Temporary bridges?

[duesselmartin]

Hello all,
as you can read in the international forum, a bridge in the Ruhr region of Germany was serverely damaged by fire.
Are there such things as temporary railway bridges that can be inserted short term to get a main artery running again?
With bridges coming in all shapes and sizes, I can imagine it to be difficult as a short term solution.
Best wishes from Duisburg.
Martin

 

[Gloster]

There probably are such bridges, but would they require part of the roadway below to be blocked off, which might not be acceptable as the A40 is a major artery. (Even though it was a road vehicle that caused the fire.)

 

[matacaster]

Hello all,
as you can read in the international forum, a bridge in the Ruhr region of Germany was serverely damaged by fire.
Are there such things as temporary bridges that can be inserted short term to get a main artery running again?
With bridges coming in all shapes and sizes, I can imagine it to be difficult as a short term solution.
Best wishes from Duisburg.
Martin

I believe the military have temporary bridging kit, or at least they used to have. US or possibly even ourselves (royal engineers). However, they don't do pretty, just functional, so would likely bulldoze or blow up anything in the way.

 

[duesselmartin]

I believe the military have temporary bridging kit, or at least they used to have. US or possibly even ourselves (royal engineers). However, they don't do pretty, just functional, so would likely bulldoze or blow up anything in the way.

Road yes, but rail?

 

[MotCO]

After the Lewisham rail crash in 1957, a temporary rail bridge was constructed a month later. 63 years on, it is still 'temporary'!

 

[DerekC]

The bridge that carries the lines from Clapham Junction to Victoria over the SWML has some supports that look distinctly like military trestling.

 

[Bald Rick]

Sticking with Germany, after 617 squadron demolished the Bielefeld viaduct in 1945 with the first Grand Slam bomb used in anger, the Wehrmacht had a temporary railway built down into and across the valley in a day or so.

Took them nearly 40 years to fully reopen it though.

 

[DelW]

There are panel bridges (similar in principle to Bailey bridges, but with larger panels and better fatigue resistance) which could possibly be used for rail. The longitudinal beams can be configured in multiple, both side by side and one above another, and they are certainly capable of carrying heavy construction vehicles. The limiting factor is probably the transverse beams supporting the deck.

Mabey Universal (MU) Vehicle Bridge

Mabey Universal (MU) bridge’s heavy load capacity, makes it ideal for long span road diversions during bridge reconstruction, or for heavy plant access onto construction sites

www.mabeyhire.co.uk

(As an aside, thirty years ago trains between London and Brighton were running over six temporary bridges that I'd designed, but they were only about 5 - 6m span. They were purpose designed for the location.)

 

[181]

Sticking with Germany, after 617 squadron demolished the Bielefeld viaduct in 1945 with the first Grand Slam bomb used in anger, the Wehrmacht had a temporary railway built down into and across the valley in a day or so.

Took them nearly 40 years to fully reopen it though.

According to Wikipedia, German Wikipedia (if I understand it correctly) and this website, the diversion had already been built as a precaution in case the viaduct was damaged. (I wonder whether this was common practice, or whether that viaduct was particularly important, particularly vulnerable or just easier than most to bypasss). My (non-expert) impression is that in wartime bridges were indeed sometimes replaced or rebuilt quite quickly, though.

 

[Bald Rick]

According to Wikipedia, German Wikipedia (if I understand it correctly) and this website, the diversion had already been built as a precaution in case the viaduct was damaged. (I wonder whether this was common practice, or whether that viaduct was particularly important, particularly vulnerable or just easier than most to bypasss). My (non-expert) impression is that in wartime bridges were indeed sometimes replaced or rebuilt quite quickly, though.

Yes I read that when I researched my post last night, but as that was the first time I’d heard it, and I’d read several other accounts of the diversion being built in a day or so, I kept wit h my original understanding.

I will admit, though, that a ‘pre prepared’ diversion does seem plausible.

 

[edwin_m]

Yes I read that when I researched my post last night, but as that was the first time I’d heard it, and I’d read several other accounts of the diversion being built in a day or so, I kept wit h my original understanding.

I will admit, though, that a ‘pre prepared’ diversion does seem plausible.

We did similar things, adding connections in places such as Northallerton and Maidstone.

 

[randyrippley]

According to Wikipedia, German Wikipedia (if I understand it correctly) and this website, the diversion had already been built as a precaution in case the viaduct was damaged. (I wonder whether this was common practice, or whether that viaduct was particularly important, particularly vulnerable or just easier than most to bypasss). My (non-expert) impression is that in wartime bridges were indeed sometimes replaced or rebuilt quite quickly, though.

It was a key route for the germans. The RAF made multiple attempts to take it down. Aerial photos show literally hundreds of bomb craters around it from previous attacks. Both sides regarded it as a strategic target and it makes sense that the germans had an alternative route planned

Hello all,
as you can read in the international forum, a bridge in the Ruhr region of Germany was serverely damaged by fire.
Are there such things as temporary railway bridges that can be inserted short term to get a main artery running again?
With bridges coming in all shapes and sizes, I can imagine it to be difficult as a short term solution.
Best wishes from Duisburg.
Martin

During and after WWII numerous bridges were replaced by "temporary" Bailey Bridges by the Allied forces. Many survived for many years.
However doing so now could be problematic simply because of the availability - or lack of - parts. During and after the war we had a vast collection of sectional parts prebuilt, ready to go. Now we have very little in the way of such stocks.

 

[Malcmal]

I would say the Britannia Bridge in Anglesey qualifies to a certain degree:

Britannia Bridge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

" The Royal Engineers were quickly brought in to save the bridge, rapidly deploying vertical Bailey bridge units to fill the original jacking slots in the masonry towers. By the end of July 1970, a total of eight Bailey bridge steel towers had been erected, each being capable of bearing a vertical load of around 200 tonnes. "

 

[edwin_m]

I would say the Britannia Bridge in Anglesey qualifies to a certain degree:

Britannia Bridge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

" The Royal Engineers were quickly brought in to save the bridge, rapidly deploying vertical Bailey bridge units to fill the original jacking slots in the masonry towers. By the end of July 1970, a total of eight Bailey bridge steel towers had been erected, each being capable of bearing a vertical load of around 200 tonnes. "

It may have saved the bridge from falling into the sea, but it didn't save the historic tubes from being removed and replaced by arches. Nor, I guess, did trains actually run over the bridge in this configuration (I think I've seen a picture looking along the outside of one of the tubes and clearly showing it distorted). On that basis it's interesting to know, but debatable whether it counts as a temporary bridge.

 

[Malcmal]

It may have saved the bridge from falling into the sea, but it didn't save the historic tubes from being removed and replaced by arches. Nor, I guess, did trains actually run over the bridge in this configuration (I think I've seen a picture looking along the outside of one of the tubes and clearly showing it distorted). On that basis it's interesting to know, but debatable whether it counts as a temporary bridge.

Trains DID start to use one of the tubes again while they constructed the new deck alongside. Then that tube was dismantled once the rail traffic moved to the other side.