History
From the Archives: December 6, 1928
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The Dec. 6, 1928, issue of Engineering News-Record featured two railroad erection cars building the Pennsylvania Railroad’s new main line bridge over the Wabash River in Terre Haute, Ind., a milestone in early 20th-century American infrastructure.
This 1928 cover shows two railroad erection cars building the Pennsylvania Railroad’s new main line bridge over the Wabash River in Terre Haute, Ind.
Several techniques were employed on this job that advanced the method of placing plate girders to a new level.
The 125-ft-long, 70-ton girder being lifted into position is heavier than any girder placed by erection cars before.
Standard erection cars were 50 ft long and were equipped with a 50-ft boom, and included hoisting engines and standard counterweights.
The rigs featured here, however, have 70-ft booms and tail girders, which take the horizontal component of the boom stress.
Each tail girder, extending beyond its erecting car, was positioned to rest on a bogie, and 28 tons of additional pig iron counterweights placed on it.
The erecting cars were equipped with auxiliary booms attached to the sides of the cars to anchor the cars against overturning when heavy loads were swung sideways.
A steel balance beam was used to divide the weight of the girder equally between the two erecting cars. Seaboard Construction Co. of Philadelphia is performing the work seen here.
The bridge’s eight double-track spans included 32 girders, which were erected in 35 working days.
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