Which other bridges around the world most resemble the Sydney Harbour bridge?
Notre-Dame Bridge, Manchester
Hell Gate Bridge, New York
Other?
mollwollfumble said:
Which other bridges around the world most resemble the Sydney Harbour bridge?Notre-Dame Bridge, Manchester
Hell Gate Bridge, New York
Other?
Well there’s the one in Newcastle (UK), which was the scale model for the Sydney version.
Newcastle
The Rev Dodgson said:
Newcastle
Golly, yes!
mollwollfumble said:
The Rev Dodgson said:
Newcastle
Golly, yes!
Also the Bayonne Bridge, which was started after Sydney, but they finished earlier, and made it 6 inches longer or something:
mollwollfumble said:
The Rev Dodgson said:
Newcastle
Golly, yes!
The UK designer of Newcastle and Sydney Harbour was Sir Ralph Freeman, and his company provided me with my first job after university.
The original Bayonne Bridge in New Jersey USA. Completed about a year earlier than the SHB and was about 5 metres longer. The steel arch looked very similar but did not have the solid stone towers at either end. Because structurally the towers don’t really add anything to the bridge design, they are more aesthetic or at most give confidence to people using the bridge.
Can’t find a decent photo of it because after a while the port authority decided to raise the deck level to allow bigger ships to pass underneath.
party_pants said:
The original Bayonne Bridge in New Jersey USA. Completed about a year earlier than the SHB and was about 5 metres longer. The steel arch looked very similar but did not have the solid stone towers at either end. Because structurally the towers don’t really add anything to the bridge design, they are more aesthetic or at most give confidence to people using the bridge.Can’t find a decent photo of it because after a while the port authority decided to raise the deck level to allow bigger ships to pass underneath.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonne_Bridge
The raising of the deck level was quite recent (completed 2019). I hadn’t heard about it before.
Lots of pictures on the net from before the raising though (including the one I posted in this thread).
party_pants said:
The original Bayonne Bridge in New Jersey USA. Completed about a year earlier than the SHB and was about 5 metres longer. The steel arch looked very similar but did not have the solid stone towers at either end. Because structurally the towers don’t really add anything to the bridge design, they are more aesthetic or at most give confidence to people using the bridge.Can’t find a decent photo of it because after a while the port authority decided to raise the deck level to allow bigger ships to pass underneath.
Oh, so that’s why Bayonne Bridge looked different in the top hits from Google.
About the SHB itself. The original sketches show a design similar to the Story Bridge in Brisbane. I had thought that that would have been better until my father in law (an old Main Roads Engineer) explained it to me just two years ago. It was changed to a steel arch in order to get a sharper curvature of approach at the Southern end. The Story Bridge design can’t accommodate curved approaches.
The SHB used to hold the Guinness World Record for the widest long span bridge.
mollwollfumble said:
party_pants said:
The original Bayonne Bridge in New Jersey USA. Completed about a year earlier than the SHB and was about 5 metres longer. The steel arch looked very similar but did not have the solid stone towers at either end. Because structurally the towers don’t really add anything to the bridge design, they are more aesthetic or at most give confidence to people using the bridge.Can’t find a decent photo of it because after a while the port authority decided to raise the deck level to allow bigger ships to pass underneath.
Oh, so that’s why Bayonne Bridge looked different in the top hits from Google.
About the SHB itself. The original sketches show a design similar to the Story Bridge in Brisbane. I had thought that that would have been better until my father in law (an old Main Roads Engineer) explained it to me just two years ago. It was changed to a steel arch in order to get a sharper curvature of approach at the Southern end. The Story Bridge design can’t accommodate curved approaches.
The SHB used to hold the Guinness World Record for the widest long span bridge.
Oh, and those useless stone pillars on either end of the SHB proved useful in WWII as sites for gun emplacements.
Which makes me wonder if the useless steel pillars on the Bolte Bridge (shown below) are intended for a similar use.
mollwollfumble said:
The Story Bridge design can’t accommodate curved approaches.
That’s odd.
A map of the area shows a rather curved approach to the Story Bridge at the northern end.
https://mapcarta.com/N7779549471
All the old-time pics i’ve seen of the bridge indicate that it was always so.
captain_spalding said:
mollwollfumble said:
The Story Bridge design can’t accommodate curved approaches.That’s odd.
A map of the area shows a rather curved approach to the Story Bridge at the northern end.
https://mapcarta.com/N7779549471
All the old-time pics i’ve seen of the bridge indicate that it was always so.
The back span from the towers needs to be on the same straight alignment as the central span. The curve at the northern end of the Story Bridge starts at the end of the back span.
How significant that was in the choice of an arch for Sydney Harbour, I don’t no. Looking at the plan now, it looks like a reasonable length back span could have been accommodated if they had chosen to go that way.
I’ve read a book on the design process, but I don’t recall the details.
The Rev Dodgson said:
captain_spalding said:
mollwollfumble said:
The Story Bridge design can’t accommodate curved approaches.That’s odd.
A map of the area shows a rather curved approach to the Story Bridge at the northern end.
https://mapcarta.com/N7779549471
All the old-time pics i’ve seen of the bridge indicate that it was always so.
The back span from the towers needs to be on the same straight alignment as the central span. The curve at the northern end of the Story Bridge starts at the end of the back span.
How significant that was in the choice of an arch for Sydney Harbour, I don’t no. Looking at the plan now, it looks like a reasonable length back span could have been accommodated if they had chosen to go that way.
I’ve read a book on the design process, but I don’t recall the details.
The Rev Dodgson said:
The Rev Dodgson said:
captain_spalding said:That’s odd.
A map of the area shows a rather curved approach to the Story Bridge at the northern end.
https://mapcarta.com/N7779549471
All the old-time pics i’ve seen of the bridge indicate that it was always so.
The back span from the towers needs to be on the same straight alignment as the central span. The curve at the northern end of the Story Bridge starts at the end of the back span.
How significant that was in the choice of an arch for Sydney Harbour, I don’t no. Looking at the plan now, it looks like a reasonable length back span could have been accommodated if they had chosen to go that way.
I’ve read a book on the design process, but I don’t recall the details.
Glad they didn’t build that crappy-looking thing.
The Rev Dodgson said:
The Rev Dodgson said:
captain_spalding said:That’s odd.
A map of the area shows a rather curved approach to the Story Bridge at the northern end.
https://mapcarta.com/N7779549471
All the old-time pics i’ve seen of the bridge indicate that it was always so.
The back span from the towers needs to be on the same straight alignment as the central span. The curve at the northern end of the Story Bridge starts at the end of the back span.
How significant that was in the choice of an arch for Sydney Harbour, I don’t no. Looking at the plan now, it looks like a reasonable length back span could have been accommodated if they had chosen to go that way.
I’ve read a book on the design process, but I don’t recall the details.
I think the portion of road over both the SHB and the Story bridge is called the Bradfield highway after the chap who built them.
Peak Warming Man said:
The Rev Dodgson said:
The Rev Dodgson said:The back span from the towers needs to be on the same straight alignment as the central span. The curve at the northern end of the Story Bridge starts at the end of the back span.
How significant that was in the choice of an arch for Sydney Harbour, I don’t no. Looking at the plan now, it looks like a reasonable length back span could have been accommodated if they had chosen to go that way.
I’ve read a book on the design process, but I don’t recall the details.
I think the portion of road over both the SHB and the Story bridge is called the Bradfield highway after the chap who built them.
Sort of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bradfield_(engineer)
John Job Crew Bradfield CMG (26 December 1867 – 23 September 1943) was an Australian engineer best known as the chief proponent of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, of which he oversaw both the design and construction. He worked for the New South Wales Department of Public Works from 1891 to 1933, although he was a Queenslander by birth.
He was the first recipient of an engineering doctorate from the University of Sydney.
Other notable projects with which he was associated include the Cataract Dam (completed 1907), the Burrinjuck Dam (completed 1928), and Brisbane’s Story Bridge (completed 1940). The Harbour Bridge formed only one component of the City Circle, Bradfield’s grand scheme for the railways of central Sydney, a modified version of which was completed after his death.
He was also the designer of an unbuilt irrigation project known as the Bradfield Scheme, which proposed that remote areas of western Queensland and north-eastern South Australia could be made fertile by the diversion of rivers from North Queensland.
I’ve long been a fan of this Märklin tinplate arched railway bridge from early last century.
Was planning to make a similar one from scratch but there’s a cheap laser-cut model I could use for the arched span, and make the rest myself (lower mock-up picture).
Michael V said:
Peak Warming Man said:
The Rev Dodgson said:I think the portion of road over both the SHB and the Story bridge is called the Bradfield highway after the chap who built them.
Sort of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bradfield_(engineer)
John Job Crew Bradfield CMG (26 December 1867 – 23 September 1943) was an Australian engineer best known as the chief proponent of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, of which he oversaw both the design and construction. He worked for the New South Wales Department of Public Works from 1891 to 1933, although he was a Queenslander by birth.
He was the first recipient of an engineering doctorate from the University of Sydney.
Other notable projects with which he was associated include the Cataract Dam (completed 1907), the Burrinjuck Dam (completed 1928), and Brisbane’s Story Bridge (completed 1940). The Harbour Bridge formed only one component of the City Circle, Bradfield’s grand scheme for the railways of central Sydney, a modified version of which was completed after his death.
He was also the designer of an unbuilt irrigation project known as the Bradfield Scheme, which proposed that remote areas of western Queensland and north-eastern South Australia could be made fertile by the diversion of rivers from North Queensland.
There’s a good deal of controversy about how much credit should go to Bradfield for the design, and how much to Freeman, but let’s not go into that :)
A bridge with a bit of history in Brisbane is the Walter Taylor bridge, it’s a suspension bridge.
Wiki.
The bridge is a similar design to the Hercilio Luz Bridge in Florianópolis, Brazil, with the truss carrying the bridge being above the roadway and meeting the cables at non-uniform heights. This means that the suspension cables actually form the top chord of the truss, and this configuration is known as the Steinman (after its inventor) or Florianópolis type.
The bridge is unique among Brisbane bridges in that the two towers of the bridge house residential accommodation, which were occupied until mid 2010 when the last members of the original tollmaster’s family moved out.
The bridge is a suspension bridge and the support cables were actually surplus support cables used to hold up the incomplete halves of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during its construction. When the bridge opened it had the longest span of any suspension bridge in Australia. .
Peak Warming Man said:
A bridge with a bit of history in Brisbane is the Walter Taylor bridge, it’s a suspension bridge.Wiki.
The bridge is a similar design to the Hercilio Luz Bridge in Florianópolis, Brazil, with the truss carrying the bridge being above the roadway and meeting the cables at non-uniform heights. This means that the suspension cables actually form the top chord of the truss, and this configuration is known as the Steinman (after its inventor) or Florianópolis type.
The bridge is unique among Brisbane bridges in that the two towers of the bridge house residential accommodation, which were occupied until mid 2010 when the last members of the original tollmaster’s family moved out.The bridge is a suspension bridge and the support cables were actually surplus support cables used to hold up the incomplete halves of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during its construction. When the bridge opened it had the longest span of any suspension bridge in Australia. .
Ah, the Indro bridge.
Peak Warming Man said:
A bridge with a bit of history in Brisbane is the Walter Taylor bridge, it’s a suspension bridge.Wiki.
The bridge is a similar design to the Hercilio Luz Bridge in Florianópolis, Brazil, with the truss carrying the bridge being above the roadway and meeting the cables at non-uniform heights. This means that the suspension cables actually form the top chord of the truss, and this configuration is known as the Steinman (after its inventor) or Florianópolis type.
The bridge is unique among Brisbane bridges in that the two towers of the bridge house residential accommodation, which were occupied until mid 2010 when the last members of the original tollmaster’s family moved out.The bridge is a suspension bridge and the support cables were actually surplus support cables used to hold up the incomplete halves of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during its construction. When the bridge opened it had the longest span of any suspension bridge in Australia. .
That bridge has somehow evaded my consciousness up to now.
Peak Warming Man said:
A bridge with a bit of history in Brisbane is the Walter Taylor bridge, it’s a suspension bridge.Wiki.
The bridge is a similar design to the Hercilio Luz Bridge in Florianópolis, Brazil, with the truss carrying the bridge being above the roadway and meeting the cables at non-uniform heights. This means that the suspension cables actually form the top chord of the truss, and this configuration is known as the Steinman (after its inventor) or Florianópolis type.
The bridge is unique among Brisbane bridges in that the two towers of the bridge house residential accommodation, which were occupied until mid 2010 when the last members of the original tollmaster’s family moved out.The bridge is a suspension bridge and the support cables were actually surplus support cables used to hold up the incomplete halves of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during its construction. When the bridge opened it had the longest span of any suspension bridge in Australia. .
There’s also the King’s Way bridge in Melbourne; not a particularly spectacular design as bridges go, but it partially collapsed in 1962.
The Rev Dodgson said:
Peak Warming Man said:
A bridge with a bit of history in Brisbane is the Walter Taylor bridge, it’s a suspension bridge.Wiki.
The bridge is a similar design to the Hercilio Luz Bridge in Florianópolis, Brazil, with the truss carrying the bridge being above the roadway and meeting the cables at non-uniform heights. This means that the suspension cables actually form the top chord of the truss, and this configuration is known as the Steinman (after its inventor) or Florianópolis type.
The bridge is unique among Brisbane bridges in that the two towers of the bridge house residential accommodation, which were occupied until mid 2010 when the last members of the original tollmaster’s family moved out.The bridge is a suspension bridge and the support cables were actually surplus support cables used to hold up the incomplete halves of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during its construction. When the bridge opened it had the longest span of any suspension bridge in Australia. .
That bridge has somehow evaded my consciousness up to now.
Ditto. How could I have missed it?
A combination of suspension and truss has been proposed for the Gibraltar Bribge.
And here we have an example already in Walter Taylor. I can’t see a good side-on view of it on the web. :-(
> There’s also the King’s Way bridge in Melbourne; not a particularly spectacular design as bridges go, but it partially collapsed in 1962.
I’m not sure which bridge this is.
mollwollfumble said:
The Rev Dodgson said:
Peak Warming Man said:
A bridge with a bit of history in Brisbane is the Walter Taylor bridge, it’s a suspension bridge.Wiki.
The bridge is a similar design to the Hercilio Luz Bridge in Florianópolis, Brazil, with the truss carrying the bridge being above the roadway and meeting the cables at non-uniform heights. This means that the suspension cables actually form the top chord of the truss, and this configuration is known as the Steinman (after its inventor) or Florianópolis type.
The bridge is unique among Brisbane bridges in that the two towers of the bridge house residential accommodation, which were occupied until mid 2010 when the last members of the original tollmaster’s family moved out.The bridge is a suspension bridge and the support cables were actually surplus support cables used to hold up the incomplete halves of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during its construction. When the bridge opened it had the longest span of any suspension bridge in Australia. .
That bridge has somehow evaded my consciousness up to now.
Ditto. How could I have missed it?
A combination of suspension and truss has been proposed for the Gibraltar Bribge.
And here we have an example already in Walter Taylor. I can’t see a good side-on view of it on the web. :-(
> There’s also the King’s Way bridge in Melbourne; not a particularly spectacular design as bridges go, but it partially collapsed in 1962.
I’m not sure which bridge this is.
King Street Bridge.
