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Old November 3rd 04, 08:39 AM posted to uk.transport.london,uk.railway
Mark Brader Mark Brader is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Jul 2003
Posts: 403
Default What is the oldest object or construction in the world...

I believe that includes the only ever railway swing bridge.

Nope. The Oxford Companion to British Railway History says:

# Opening bridges were built across some navigable waterways,
# allowing shipping to pass. They were usually swing bridges,
# like Thowse Bridge, Norwich (one of the earliest), Selby over
# the Yorkshire Ouse, Hawarden across the Dee near Chester, and
# one at each end of the Caledonian Canal. Scherzer rolling-lift
# bascule bridges replaced earlier swing bridges at Carmarthen
# and across the Trent at Keadby ...

Incidentally, remember the Amtrak disaster around 10-15 years ago
where a barge went off course and collided with a bridge, which
then collapsed under the next train to come along? According to a
TV show I watched recently, that bridge was built as a swing bridge,
but the railway eventually decided not to install the motor, and
used it as an ordinary bridge. However, the show said, they
neglected to rigidly attach the moving span to the abutments, and
that's why the barge collision knocked it out of position so easily.
--
Mark Brader "It is hard to be brave," said Piglet, sniffing
Toronto slightly, when you're only a Very Small Animal".
-- A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

My text in this article is in the public domain.