A ride up the South Tower of the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge, special end view of the horns! May 14,21
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 27 май 2021
- A great day to be working, we were on site for a preconstruction meeting, walk through for some work we will be doing.
I have never been up the South Tower, with a little bit of whining, it was allowed.....
I did like the view of Duluth from the South side, more picturesque in my mind.
A the end of the video, I squeezed in a little view of the horns they have. I get many requests to see the horns, here it is.... The sound was not live, it was taken from a previous video.
From Wikipedia:
The Aerial Lift Bridge, earlier known as the Aerial Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, is a landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span began life in 1905 as the United States' first transporter bridge: Only one other was ever constructed in the country, Sky Ride in Chicago.[2] The span was converted in 1929-1930 to a vertical-lift bridge - also rather uncommon, although there are six such bridges along Ontario's Welland Canal - and continues to operate today. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1973. The bridge is owned and operated by the City of Duluth. The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains a nearby maritime museum.
Bridge history
The bridge spans the Duluth Ship Canal, which was put through the miles-long sand spit named Minnesota Point - commonly called Park Point by locals - in 1870-1871. The natural mouth of the Saint Louis River is about seven miles (11 km) farther southeast, and is split between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Creating this gap in the sand spit meant that residents who lived on the new island needed to have a way to get across. Several transportation methods were tried, though they were complicated by the weather. Ferries could work in the summer, but ice caused problems in colder months. A swinging footbridge was used, but was considered rather rickety and unsafe.
In 1892, a contest was held to find a solution. The winning design came from John Low Waddell, who drew up plans for a high-rise vertical lift bridge. The city of Duluth was eager to build the bridge, which would have been about 130 feet (40 m) wide. However, the War Department objected to the design, and the project was canceled before it could be built. Waddell's design went on to be built in Chicago, Illinois, as the slightly larger South Halsted Street Bridge, which was removed in 1932.[3][4][5]
New plans were later drawn up for a structure that would ferry people from one side to the other. This type of span, known variously as an aerial transfer, ferry, or transporter bridge, was first demonstrated in Bilbao's Vizcaya Bridge in 1893 and one in France in 1898. Duluth's bridge was inspired by the one in France, though the actual construction is quite different. The architect was a city engineer, Thomas McGilvray.[1]
When it was completed in 1905, the Aerial Bridge's gondola had a capacity of 60 short tons (54 tonnes) and could carry 350 people plus wagons, streetcars or automobiles. A trip across the canal took about one minute, and the ferry car moved across once every five minutes during busy times of the day.[6] A growing population on Minnesota Point, a greater demand for cars, and an increase in tourism soon meant that the bridge's capacity was being stretched to the limit.
A remodeling was planned that would remove the gondola and incorporate a lifting platform into the structure. The firm finally commissioned with designing the new bridge was the descendant of Waddell's company. The new design, which closely resembles the 1892 concept, is attributed to C.A.P. Turner. Reconstruction began in 1929.[1] In order to ensure that tall ships could still pass under the bridge, the top span had to be raised to accommodate the new deck when raised. The support columns on either side were also modified so that they could hold new counterweights to balance the weight of the lifting portion. The new bridge first lifted for a vessel, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tugboat Essayons, on March 29, 1930.[6][7]
The bridge can be raised to its full height of 135 feet in about a minute, and is raised about 5,000 times per year.[8] The span is about 390 feet (120 meters). As ships pass, there is a customary horn-blowing sequence that is copied back. The bridge's "horn" is actually made up of two Westinghouse Airbrake locomotive horns.[9] Long-short-short is known as the Captain's Salute and is the most common of the ship signal exchanges. Авто/Мото
To save people some search time, the horns are both WABCO E-2B-1s, consisting of an E2 in the center and a B-7-21 on one side and a B-7-25 on the other. Those were used on a few railroads, but rarely.
In 1957 my family went to Duluth, and as we drove on to that lift bridge a flagman motioned for us to stop. He asked my dad if he wanted to drive off the bridge or ride up and down as the lift span went up, cleared the boat going through, and back down. I'm so glad dad said we'd ride! It was an experience that's stayed with me all these years. Your video brought back a great memory! Thank you!
Sweet, I knew someone would know! Thanks!
I've always wanted to see this up close and real. Thank you! I've never been there, but the bridge is fascinating to this Texan!
I remember my Dad say they used to give rides but they don't anymore. Thanks for this it's beautiful
Glad you enjoyed it, they do not anymore....guessing insurance and lawyers got in the way of that....
This is exactly the type of unique and limited access content I love. Thank you for sharing it!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Very cool, although for some reason my fear of heights kicked in even though watching a video, stomach sank. Can't believe how high this looks.Beautiful views. Thank you.
Thanks!
How cool!! And, finally, we get a look at those horns!!! Great video, Paul!! Thank you!!
Glad you enjoyed it
I have always wanted to ride up in the Aerial Bridge! Thanks for the virtual trip!
Great film! Special thanks to the bridge workers for giving you the tour.
I don’t like heights but envy you for getting to do this! Thanks for showing us
Any time!
@@PaulScinocca Thanks from me too. It was a nice day when this was filmed but I imagine it’s quite....interesting during a thunder and lightening storm and the winter-Mon Dieu, the winter! Betcha nearly get blown off even wearing 50 lbs. of winter clothing :-)
Are the people in Michigan generally so friendly and welcoming? Could you do some tours sometime of the mechanicals and the specs, for example of the wires? How were they spun? It looks old enough to have had spinners for the wires at both ends working back and forth. When was this bridge built? How deep are the footers? How many cubic yards of concrete and rebar did they require? This is just fascinating!
(Obviously I love bridges-and you just opened Pandora’s Bridge Box!)
Again, many thanks. I bet the maintenance on this bridge never ends.
This lift bridge is a gem of American engineering and ingenuity. Its in amazing shape for its age and the harsh winters it has to endure. Thanks for sharing!
I always wanted to see where those horns are. Now I know and from my seat in my living room. I'd never have enough guts to make that ride. Good for you guys. Thanks.
Glad I could help!
I'm so envious. I'd love to have a ride on the bridge. I'm glad this video exists. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Even just watching the video made me anxious. Glad to see there are people able to go up & down every day. Nerves of steel on a bridge of steel.❤
😁 Thanks.
Thanks again for all you do for us boat nerds!
My pleasure! Thank you John
This is really cool! Coincidentally my wife and I took our son the day before this was shot on a day trip for a boat tour and they talked about the lift bridge. Interesting to see the inner workings up close.
Great, thanks! Hope you had a great time on the tour!
would love to have been operator for at least one season; what a beautiful view and watching those big ships pass under!
I didn’t realize that the road on the bridge was a grate. And wow, that is a long ways up! Nice views.
Mike from Brantford ontario canada how friken cool is this video and beautiful cheers buddy ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thanks!
What a view from up there this bridge is amazing
Thanks!
Super cool video. Those horns look like some sort of a Leslie/Nathan style locomotive type of horn.
Thank you for this really cool video. It’s sort of a “behind the scenes” type of film.
Thx Paul... i always figured the horns were from a locomotive.
When I was a little kid my parents took me on that bridge (back when they still gave rides). It was terrifying, because i was just a kid and that little chain link fence was all that was separating you from falling.
Great video! I watch the other ground cams all the time to watch the ships come and go. first time watching the inner workings of the bridge. That was great!! 🧡🧡
Glad you enjoyed it
Great video, and I love those horns
Thanks!
😆🤣😆🤣😆 Gotta love the end of the video! I have been watching the lift bridge live cam almost everyday for the past few months now and have always wondered where on the bridge the horns were located. Now I know! Very neat to see the workings of it. Can't believe that this video has been posted for a year and just now saw it. Nevertheless, a great video Paul! Greetings from Monterey County, California!
WOW!!!! Thanks for taking us with you! What fun! Enjoyed the bridge history as well. :)
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you robhay57
That was pretty cool. A view that us boaters don't normally get to see. Great view of Duluth.
Glad you enjoyed it
Great view from the top well worth the price of admission. Got to inspect a railroad vertical lift bridge 30 years ago in Cleveland. What a rush! Brisk wind off the lake in a heavy drizzle and the noise and vibrations when a train crossed. Something you'll never forget Thanks for the horn closeup can't mistake that sound. If it had blown while you were next to it you'd be deaf or jumped over the top. Great video
I cannot imagine that, last time I was up there I put in ear plugs knowing there was going to be a salute.
Thanks Paul, once in a lifetime treat.. and be sure and thank the Army Corp for bringing us with.
I'll do that.
Yep, a pair of three chime horns. Look like Westinghouse products to me. So cool to finally SEE them. Looks like they got a great big air tank for them also. Looks like about an 80 gallon tank with all 3/4 inch plumbing. LOTS of air! I love the little shelter they're under. Good thing too, those old Westinghouse horns were cast iron if I remember correctly. Very cool video indeed!
This was so cool! What a view! 👀 What a sound! 🔊🔉
I imagine employees are encouraged to wear hearing protection. Great video! 🙂👌
Glad you enjoyed
Very interesting video to this retired elevator mechanic. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it, as you are well aware, just like an elevator!
@@PaulScinocca LOL, just super sized version. Those x marks showing you where not to stand are a great idea. In the elevator trade we call counterweights "the silent killers". Thanks again for such cool videos !
Thank you, Paul, for the Fantastic Tour...and the Close Up and Personal look at the horns. Very distinctive, and Understandably loud-sounding!
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks so much Paul, this is the view I've been hoping for for years, the close up of the Westinghouse E2B's next to the 'office', I'm so excited to see those horns.
Cheers mate,
You're very welcome, many people have requested, Dave was kind enough to grant me access.
Amazing view, but with my luck I'd be the one to fall through the gap.
that would be a day-ender...
@@PaulScinocca And a night one too....
Yeah it would be kinda hard to bounce back from that.
Wow that's impressive 👏. Always wondered exactly where the horns were at ... now we know. Thanks again
my pleasure David!
Nice view , thanks !
Thanks for watching!
grew up on park point have been on the Bridge when it was going up-when they offered rides and have been in the house on top as well as being in one of the lighthouses as a child basically my back yard
I've watched so many video's of this bridge going up. Every time I always wonder where the horns are for the salute.
Thank You so very much for this video. Very informative, and now I know. :)
My pleasure, thank you Robert
That is a great ride to the top!! Great view!! I sure they had a great laugh about the horns!! ❤❤❤
Exciting. Thanks for taking us along
You bet!
WOW Lucky You! What a spectacular view. I've been watching your videos and thought it would be great to see the view from the Bridge. Thanks so much for Sharing. Looking forward to more. 🌞
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Dlfreighter watcher.
Wow! Would not want to be in front of those Horn's when they are being used thanks for the trip up and down to the Horn's
Me neither, 😁
That was really something. Don't recall seeing any other ship spotters on the bridge doing videos so you must know a guy. Really enjoyable. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome video. I live on the Gulf Coast, but grew up not far from the Great Lakes. Watch the Duluth Harbor cams. This offers some really good perspective. Thank you!
My pleasure, thanks Katherine!
Thanks for showing this! I've always wanted to see the workings of this bridge.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Nice view from a retired Ironworker...
Indeed! (not from an iron worker :-)
I been wondering what a ride to the top was like, thanks to you Paul I now know. Great video and mostly a learning experience 👍, I very much enjoy your videos, my Dad would take us kids (all 7 of us ) to the Soo Locks when we were all younger ,( 1965) I acquired an interest in all things shipping . Thank You
Very interesting seeing how that works. The horns are smaller than I had imagined but sure a lot of sound comes out of them. Thanks for shooting this. Working up there though would definitely not be for me.
You're welcome!
I also imagined the horns to be much larger! And one set pointing west and the other pointing east. And where on the bridge are they located? At either end, there is a "box". Is that where they are? And is there a set of horns at each end of the bridge? Thanks for sharing all this with us! I really enjoyed it.
That is one heck of a view from up there.
Indeed it is!
That was epic, thanks for sharing, very impressive...
Really cool Paul.. Thanks for the tour. Keep them coming. Really enjoy your stuff.
Glad you like them! I'll try to add some different videos.
Thank you! Old timers will remember that scary old thing this beauty replaced. This made me happy to see.
Glad you enjoyed it!
That was awesome
Thanks!
Wow! Thanks for the up close tour!!!
You bet!
Just awesome Paul! While up on the south side of the bridge it must of felt you were actually experiencing a slice of heaven...
Yes it was!
I’ve gotten to do this twice 11 years ago! Pretty awesome experience!
I was just reading the reply's here and looks like you have helped a lot of people and for some, solved the mystery of the horns. Perhaps you could arrange to get a video of a ship going under the bridge while it's up. That would be cool. I remember going over the Bourne Bridge at the Cape Cod Canal back in the late forties and early fifties. It had the open grate type road like your Duluth Bridge has. If you hang your head out the window while going over the bridge and look straight down it looks like there is no road there and your hanging in the air. Scared the heck out of me to go over that bridge as it's a couple hundred feet high over the canal. Thanks again for a great video.
ruclips.net/video/HS4m6IevKY0/видео.html, ruclips.net/video/zzeSwfwTdBI/видео.html,
Cool video thank you 🙏
I remember a friend telling me until the 70s or 80s people could go up with the bridge when it opened and it amazes me how those small horns can make such a loud sound (along with the fact I think it's funny they put a train horn the bridge)
I heard they charged .25 C to ride the bridge.
What a cool place to work!
Some days more than others.....
@@PaulScinocca That’s Understandable …
Very cool. Finally got to see those horns.
Glad you liked to see them!
Thank you Paul. I've been following your vids for a while from here in Australia, so the backstory completes the picture.
Your icy winters amaze me.
Thanks! Enjoy the warm weather "down" there !
Bruce, your summers terrify me but it’s good to hear from an Aussie who’s clearly still alive. With all the wildfires you have had recently during your summers I began to think you’d all been cremated, my friend!
@@tundrawomansays5067 Thanks for your concern. Fortunately, last summer was nothing like the previous disastrous one. It is something we're very aware of as each summer approaches. We have, in our state of Victoria, a danger rating for potential bushfires, from Low up to Catastrophic. Days predicted to be High, Very High, Extreme, or Catastrophic are Total Fire Ban days, when no fire outside is permitted, camp fires, home BBQs, even some power tools which might cause sparks.
Nonetheless, fires lit by lightning are still possible.
The record temperature in our area was on Black Saturday, a few years ago - 47.8°C.
That said, last night here our minimum slipped below 0° Celsius, and was only 2° at 8.00 a.m. But it's lovely and sunny right now. Cheers from us.
The horn group on fb just had a discussion on what the horns actually are as far as brand and model. What a view On that bridge.
Good timing then... Thanks
Man how cool is that?
Rides up were available in a pedestrian cage for a small fee back in the '70's. Anyone else remember that?
haha yeah I added a comment. My parents took me. It was very scary, or else I was just a wimp. I was probably 7 or 8
Don’t like heights in the least but always wondered how it was raised and also about the horns! Thank you for sharing!
You bet!
That's awsome to see those horns!!!
Thanks, many have asked to see them! I was fortunate they allowed it.
Very cool!! OMG I was hoping for your sake they didn't blow those horns in your face!! Nice cut-in. Incredible view. Thanks for taking us along.
They did not, that was cut in from a ship video.😁
It sure is nice to have friends in high places.
lol!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
My favorite city in the world
Thanks for sharing Paul! Beautiful views but you wouldn't catch me up that high. Me and heights don't agree lol
Its fun up there !
I remember taking a ride up on a class trip back in the 70s.
I believe there was a chain link fence on the the lake side of the bridge walk way/side walk
I was just a kid...I remember it being scary fun.
Rumors have it they charged 2 bits to ride the bridge.
Awesome I would love to get to do that
Thanks
Thank you. I knew there were horns on the bridge.
Six trumpets, no wonder so mellow.
Mellow?? 😆
3 for East, 3 for West
indeed....
.
finally got to see em horns, love it
Thanks!
Thanks!!!@@
You're welcome!
Great video. Thanks
Oh my gosh, I'm having a vertigo attack just watching. Awesome though......
Must be a nice view , I need to move there
I did like the view from the south a little better.
I think you’d have to get a Mental Health Evaluation and purchase a rider for a Pigeon Life Insurance Protection Plan ;-) And a ton of winter clothes as well. But it could be a lot of fun in warmer weather!
That was so cool!!!!
Thanks Wendy!
Pretty cool! That bridge is alot bigger than I thought. Always wanted to see this and horns at the end was nice touch.
Glad you liked it!
Thanks for sharing another great video, wow what a view ...amazing ⛵️⛵️💕
Glad you enjoyed it
That was amazing Paul, thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
Awesome video! But, respectfully, those guys have got some balls going up in that thing: I got queasy just watching the video 🥴
Its not so bad, just stay in the rails....
That is so cool
Thanks
I’ve always wanted to do that
Thanks!
Thanks Paul! You the man.
You bet!
your one lucky fellow to get a treat like that great stuff paul im jealous
Thanks Peter, really was a work situation, just took advantage of it 😁
Very cool video! It never occurred to me that the bridge had two sets of horns, but it makes sense in retrospect... as the sound is the same on both sides.
Honest time, neither did I ! 😁
@@PaulScinocca I’m certain it does take some getting use to but Mr. Scinocca, one would never suspect you were ever uncomfortable up there.
You made my knees hurt! Can’t stand heights. I’ll probs have nightmares about this. Great view, but I’m glad you’re up there, not me. It’s just a danged shame the flying rats have to decorate everything. Cheers!
I think it the sky-rats along with Pigeons, the latter being the major offender....
@@PaulScinocca At least the pigeons have earned their racing stripes.
I got dizzy standing on the ground looking up at the raised bridge. "There is no way something that big and heavy can go up that high."
Wow I can see a lot of B\W images from that vantage point!!..
indeed
This is so cool, thank you! What a great view. I’m more intrigued by the iron work than the city views 😂
It is amazing engineering.
@@PaulScinocca it really is! I find it so fascinating. Work around construction myself (whereas you actually do the work... 😅) and I can spend all day watching a talented craftsman (ironworkers, electricians, masonry etc) go and plenty of time admiring the end result!
@@spiercephotography Me as well. I remember when I saw my first cable stay bridge in person when it was completed and pulling over to the side of the road to take pictures and walk on it. IMO, they’re truly beautiful. I love the impression of sail boats they give, so graceful, symmetrical etc. They’re iron, concrete etc. works of art. Our men from The Iroquois Confederacy work on the bridges as well as the skyscrapers. True, they do have to boom around at times but it’s a relief when they walk in the door at the end of the week at some ungawdly hour Fri. Night/Sat. morning. Sometimes the jobs are so far away we go to see them for the weekends when we can.
So nice to “meet” someone else who is intrigued as well!
I would have froze instead of stepping over the small opening on that walkway! Better you, than me!
LOL! Thanks
That would be a awesome job working up there thanks for sharing 🛳️👍
I wonder what it’s like sitting up in that control room during a nasty snowstorm
All I can tell you is the bridge moves, a lot more than you'd think!
Great video!😄😉
Glad you liked it!!
Hello from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Whilst YT viewing. The Duluth channel popped up for me to check out a while back. Not quite sure why it happened. But, I'm glad it did. (yup) Never imagined there was a bridge like this in the world. (nope)
BIG thanks for sharing the clip and the bridge area information Paul. (thumbs up)
Thank you coryoplayer, 😁
Always blamed the ships for the horn blasts, didn't realize the bridge blasted back..
Very neat vlog & showcases a neat bit of 19th century tech.
Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it