1876 Covered Bridge-They don't build 'em like that any more!

[Guzzistajohn]

Near Paris, Mo.

[oldbike54]

 

 Dusty

[reidy]

Is there a reason why the bridges were built covered? It would appear that a lot of work went into them.

Thanks Steve

[Guzzistajohn]

Kept the timbers out of the weather, dirt and moisture won't collect in cracks and crevices preventing wood rot. 144 years? I think they had it figured out   

[Ncdan]

Also it gave travelers a place of refuge during inclement weather back in the horse and buggy days.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

[cliffrod]

Is there a reason why the bridges were built covered? It would appear that a lot of work went into them.

Thanks Steve

As noted, keeping the structure protected from weather extremes preserves the bridge.  My home state of Vermont is approx halfway between the equator and the North Pole.  In winter, it can have lots of snow & ice so has many (historic) covered bridges.   Except for modern highway upgrades, old covered bridges that have had to be rebuilt prematurely or that have been lost were often a casualty of floods or ice jams - ice covering brook or river partially melts in the late winter/early spring, flows downstream, is blocked or jammed and then grows larger which destroys everything in its path like a giant bulldozer- instead of normal weathering. 

Another destroyer of covered bridges is a neglected leaky roof.  that's a matter of vigorous local gossip and public shame to the responsible town or private owner, so is usually addressed before the bridge fails.   

Once in a while, a very heavy truck like a log truck or milk truck would break through the wooden floor of a covered bridge- sometimes just a wheel but sometimes they go all the way into the brook below.  Below is a locally well-known picture from 1939 of one of the covered bridges in my hometown.  Moxley Bridge in Chelsea VT.  Log truck disregarded the posted limits and went all the way through the floor to the water. As kids, this picture was regularly used to warn us about the consequences for ignoring the rules-








 
Young men with a reputation for driving fast and spinning their tires were also warned that squealing tires on the wooden floor of a covered bridge were asking to get big splinters in their tires and thus need new tires.  Among others, I was accused of doing exactly that on Moxley Bridge (by a girlfriend's father who lived within earshot of the bridge) but it wasn't me.  I didn't have to do that- My car would spin tires on real pavement.

[Gliderjohn]

Those are all cool!
Entry to the far south end of Lindeborg, KS



GliderJohn

[rschrum]

We have 19 of them just south of here in Madison county. Kind of famous.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Roseman+Covered+Bridge&sa=X&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS809US809&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVeLSz9U3MIu3LCnMNlLOySwuUchPU8hNTMkszs9TSM4vzSupVMjML09USCrKTElPLT7FiKQDyjGqMMzNNUPiFFjAOOaG5RaGSHryiqAcc9NcY4uKU4y8-un6hobJBaY55tkl6XC-iUVBelWeIZxvUFZZVJER_4jxFSO3wMsf94SlHjBOWnPyGuNNRi4Bn_z84tScyqDUnMSS1JSQfCEjLjbXvJLMkkohKS4eKQ6QfXlFFRYaDFJcXHCeFI8SF-__jXMkRJ9O_3VcaAIjF3dwaklIvm9-SmZapVADo1AdF6dvam5SalGxf5qQHReXc35OTmpySWZ-npABl7iUsH4yXEAfGjxAK0S5sEkoGRrpX3p2eyOrJhc7VAjiMEPT7CItNg4WASYJRtNFQUb2VjB5nkWsYkFAn-Um5ik455elFqWmKDiBpQA23vqvuAEAAA&biw=1600&bih=740&sxsrf=ALeKk012n5papShah0oTVZAsPDDll0DS1g:1585884152281&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=APKmwnnTiaxXTM%253A%252ClyCVcvAVAVnyHM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQJ8-rhNnokGL0PG_fe1ghrbkWkFA&ved=2ahUKEwi2uLTspsvoAhXNaM0KHS_1AhsQ9QEwD3oECAgQIg#imgrc=APKmwnnTiaxXTM:

[80CX100]

Kept the timbers out of the weather, dirt and moisture won't collect in cracks and crevices preventing wood rot. 144 years? I think they had it figured out   

      I don't understand all the engineering elements  going on; but there seems to have been a lot of thought go into compression, suspension, load dispersion etc, obviously great skill in the design and construction.

      Those wooden pegs and the joinery are impressive.

      Tks

       Kelly

[Guzzistajohn]

We have 19 of them just south of here in Madison county. Kind of famous.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Roseman+Covered+Bridge&sa=X&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS809US809&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVeLSz9U3MIu3LCnMNlLOySwuUchPU8hNTMkszs9TSM4vzSupVMjML09USCrKTElPLT7FiKQDyjGqMMzNNUPiFFjAOOaG5RaGSHryiqAcc9NcY4uKU4y8-un6hobJBaY55tkl6XC-iUVBelWeIZxvUFZZVJER_4jxFSO3wMsf94SlHjBOWnPyGuNNRi4Bn_z84tScyqDUnMSS1JSQfCEjLjbXvJLMkkohKS4eKQ6QfXlFFRYaDFJcXHCeFI8SF-__jXMkRJ9O_3VcaAIjF3dwaklIvm9-SmZapVADo1AdF6dvam5SalGxf5qQHReXc35OTmpySWZ-npABl7iUsH4yXEAfGjxAK0S5sEkoGRrpX3p2eyOrJhc7VAjiMEPT7CItNg4WASYJRtNFQUb2VjB5nkWsYkFAn-Um5ik455elFqWmKDiBpQA23vqvuAEAAA&biw=1600&bih=740&sxsrf=ALeKk012n5papShah0oTVZAsPDDll0DS1g:1585884152281&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=APKmwnnTiaxXTM%253A%252ClyCVcvAVAVnyHM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQJ8-rhNnokGL0PG_fe1ghrbkWkFA&ved=2ahUKEwi2uLTspsvoAhXNaM0KHS_1AhsQ9QEwD3oECAgQIg#imgrc=APKmwnnTiaxXTM:

I’ve been to some of those too, also John Wayne’s birthplace in Winterset Ia.

[vintage53]

Here you Go!  The last remaining covered bridge in NJ    Delaware Township in Hunterdon County. Built 1872 ,  approx. 84FT long.  Green Sergeant's







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about 20min from home.

[Daniel Kalal]

nice collections.  I cannot offer anything on covered bridges, but it's good to see these.

edited to add:

but, one:

Jackson, New Hampshire is the birthplace of John Meserve (my great-great grandfather) and several generations earlier.

[Seventy One]

Missouri has some great riding...and this:

https://mostateparks.com/park/bollinger-mill-state-historic-site

[Guzzistajohn]

nice collections.  I cannot offer anything on covered bridges, but it's good to see these.

edited to add:

but, one:

Jackson, New Hampshire is the birthplace of John Meserve (my great-great grandfather) and several generations earlier.

OMG Daniel??? No covered bridges pics??? GASP!!! I thought you had pics of EVERYTHING 

[Guzzistajohn]

nice collections.  I cannot offer anything on covered bridges, but it's good to see these.

edited to add:

but, one:

Jackson, New Hampshire is the birthplace of John Meserve (my great-great grandfather) and several generations earlier.

Been there too! Great roads in that area and lots to see!

[Daniel Kalal]

...No covered bridges pics??? GASP!!!

I checked, and I've got photos of 250 different bridges, but they're all open to the sky...  Odd, since I've been over many--just didn't take any photos.

[StuCorpe]

Instead of an antique here is one that is only about 15 years old, not to far from where I live.

 
Loon Song Bridge, it is sometimes rented out for weddings in the fall.

[Lannis]

Surprised that we haven't seen many people's favorite, and one that most Guzzisti who ride in the East have probably traveled over because, unlike any other covered bridge I know, a Federal Highway route still uses it.

US250 in Phillipi, WV



Lannis

[Brilig]

Is there a reason why the bridges were built covered? It would appear that a lot of work went into them.

Thanks Steve

I heard that the reason they built them covered was to keep the weather off them so they would last.  Kind of like if your house didn't have a roof it wouldn't last too long.

[lazlokovacs]

absolutely beautiful carpentry, thanks guys

[Guzzistajohn]

I checked, and I've got photos of 250 different bridges, but they're all open to the sky...  Odd, since I've been over many--just didn't take any photos.

This one is 40 miles north of I-70 not far off path on your way the way to The Mile!

[maquette]

Here's the Hune Covered Bridge built in 1879. It's located off Hwy 26 in SE Ohio not far from Marietta. If you have camping gear there is a neat little campsite just across the bridge.




dice order of numbers