The Warehouse Point railroad bridge is a

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...

with a

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

main span crossing the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

between

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

and

Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield, Connecticut, Enfiel ...

. It carries

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

New Haven–Springfield Line The New Haven–Springfield Line is a railroad line owned by Amtrak from New Haven, Connecticut, north to Springfield, Massachusetts. As a branch of the Northeast Corridor just north of New Haven State Street station, it is served by approximately ...

. The bridge has spaces for two tracks, but only one is connected to the mainline. It is one of a few iron bridges erected in the United States before the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

History

A wooden

Howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a bridg ...

railroad bridge was originally constructed in 1843 at this site by the Hartford and Springfield Railroad Company. In 1865–66, a new bridge (designed by

James Laurie James Laurie (May 9, 1811 – March 16, 1875) was a prominent American engineer and one of the founders of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He performed surveying, bridge design, and route design for a number of railroads in New Englan ...

) was constructed to replace the old one. The bridge was built in sections in England and shipped to the United States. The pieces were then riveted together on site.A.J. Bianculli
''Trains and Technology: The American Railroad in the Nineteenth Century''
Vol. 4 The bridge was rebuilt and double-tracked in 1903–04. In mid-2023, Amtrak applied for a federal grant to replace the bridge.

References

General references

*
Manual for Railroad Engineers and Students (1881)
- contains detailed description of the engineering specifications and construction of the bridge.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warehouse Point Railroad Bridge Bridges over the Connecticut River Railroad bridges in Connecticut Enfield, Connecticut Suffield, Connecticut Bridges in Hartford County, Connecticut Bridges completed in 1843 Bridges completed in 1866 Bridges completed in 1904 1843 establishments in Connecticut Girder bridges in the United States Truss bridges in the United States

History

See also

References

General references

External links