What `destroyed` the bridge was superior inferiors stopped paying for that guy to be there to `eyeball` everything locks up correctly and kick it in if needed 👔 Would have much cheaper in the long run. Added benefit, keeping a historic bit of kit in working order for the next 10 forevers. Also, nice to have an extra set of eyes in the area.
No. Once the rail heads are out of perfect alignment, the wheels will start to climb one rail head while they will fall off the end of the opposite rail since the corresponding rail is no longer there. Some bridges have "miter rails" which are like switch points sitting in a housing.,and would tend to keep the bridge in alignment under traffic even if the locking failed. These are generally used in locations with moderate to high track speeds. Paulsboro did not have these, so it behaved more like a turntable that was not lined up correctly. If you view my video "US Budds 1990's", at 17:31 you can see the miter rails on the Cape May swing bridge in the PRSL segment.
As it's operated by radio now, how does the bridge get positively locked to the abutment? An operator had to manually lock it as shown in your vid. Thanks for an interesting look into this bridge's operation.
I know where Boothwyn Pennsylvania is. I lived on a farm 1 miles south of Booth's Corner from 1949 until I think 1959. My dad built locomotives for Baldwin Lima Hamilton in Eddystone PA. His name was Paul Keen.
Do you live in the Paulsboro area? I live in Gloucester County, and I heard reports of vinyl chloride and other chemicals leaking. It's a shame about the bridge- I bet theres going to legal repercussions too :/
I think the new bridge has been installed now. From what I've read, it's similar to the following nearby bridge: bridgehunter.com/nj/gloucester/806151/. From reading your comments, the accident was preventable, and perhaps the century-old bridge would still be here if proper procedures were followed :/.
It was removed and replaced with a lift bridge. It was temporarily a truss bridge for the time being until Conrail could find a window to do replacement work for the new bridge
If Conrail did not automate that swing bridge, and kept an operator on it to open and close it, they never would have had that accident where a train derailed and a tank car ruptured- releasing toxic fumes. They had more problems with the bridge after automating it. Big mistake!
Unless you could either find a guy who would show up for an hour a day, or find enough work in the area to keep him on all day, there’s hardly a warrent for a dedicated employee for this bridge. Perhaps if you had the road ops foreman do it, that would work.
It moved so that the fish could swim under it without being spooked by the shade. Shade affects fish migrations & reproductive processes they go through.
At the time it was used multiple times a day, as the line served several oil refineries, an industrial park, a DuPont chemical works, and a coal fired power plant. Shortly after this video was made it was set up for radio control. It still sees frequent use.
Sounds like both mechanical and human error to me, both which could have been avoided if a qualified person was kept on site to maintain operations at all times.
