Discoveries and Inventions of the Nineteenth Century

The general principle of the suspension bridge is exemplified in a chain hanging between two fixed points on the same level. If two chains were placed parallel to each other, a roadway for a bridge might be formed by laying planks across the chains, but there would necessarily be a steep descent to the centre and a steep ascent on the other side. And it would be quite impossible by any amount of force to stretch the chains into a straight line, for their weight would always produce a considerable deflection. Indeed, even a short piece of thin cord cannot be stretched horizontally into a perfectly straight line. It was, therefore, a happy thought which occurred to some one, to hang a roadway from the chains, so that it might be quite level, although they preserved the necessary curve. In designing such bridges, the engineer considers the platform or roadway as itself constituting part of the chain, and adjusts the loads in such a manner that the whole shall be in equilibrium, so that if the platform were cut into sections, the level of the road would not be impaired. Public attention was first strongly drawn to suspension bridges by the engineer Telford, who, in 1818, undertook to throw such a bridge across the Menai Straits, and the work was actually commenced in the following year. The Menai Straits Suspension Bridge has been so often described, that it will be unnecessary to enter here into a lengthy account of it, especially as space must be reserved for some description of other bridges of greater spans. The total length of this bridge is 1,710 ft. The piers are built of grey Anglesea marble, and rise 153 ft. above the high-water line. The distance between their centres is 579 ft. 10½ in., and the centres of the main chains which depend from them are 43 ft. below the line joining the points of suspension. The roadway is 102 ft. above the high-water level, and it has a breadth of 28 ft., divided into two carriage-ways separated by a foot-track. The chains are formed of flat wrought iron bars, 9 ft. long, 3¼ in. broad, and 1 in. thick. In the main chains, of which there are sixteen, no fewer than eighty such bars are found at any point of the cross section, for each link is formed of five bars. These bars are joined by cross-bolts 3 in. in diameter. The main chains are connected by eight 285transverse stays formed of cast iron tubes, through which pass wrought iron bolts, and there are also diagonal ties joining the ends of the transverse stays. The time occupied in the construction was 6½ years, and the cost was £120,000. This bridge has always been regarded with interest for being the first example of a bridge on the suspension principle carried out on the large scale, and also for its great utility to the public, who, instead of the hazardous passage over an often stormy strait, have now the advantage of a safe and level roadway. Fig. 146.—Clifton Suspension Bridge, near Bristol. The Clifton Suspension Bridge over the Avon, near Bristol, is noted for having a wider span than any other bridge in Great Britain, and it is remarkable also for the great height of its roadway. The distance between the centres of the piers—that is, the distance of the points between which the chains are suspended—is more than 702 ft. Part of the ironwork for this bridge was supplied from the materials of a suspension bridge which formerly crossed the Thames at London, and was removed to make room for the structure which now carries the railway over the river to the Charing Cross terminus. Five hundred additional tons of ironwork were used in the construction of the Clifton Bridge, which is not only much longer than the old Hungerford Bridge, but has its platform of more than double the width, viz., 31 ft. wide, instead of 14 ft. A view of this bridge is given in Fig. 146, where its platform is seen stretching from one precipitous bank of the rocky Avon to the other, and the river placidly flowing more than 200 ft. below the roadway. The picturesque surroundings of this elegant structure greatly enhance its appearance, and the view looking south from the centre of the bridge itself is greatly admired, although the 286position may be at first a little trying to a spectator with weak nerves. The work is also of great public convenience, as it affords the inhabitants of the elevated grounds about Clifton a direct communication between Gloucestershire and Somersetshire, thus avoiding the circuitous route through Bristol, which was required before the completion of the bridge. Fig. 147. The use of iron wire instead of wrought bars has enabled engineers to far exceed the spans of the bridges already described. The table on page 199 shows that iron wire has a tenacity nearly one-third greater than that of iron bars, and this property has been taken advantage of in the suspension bridge which M. Chaley has thrown over the valley at Fribourg, in Switzerland. This bridge has a span of no less than 880 ft., and is constructed entirely of iron wires scarcely more than ⅒ in. in diameter. The main suspension cables, of which there are two on each side, are formed of 1,056 threads of wire, and have a circular section of 5½ in. diameter. The length of each cable is 1,228 ft., and at intervals of 2 ft. the wires are firmly bound together, so as to preserve its circular form. But as the cable approaches the piers, the wires are separated, and the two cables on each side unite by the spreading out of the wires into one flat band of parallel wire, which passes over the rollers at the top of the piers, and is again divided into eight smaller cables, which are securely moored to the ground. Each of the mooring cables is 4 in. in diameter, and is composed of 528 wires. In order to obtain a secure attachment for the mooring cables, shafts were sunk in the solid rock 52 ft. deep, and the ingenious mode in which, by means of inverted arches, an anchorage in the solid rock is formed for the cables, will be understood by a reference to Fig. 147. The cables pass downwards through an opening made in each of the middle stones, and are secured at the bottom by stirrup-irons and keys. The suspension piers are built of blocks of stone, very carefully shaped and put together with cramps and ties, so as to constitute most substantial structures. These piers are embellished with columns and entablatures, forming Doric porticoes, enclosing the entrances to the bridge, which are archways 43 ft. high and 19 ft. wide. The roadway is 21 ft. wide, and is supported on transverse beams, 5 ft. apart, upon which is laid longitudinal planking covered by transverse planking. The roadway beams are suspended to the main cables by vertical wire cables, 1 in. in diameter. The length of these suspension cables of course varies according to their position, the shortest being ½ ft. and the longest 54 ft. in length. Each suspension cable is secured by the doubling back of the wires over a kind of stirrup, through which passes a plate of iron, supported by the two suspension cables, the latter being close together, and, indeed, only separated by the thickness of the suspension cables, which hang between them. The roadway has a slight rise towards the centre, its middle point being from 20 to 40 in. above the level of the ends, according to the temperature. 287To test the stability of the bridge, fifteen heavy pieces of artillery, accompanied by fifty horses and 300 people, were made to traverse it at various speeds, and the results were entirely satisfactory. Indeed, a few years afterwards the people of Fribourg had another wire bridge thrown over the gorge of Gotteron, at about a mile from the former. This, though not so long (640 ft.), spans the chasm at a great height, and in this respect is probably not surpassed by any bridge in the world—certainly not by any the length of which can compare with its own. The height of the roadway above the valley is 317 ft., or about the same as that of the golden gallery of St. Paul’s Cathedral above the street. The structure is very light, and the sensation experienced when, looking vertically downwards through the spaces between the flooring boards, you see the people below diminished to the apparent size of flies, and actually feel yourself suspended in mid-air, is very peculiar, as the writer can testify. The Americans have, however, outspanned all the rest of the world in their wire suspension bridges. They have thrown a suspension bridge of 800 ft. span over the Niagara at a height of 260 ft. above the water, to carry not only a roadway for ordinary traffic, but a railway. Suspension bridges are not well adapted for the latter purpose, but there seemed no other solution of the problem possible under the circumstances. The bridge, however, combines to a certain extent the girder with the suspension principle. The girder which hangs from the main cables (for they are made of wire), carries the railway, and below this is the suspended roadway for passengers and ordinary carriages. The engineer of this work was Roebling, who also designed many other suspension bridges in America. The spans of any European bridges are far exceeded by that of the wire suspension bridge which crosses the Ohio River at Cincinnati, with a stride of more than 1,000 ft.; and this is, in its turn, surpassed by another bridge which has been thrown over the Niagara. This bridge, which must not be confounded with the one mentioned above, or with the Clifton Bridge in England already described, merits a detailed description from the audacity of its span, which is nearly a quarter of a mile, and entitles it to the distinction of being the longest bridge in the world of one span. Fig. 147a.—Clifton Suspension Bridge, Niagara. The new suspension bridge at the Niagara Falls, called the Clifton Bridge, of which a view is given in Fig. 147a, is intended for the use of passengers and carriages visiting the Falls, and it is also the means of more direct communication between several small towns near the banks of the river. The bridge is situated a short distance below the Falls, crossing the river at right angles to its course at a point where the rocks which form the banks are about 1,200 ft. apart. The distance between the centres of the towers is 1,268 ft. 4 in., and the bridge has by far the longest single span of any bridge in the world, the distance between the points of suspension being more than twice that of the Menai Bridge, and more than six times the span of the widest stone bridge in England. This remarkable suspension bridge was constructed by Mr. Samuel Keefer, and was opened for traffic on the 1st of January, 1869, the actual time employed in the work having been only twelve months. The cables and suspenders are made of wire, which was drawn in England at Warrington and Manchester, and the wires for the main cables were made of such a length, that each wire passed from end to end of the cable without weld or splice. The length of each of the two main cables is 1,888 ft., and of this length 1,286 ft. usually hangs between the suspending towers, the centre being about 90 ft. below the level of the points of suspension. This last distance, however, 289varies considerably with the temperature, for in winter the contraction produced by the cold brings up the centre to 89 ft. below the level line, while in summer it maybe 3 ft. lower. The centre of the bridge is about 190 ft. above the water in summer, and 193 ft. in winter. The cables are each formed of seven wire ropes, and each rope consists of seven strands, each strand containing nineteen No. 9 Birmingham gauge wires of the diameter of 0·155 in. The cables of this bridge do not hang in vertical planes, since in