioned with designing the new bridge was the descendant of Waddell's company. The new design, which closely resembles the 1892 concept, is attributed to C.A.P. Turner. Reconstruction began in 1929.[1] In order to ensure that tall ships could still pass under the bridge, the top span had to be raised to accommodate the new deck when raised. The support columns on either side were also modified so that they could hold new counterweights to balance the weight of the lifting portion. The new bridge first lifted for a vessel, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tugboat Essayons, on March 29, 1930.[6][7]
The bridge can be raised to its full height of 135 feet in about a minute, and is raised about 5,000 times per year.[8] The span is about 390 feet (120 meters). As ships pass, there is a customary horn-blowing sequence that is copied back. The bridge's "horn" is actually made up of two Westinghouse Airbrake locomotive horns.[9] Long-short-short is known as the Captain's Salute and is the most common of the ship signal exchanges.
Todos los comentarios (21)
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To save people some search time, the horns are both WABCO E-2B-1s, consisting of an E2 in the center and a B-7-21 on one side and a B-7-25 on the other. Those were used on a few railroads, but rarely. In 1957 my family went to Duluth, and as we drove on to that lift bridge a flagman motioned for us to stop. He asked my dad if he wanted to drive off the bridge or ride up and down as the lift span went up, cleared the boat going through, and back down. I'm so glad dad said we'd ride! It was an experience that's stayed with me all these years. Your video brought back a great memory! Thank you!
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I remember my Dad say they used to give rides but they don't anymore. Thanks for this it's beautiful
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I've always wanted to see this up close and real. Thank you! I've never been there, but the bridge is fascinating to this Texan!
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Very cool, although for some reason my fear of heights kicked in even though watching a video, stomach sank. Can't believe how high this looks.Beautiful views. Thank you.
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This is exactly the type of unique and limited access content I love. Thank you for sharing it!
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I have always wanted to ride up in the Aerial Bridge! Thanks for the virtual trip!
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I'm so envious. I'd love to have a ride on the bridge. I'm glad this video exists. Thanks!
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How cool!! And, finally, we get a look at those horns!!! Great video, Paul!! Thank you!!
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Great film! Special thanks to the bridge workers for giving you the tour.
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This lift bridge is a gem of American engineering and ingenuity. Its in amazing shape for its age and the harsh winters it has to endure. Thanks for sharing!
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I don’t like heights but envy you for getting to do this! Thanks for showing us
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Thanks again for all you do for us boat nerds!
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I didn’t realize that the road on the bridge was a grate. And wow, that is a long ways up! Nice views.
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I always wanted to see where those horns are. Now I know and from my seat in my living room. I'd never have enough guts to make that ride. Good for you guys. Thanks.
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Even just watching the video made me anxious. Glad to see there are people able to go up & down every day. Nerves of steel on a bridge of steel.❤
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This is really cool! Coincidentally my wife and I took our son the day before this was shot on a day trip for a boat tour and they talked about the lift bridge. Interesting to see the inner workings up close.
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Great video, and I love those horns
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Very interesting video to this retired elevator mechanic. Thanks for sharing.
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WOW!!!! Thanks for taking us with you! What fun! Enjoyed the bridge history as well. :)
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Exciting. Thanks for taking us along