Talk:Covered bridge

Reason?

?? History of Covered Bridges in the U.S. is incomplete and in many places inaccurate! I feel the explanation of the reason(s) for contructing covered bridges should be included in the main article. I was told (in 1980's in Central EU) they were meant as a refuge from elements during harvests, but found out recently (in Mass.) that the roof was for roadway protection. This PDF doc also supports that idea Oregon Covered Bridges Introduction (see Bookmarks) Wikiak 00:40, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

as a brit, I've only seen these in films. What are they for? why are they covered? what are the advantages? -- Tarquin

Added a bit. It's fairly obvious, if you put a roof and walls over a bridge, it will be better protected from the weather. Ortolan88

never underestimate culture shock. I'm used to bridges build of brick or stone that withstand the weather, so the idea that a bridge's structure might not doesn't immediately spring to mind. -- Tarquin

When crossing a covered bridge, soldiers must march out of step to avoid causing vibrational damage. This is true of any (badly-built) bridge, as the Millenium Bridge debacle in London proved. I don't think it's specific to covered bridges, which is why I moved it out of the main article. Feel free to disagree... :) charlieF 16:15 Mar 14, 2003 (UTC)

Some covered bridges (skyways) were ruined in the September 11th attacks, at the World Trade Center. There were a lot of windows broken in the Sept11 attack too but I don't see it mentioned in the Window article. If this piece of information is really worthwhile (for example if the destroyed skyways were historically or architecturally important) it should be mentioned. At the moment the paragraph does not make any sense (so I'm moving it out of the article).

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I've recently uploaded an image of Potter's Bridge (covered bridge), in Noblesville, Indiana history section. I haven't added it to this article, as I wasn't sure if it make the article to cluttered with pictures, but it's there nonetheless if anyone feels the inclination to use it. --Randolph 03:22, 26 Mar 2005 (UTC)

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I understood the suggestion that livestock were startled was apocryphal - the only reason is to protect the structural timbers. 213.83.125.109 (talk) 14:48, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

Covered bridges in Europe

This section is very lean and needs expanding.

Though wooden covered bridges are unknown in the UK (where I come from), they are common in Switzerland and adjoining areas of Germany (where I now live), where there are probably hundreds of them. They are still building new ones, as footbridges and cycle-track bridges.

One of the oldest and longest is in Bad Säckingen. See http://www.bad-saeckingen.de or search in Google images for "Bad Säckingen holzbrücke". This spans the Rhine, one end is in Germany and the other in Switzerland.

P.S. The Kapellbrücke is in the centre of Luzern, not "near" as you say. Luzern is the correct spelling. Lucerne is the French spelling, but Luzern is in German-speaking Switzerland.

To Tarquin: The advantages of covered bridges are: - Strength - same principle as a box girder bridge - The roof keeps rain off the wood decking and stops it rotting, this bit is not necessary for a metal or concrete bridge.

TiffaF 12:37, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

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World's longest covered bridge

I added a paragraph concerning one of the key events in the American Civil War's Gettysburg Campaign when a crucial covered bridge (the only one between the state capital of Harrisburg and the Maryland border) was burned to prevent passage over the rain-swollen Susquehanna River. This bridge has been an architectural marvel, spanning nearly a mile and a quarter. It was rebuilt after the war, but destroyed again by a windstorm and rebuilt again as an open iron truss bridge for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Scott Mingus 12:23, Jun 18, 2005 (UTC)

Image needs replacement

The image Covered bridge Franconia Notch SP New Hampshire.jpg has a strange license tag and needs to be replaced with a free alternative. Pagrashtak 23:05, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

Gallery

Can I add another image to the gallery of covered bridges or are there already enough? Pendragon39 21:34, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

47 images in a gallery is an astonishingly large number for Wikipedia, especially since Commons was created for just this purpose. A Commons gallery page (for example, see commons:Xinjiang) needs to be created for this instead, and at that point, sure, the more images the merrier, especially if they can be organized a bit like Xinjiang is. --Interiot 03:01, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

New Construction Details Section

I added a new section to the article that gives details about construction techniques and rationale for covering. Thoughts? Ideas? Mmoyer 17:42, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

See alsos

I have removed the red linked see alsos. While it is great to add to the See also appendice, there should at least be something to see at the additions. Red links have nothing to see. IvoShandor 19:11, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Image could be improved

The current image seems like the bridge is a bit small. There surely are better images. If I may be so bold, may I suggest one from this category? There are others out there to be sure. ++Lar: t/c 01:42, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

• Yes please - while you are at it do you want to axe the gallery? ;-) Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 03:11, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

EH? :) (I was gonna add some MI bridges, since it has none....) Kidding aside it could stand to be trimmed. It should have representative images of types and styles but 40+ is probably too many... ++Lar: t/c 03:30, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Longest single-span coverd bridge

The present article states,

The town of Blenheim, New York has the longest single-span covered bridge in the world (232 feet), built in 1855. The bridge crosses the Schoharie Creek in the northern Catskills.

This does not appear to be true. The Wikipedia page for the above mentioned bridge is here, Old Blenheim Bridge.

The covered bridge at Bridgeport, in Nevada County, CA, USA is known to be the longest single-span, wooden covered bridge. Built in 1863, its span is commonly stated as 251 feet. The Wikipedia page for the Bridgeport bridge is here, Bridgeport Covered Bridge.

While I am by no means an expert, I'll be making the change to the article, as the present article appears incorrect. Any objections? Djd sd (talk) 07:02, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Does the Britannia Bridge (460 ft per span) count? It is no longer standing in its original form, after a fire in its wood and iron "tunnels". --Old Moonraker (talk) 07:35, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

I would suggest that Britannia would no longer be considered a covered bridge, but rather a dual-level bridge, since it supports vehicles on the new upper deck. — Huntster (talk • email • contribs) 17:31, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

Well, the plot thickens... There is a Historical American Engineering Record (HAER No. NY-311) for the Blenheim Bridge, and one on the Bridgeport bridge as well (HAER No. CA-41). I'm going to do some more research and editing on the respective articles before changing anything here. The original spans are nearly equal in length, around 210 feet. Djd sd (talk) 07:46, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

It should also be noted that a bride can have more than one length. For covered bridges, there is the length of the 1) deck, 2) roof, and 3) span. From what information I have come across, the Calofornia bridge had a longer structure (deck & roof), but the New York brige had the longer span. —MJBurrage^(T•C) 20:26, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Why were they built..?

As a subject in an encyclopedia, I just think the reason why they were built should be explored more.

Currently in the section marked 'Construction details'. It suggests that the major historic likelihood was to protect the bridge superstructure from the elements. But there are many countries in the world where bridges are made from similar materials (such as wood) which are not covered.

There has to be a better description of purpose? The article is, otherwise, just a list of examples from around the world of 'covered bridges'. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.149.220.53 (talk) 15:20, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

• I remember hearing one reason for the covered bridge was because of horses. A horse might become spooked or reluctant to cross an open bridge over water. The sight and sound of the water was the reason the horses might not cross. A covered bridge fooled the horses into thinking it was just walking over solid ground. I have no sources other than what was told to me by an old Vermonter. 24.45.191.151 (talk) 15:36, 3 January 2012 (UTC)

Is it reasonable?

{{helpme}} Of me to edit out some mis-statements and even misinformation, made on this page? As example under Standard Truss Types - the description fails to delineate between King Post and Multiple King Post, then goes on to misname a rare variant, (nowhere else that I am aware of, is a Trussed Arch called a Curved Multiple King Post though they are a variant of MK's) when discussion of rare truss typologies should perhaps only be discussed under a second category, something other than standard types. When does something rise to the level of requiring a citation? It does not seem feasible nor necessary to do so for every minor edit, especially when minor edits are simply the removal or correction of erroneous information. (how do you cite something that refutes bad or made up information?) Providing citations is for me made somewhat complicated at the moment, with business travel putting me hundreds of miles from my library. Such travel is common for me and likely when I would engage in bursts of editing, though I would likely have some sense of what I might wish to bring next time. JosephGJohnson (talk) 18:42, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes - absolutely. Be bold! Similar to the comments already on your talk page, please just make sure that the edits use reliable sources per the verifiability policy. Regards.  7  01:56, 8 June 2010 (UTC)

I agree - here is an online source that may be useful while you travel. Ruhrfisch _><>°^° 02:03, 8 June 2010 (UTC)

• Pierce, Phillip C.; Brungraber, Robert L.; Lichtenstein, Abba; Sabol, Scott; Morrell, J.J.; Lebow, S.T. (April 2005). "Covered Bridge Manual: Publication No. FHWA-HRT-04-098" (PDF). US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. http://www.tfhrc.gov/structur/pubs/04098/04098.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-26.