The evolution of vertical lift bridges

By Henry Grattan Tyrrell

Book Overview

When a river refuses to yield, engineers make the bridge move. Steel rises and traffic flows. Henry Grattan Tyrrell's The evolution of vertical lift bridges is a focused civil engineering monograph on one of the most elegant answers to keeping waterways open without stopping rail and road routes. Written from the perspective of the great age of American bridge construction, it follows how movable bridge mechanisms developed into dependable waterway crossing structures, and why counterweight lift systems became central to safe, efficient operation. Part history, part technical engineering handbook, it stands as a bridge design reference and a record of how early 20th century bridges were conceived, calculated, and built to serve growing cities and expanding networks. Behind the machinery lies civic drama: ships pass, trains run, cities breathe. Tyrrell captures the ingenuity and restraint required when weight, wind, and tide must be negotiated with certainty day after day. For practising engineers it remains a structural engineers reference book, valuable for revisiting fundamentals of vertical lift bridge design and the practical constraints of railroad bridge engineering. For civil engineering students it offers a clear window into the mindset and language of its period, while casual readers of industrial history will enjoy its lucid sense of purpose and problem-solving. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9353709520
• ISBN13: 9789353709525
• Release Date: June 2019
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 20 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"