Bridge L-158
Encyclopedia
Bridge L-158 is a disused railroad bridge over Muscoot Reservoir
near Goldens Bridge, New York, United States. Built to carry New York Central Railroad
traffic over Rondout Creek
near Kingston
, it was moved to its current location in 1904.
In 1960 it was taken out of service and the tracks removed. It is the only remaining double-intersection Whipple truss railroad bridge in New York. In 1978 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, the only bridge entirely within Westchester County
to be listed in its own right.
Harlem Line and Interstate 684
. It straddles the line between the town of Lewisboro
on the east and Somers
on the west.
NY 138
crosses the reservoir 500 feet (150 m) to the north. It is most clearly seen from here, although it can also be seen through the woods from commuter trains near the station.
It is surrounded by woodlands, part of the reservoir's protected watershed lands, all owned, like the bridge, by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection
. The former route of the tracks is visible on both approaches to the bridge.
es are 163 feet (49.7 m) long, consisting of nine identical panels. The web is 32 feet (9.8 m) deep. Two concrete
abutment
s support the bridge 12 feet (3.7 m) above mean water level.
Its pin-connected superstructure uses wrought iron
Phoenix columns in its top chord and compression members. The end posts and upper chord are made up of six flange
d cast
elements rivet
ed together. The intermediate verticals and lateral struts have four apiece.
The diagonals and lower chord have rectangular eyebar
s 4 to 6 in (10.2 to 15.2 cm) wide. Round bars are used for the counters and sway braces. The ties
are on iron stringer
s riveted to transverse iron floor beams. Both portals
are decorated with quatrefoil
brackets
and finial
s.
in Kingston
, 50 miles (80.5 km) to the north. It was built in 1883 by Clarke, Reeves & Company, a Philadelphia-based subsidiary
of the Phoenix Iron Works
as a 29-foot–wide (8.8 m) double-tracked structure, known administratively within the Central as Bridge 141.
In 1904, the railroad built another bridge at the Rondout that could carry the entire load on one span. At the same time, New York City was beginning to buy, clear and flood land for its water supply system in the Croton River
watershed. Railroads in the area were required, under their agreements with the city, to install bridges over any inundated areas at their own expense.
The railroad decided to move Bridge 141, now Bridge L-158, south to the new reservoir where it would easily bridge the gap needed for the Mahopac
Branch from the former New York and Harlem Railroad
main line. The branch, formerly the New York & Mahopac Railroad, served what had been a summer resort community in the 19th century. Since it was a single-track line, the bridge was rebuilt that way, its width reduced to 16 feet (4.9 m).
Service on the Mahopac Branch continued until 1960. The tracks were eventually dismantled to and from the bridge, but the bridge itself remained. In 1976, a survey team from the Historic American Engineering Record found that it remained in good condition despite the lack of maintenance or use. Its presence on New York City watershed land, where public access is tightly restricted, has helped preserve
it as well.
Muscoot Reservoir
The Muscoot Reservoir is a reservoir in northern Westchester County, New York. It is located directly north of the village of Katonah, New York, and is over 25 miles north of New York City, which the reservoir eventually supplies with tapwater...
near Goldens Bridge, New York, United States. Built to carry New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
traffic over Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek
Rondout Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, USA. It rises on Rocky Mountain in the eastern Catskills, flows south into Rondout Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply network, then into the valley between the Catskills and the Shawangunk...
near Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, it was moved to its current location in 1904.
In 1960 it was taken out of service and the tracks removed. It is the only remaining double-intersection Whipple truss railroad bridge in New York. In 1978 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, the only bridge entirely within Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
to be listed in its own right.
Location
The bridge is located over an inlet in the reservoir approximately one half-mile (1 km) west of the Goldens Bridge station on the Metro-NorthMetro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...
Harlem Line and Interstate 684
Interstate 684
Interstate 684 is a 28.4 mile-long north–south Interstate Highway in the states of New York and Connecticut. The highway connects I-84 with I-287 and the Hutchinson River Parkway, primarily serving commuter traffic to and from the northern suburbs of the New York metropolitan area...
. It straddles the line between the town of Lewisboro
Lewisboro, New York
Lewisboro is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 12,411 at the 2010 census. The town is named after John Lewis.- History :...
on the east and Somers
Somers, New York
Somers is a town located in northeastern Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 20,434...
on the west.
NY 138
New York State Route 138
New York State Route 138 is a long state highway in Westchester County, New York. It begins in the town of Somers at NY 100 and ends at NY 121 west of the hamlet of Waccabuc. The road passes by the shopping center at Golden's Bridge.-Route description:NY 138 begins at...
crosses the reservoir 500 feet (150 m) to the north. It is most clearly seen from here, although it can also be seen through the woods from commuter trains near the station.
It is surrounded by woodlands, part of the reservoir's protected watershed lands, all owned, like the bridge, by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection
New York City Department of Environmental Protection
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection is a City agency of nearly 6,000 employees that manages and conserves the City’s water supply; distributes more than one billion gallons of clean drinking water each day to nine million New Yorkers and collects wastewater through a vast...
. The former route of the tracks is visible on both approaches to the bridge.
Structure
Both trussTruss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es are 163 feet (49.7 m) long, consisting of nine identical panels. The web is 32 feet (9.8 m) deep. Two concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
abutment
Abutment
An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...
s support the bridge 12 feet (3.7 m) above mean water level.
Its pin-connected superstructure uses wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
Phoenix columns in its top chord and compression members. The end posts and upper chord are made up of six flange
Flange
A flange is an external or internal ridge, or rim , for strength, as the flange of an iron beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam; or for attachment to another object, as the flange on the end of a pipe, steam cylinder, etc., or on the lens mount of a camera; or for a flange of a rail car or tram wheel...
d cast
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
elements rivet
Rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a punched or pre-drilled hole, and the tail is upset, or bucked A rivet...
ed together. The intermediate verticals and lateral struts have four apiece.
The diagonals and lower chord have rectangular eyebar
Eyebar
In structural engineering and construction, an eyebar is a straight bar, usually of metal, with a hole at each end for fixing to other components...
s 4 to 6 in (10.2 to 15.2 cm) wide. Round bars are used for the counters and sway braces. The ties
Railroad tie
A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...
are on iron stringer
Stringer
Stringer may refer to:* Stringer , a type of freelance journalism* Stringer * Stringer , or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened...
s riveted to transverse iron floor beams. Both portals
Portal (architecture)
Portal is a general term describing an opening in the walls of a building, gate or fortification, and especially a grand entrance to an important structure. Doors, metal gates or portcullis in the opening can be used to control entry or exit. The surface surrounding the opening may be made of...
are decorated with quatrefoil
Quatrefoil
The word quatrefoil etymologically means "four leaves", and applies to general four-lobed shapes in various contexts.-In heraldry:In heraldic terminology, a quatrefoil is a representation of a flower with four petals, or a leaf with four leaflets . It is sometimes shown "slipped", i.e. with an...
brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
and finial
Finial
The finial is an architectural device, typically carved in stone and employed decoratively to emphasize the apex of a gable or any of various distinctive ornaments at the top, end, or corner of a building or structure. Smaller finials can be used as a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods...
s.
History
The bridge was originally the smallest of three spans in a 1200 feet (365.8 m) viaduct-bridge combination along the former West Shore Line at the mouth of Rondout CreekRondout Creek
Rondout Creek is a tributary of the Hudson River in Ulster and Sullivan counties, New York, USA. It rises on Rocky Mountain in the eastern Catskills, flows south into Rondout Reservoir, part of New York City's water supply network, then into the valley between the Catskills and the Shawangunk...
in Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, 50 miles (80.5 km) to the north. It was built in 1883 by Clarke, Reeves & Company, a Philadelphia-based subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of the Phoenix Iron Works
Phoenix Iron Works
The Phoenix Iron Works , located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was a significant manufacturer of iron and related products during the 19th century and early 20th century. Phoenix Iron Company was a major producer of cannons for the Union Army during the American Civil War...
as a 29-foot–wide (8.8 m) double-tracked structure, known administratively within the Central as Bridge 141.
In 1904, the railroad built another bridge at the Rondout that could carry the entire load on one span. At the same time, New York City was beginning to buy, clear and flood land for its water supply system in the Croton River
Croton River
The Croton River is a river in southern New York that begins where the East and West Branches of the Croton River meet a little way downstream from the Croton Falls Reservoir...
watershed. Railroads in the area were required, under their agreements with the city, to install bridges over any inundated areas at their own expense.
The railroad decided to move Bridge 141, now Bridge L-158, south to the new reservoir where it would easily bridge the gap needed for the Mahopac
Mahopac, New York
Mahopac, New York, is a hamlet in the Town of Carmel in Putnam County, New York. An exurb of New York City some to the south, Mahopac is located on US Route 6 on the County's southern central border with Westchester County...
Branch from the former New York and Harlem Railroad
New York and Harlem Railroad
The New York and Harlem Railroad was one of the first railroads in the United States, and possibly also the world's first street railway. Designed by John Stephenson, it was opened in stages between 1832 and 1852 between Lower Manhattan to and beyond Harlem...
main line. The branch, formerly the New York & Mahopac Railroad, served what had been a summer resort community in the 19th century. Since it was a single-track line, the bridge was rebuilt that way, its width reduced to 16 feet (4.9 m).
Service on the Mahopac Branch continued until 1960. The tracks were eventually dismantled to and from the bridge, but the bridge itself remained. In 1976, a survey team from the Historic American Engineering Record found that it remained in good condition despite the lack of maintenance or use. Its presence on New York City watershed land, where public access is tightly restricted, has helped preserve
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
it as well.
See also
- List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Westchester County, New York
External links
- Bridge L-158 report from the Historic American Engineering Record
- Pictures of Bridge L-158 and the Muscoot Reservoir