Hojack Swing Bridge dismantling

Great photo - thanks for sharing! The sign in your photo (if I remember correctly) reads "Drawbridge 500 Feet - Stop". I'm not sure when the sign in the photo was removed, but here was an identical sign on the east side which lasted well beyond the actual use of the bridge (probably into the early 2000s). By the end it was completely rusted over, but if you knew what to look for it was still there.

Reread my post - I never said it wasn't used - I stated I never saw it used - big difference. If you dig back in the Charlotte runner thread, you'll find a good description (albeit without map) of the layout. More photos of that, later...

RS-32's 2032 & 2033, along with caboose 18499 pull a cut east towards the swing bridge in this July 1971 view. Deferred maintenance during the PC days is evident - notice the "coal dust" as ballast. Quite a bit of non-coal freight in the background. Photo taken from the Lake Ave. bridge looking to the west.

Follow-up to above. Now on the other side of the Lake Ave. overpass looking east. Quite a bit of brush. Not only are we not spreading new ballast, we're not killing the weeds, either.

BR&P wrote:One correction - the east leg of the wye did remain in service fairly late. Not sure when it was taken out of service but I believe its use lasted into the 80's. It had a strange arrangement due to the cramped space - after crossing River Street northbound, the track swung to the left (west) in an arc. If a train wanted to go east across the bridge, there was a switch which led off to the LEFT. It went left a ways then curved back around to the right and crossed the west leg of the wye on a diamond, and continued northeast and east until it reached the Hojack main as shown in your picture.

Yup, I was amazed when I figured that out. Crazy arrangement! Here is how it looked:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=43.25 ... 7&layers=M

Yes, you got it, Russ!

There appears to be a tank of some sort on the bridge sitting on top of the unused tracks. What was that? Old fuel or water tank?

Think that tank was for their beer.

If the bridge going towards the bridge says "Drawbridge STOP" etc what does the one facing down the wye track say?

ctclark1 wrote:If the bridge going towards the bridge says "Drawbridge STOP" etc what does the one facing down the wye track say?

That was a "STOP" sign for the diamond just out of the picture - not sure of the exact wording.

From the weather cam in the lighthouse it appears that they are now driving "sheet piling" around the main foundation. They are building a temporary metal "can" around the foundation. They will then pump it out and excavate the concrete foundation down below the river bottom. This is probably the exact reverse of the process they used to put it in back in 1902 (or so).

I suspected they would do that, blasting it out would probably be more expensive and just a wee bit dangerous in a built up area. They will probably do the same for both end foundations as well. Some of that old concrete is actually quite tough. And being a railroad bridge the concrete was probably not damaged to any great extent by road salt.

Concrete is a funny material, it continues to slowly get stronger for quite a while (years and years) after it is poured, but after 110 years that concrete is probably not getting much stronger.

If you know where to look around Western NY there are several old concrete RR bridge abutments that were just left in place to save the expense of removing them. Like the concrete coaling tower near the old Syracuse Enginehouse (haven't been there in a few years, I assume it's still there ?). They used to build stuff to last....

Cheers. Kevin.

The old Atlas model railroad track planning books-- some co-authored by the late, great John Armstrong-- refer to the track arrangement near the Hojack Bridge as a "scissors wye". It saves a lot of space on model railroads, and of course it did here as well.

NYCRRson wrote:If you know where to look around Western NY there are several old concrete RR bridge abutments that were just left in place to save the expense of removing them.

Another good example is the old EL/DL&W bridge abuttment sitting in Frontier Yard.

Getting back to the swing bridge, I've been watching it slowly disappear. It's sad to see, but removing the bridge will create more "elbow room" for navigation in the river channel.

NYCRRson wrote:I suspected they would do that, blasting it out would probably be more expensive and just a wee bit dangerous in a built up area. They will probably do the same for both end foundations as well. Some of that old concrete is actually quite tough. And being a railroad bridge the concrete was probably not damaged to any great extent by road salt.

Concrete is a funny material, it continues to slowly get stronger for quite a while (years and years) after it is poured, but after 110 years that concrete is probably not getting much stronger.

It's possible that they'll have to break it up. There's a system whereby they can drill holes in the concrete and insert an expansive epoxy-like material. Its expansion is stronger than the concrete, so it will bust a crack. With enough holes, you can break up the biggest piece of concrete without any explosion.

If you know where to look around Western NY there are several old concrete RR bridge abutments that were just left in place to save the expense of removing them. Like the concrete coaling tower near the old Syracuse Enginehouse (haven't been there in a few years, I assume it's still there ?). They used to build stuff to last....

There are many abutments left in place, e.g. east of Pittsford or east of Newark.

RussNelson wrote:

If you know where to look around Western NY there are several old concrete RR bridge abutments that were just left in place to save the expense of removing them. Like the concrete coaling tower near the old Syracuse Enginehouse (haven't been there in a few years, I assume it's still there ?). They used to build stuff to last....

There are many abutments left in place, e.g. east of Pittsford or east of Newark.

There is a pair just east of the Savage Road crossing in Riga where the West Shore "used" to cross the mainline.