Rare Opening of the Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- This is a short video of the rare opening o f the Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge between Perryville and Havre de Grace, MD. The event took 40 workers an hour to open and close the swing span of the bridge.
![History of the Susquehanna River bridges in Lancaster County [video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vkfY4rPpnCA/mqdefault.jpg)
That's the most stunning footage I've ever seen from a drone, excellent work.
Its like im back in Maryland memorys of my home town , thank you guys for all the videos its been 22 years sence i have been there god bless
Down an out in TN
cool video..I worked for Amtrak and worked on a crew that opened that bridge many times..Walter, I remember you from 'back in the day'..live in Florida now..
40 employees and a total shutdown of the Northeast Corridor for one guy's sailboat. America!
Also, amazing drone work!
As Walter Hipkins had replied "boats have the right away (priority) over railroads". Because of the high volume of trains that run on Amtrak's line between Washington DC & Boston (the Northeast Corridor), Amtrak is permitted to keep their draw bridges closed and open them on an as need basis. Usually, when you see a freight railroad (CSX, Norfolk Southern, etc) draw bridge it is in the open position and is closed when a train is due to pass over it soon.
Tom Y same thing applies to NJ Transit unless it's for bridges over the Passaic, Hackensack, or Delaware Rivers in NJ. They leave their bridges up unless a train starts to get close
Same thing for the C&D Canal. A lot of cargo ships go through that canal. The Delaware Bay services Wilmington and Philadelphia, and the Chesapeake Bay has Baltimore in it, so a lot of traffic from Europe probably goes through the canal.
Thank you Walter. Great video. Great sound track.
what a cracking little video. really professional. top marks!
As many times I’ve rode from & to D.C. on the Acela & Regional Service Trains 🚂, I never knew this swung open. Now the Portal Bridge between Newark & Manhattan I’m well aware of 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽 !!!
Loved the drone footage- excellent quality and beautifully done. Sound track a big plus as well!
Im impressed with your quality of work nicely done. Do you take requests on filming bridges?
I do videoography and willing to consider any paying jobs.
A bridge opening process that takes 40 men is not a process. Who designed this bridge?
Very good footage though.
It's 100 yr old bridge! A replacement is on the way in the coming years. I'm impressed that it actually worked.
From the looks of it, the rail end joints have been made permanent due to 1) the lack of river traffic requiring bridge turns and 2) Amtrak's desire for a higher speed across the bridge. With the rail end joints being permanent, every turn of the bridge would require the rails being disconnected and jacked for openings, and then reassembled after the turn.
So why did they open it, was it for that one sailboat?
Yes
Because that is maritime law. It is ILLEGAL for Amtrak to refuse if the boat operator provides the required 24 hour notice.
In exchange for being allowed to build a lower operable bridge rather than a more costly higher one that provided enough clearance for marine traffic, the railroad agreed years ago to open it whenever vessels needed to pass. Though river traffic has declined and the railroad has allowed the bridge to fall into mechanical disrepair, it is still obligated to keep its promise.
@@stevedunlop1934 It will open, then it won't close back up, Ooops!!😡
What an awesome video!! Congratulations on a job well done.
I have been kayaking around that bridge many times and never knew it opened.
The music is great too. Do you happen to know the song titles and artist?
it is smart sound music I bought, royalty free.
what about the bush river railroad bridge? dose it ever open. I recall seeing it opened on the weekends.
what was so important about that particular sailboat that warranted opening the span? could they not have simply unstepped the mast? i could understand something special, such as maybe a cargo ship or maybe even a cruise ship (especially those new *huge* ones), or an historic ship, but a simple sailboat?
nonetheless, thanks for taking the time to shoot and post it...
boats have the right away according to maritime law. The railroad has to open the bridge for someone that can not fit under. This boat appeared to have a mast that was about 6 ft taller than the opening. They do require a 24 hr notice in order to secure the man power to open. It takes nearly 40 people to open it.
Walter Hipkins our boat is 60' tall. Clearance for the bridge at low tide is 50' I think. needed repairs at Havre de Grace Marine Center. They call for the opening.
Walter Hipkins our boat is 60' tall. Clearance for the bridge at low tide is 50' I think. needed repairs at Havre de Grace Marine Center. They call for the opening.
Walter, that was us.
Cargo ships, cruise ships, and so on in the ships department cannot fit in the Susquehanna River/bridge. In this video there was a sailboat that needed to be repaired enroute to somewhere along the river to be worked on, that or repaired as one person said.
decently celebrative accompaniments too...we lunched all the way from another country to trainspot at that very Susquehanna Acela bridge there 🍸
I always wondered how that worked with the 11,000 volt overheat catenary.
All that for a sail boat.How costly is this.How much notice was given to open bridge?
A lot of work for one sailboat!!!!
Drawbridges have to be opened for all vessels requiring it waterways have the right of way. Rivers were there long before roads or railroads in this case
never knew that bridge actually swung outward like that. I thought Amtrak took that swing mechinissim out of service.
I worked for Amtrak back in the day when this was done . Most of the time it was on weekends for sail boats. also overtime ??? I have a original drawings of the bridge from 1900"s It normal position was in the open due river traffic. No cost for boat owners to have opened.
What dept did you work for
@@ronmexico79 The signal Dept started in 1979 , started working on the opening 1984 With a signal Inspector Named RB Tyler.
@@richardkirk6698 damn that's the year I was born! Your definitely an old timer I've heard some awesome stories from the older guys
@@ronmexico79 Old just from the neck down, But yes alot of stories , I am from Rising Sun, i lost a good friend to the rails,
How would someone get the word when its gonna open? I'd love to go see it then it opens
It opens for me.
We used to climb to the catwalk and go out to the draw to swim and jump off various spots as teens. I remember being nervous someone was in the wheelhouse and would open the draw while we were under it,silly kid. Walt,if you're who I think you are it's been a long time since slinging block for old "Chuck" Rice eh?
(Behind the swing span drawbridge) Twin arch spans!
That is the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge that carries U.S. Rt. 40 across the Susquehanna River going upstream from the Chesapeake Bay.
How often does this bridge open? Weekly, monthly, yearly?
Great video, by the way.
Rarely. Maybe a handful times a year if that. 24 hour notice must be given if the bridge needs to be opened.
@@MatthewSmith-cv7op, which unlike the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Lift Bridge, which is usually kept open and requires the railroad (Delmarva Central Railroad since 2016; Norfolk Southern, Conrail, Penn Central, and the PRR before 2016) to notify the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the owners of the Canal) of when they need to close the bridge to allow a train through.
Very good filming - though the bridge crew were a bit unfriendly!
Wouldn't it have been easier and cheaper to simply tie a heavy weight to the side of that sailboat, so that the mast would tilt at a 30-degree angle, and then fit under the bridge while it was in the closed position?
to bad you're not an official at Amtrack
One thing I'm wondering is when the bridge opens, what happens to the catenary wires? Do those disconnect like the tracks or have they found a way to not use catenary on the bridge?
Looks like the catenary has a short break (inches) where the bridge opens. The center span of the catenary is supplied with power near the pivot point from the wires far overhead.
greatness
Why would they open it for one boat?
Because the US Coast Guard REQUIRES it, unless the span is deemed inoperable or the waterway is not navigable any longer.
Why is it "rare" for the bridge to open?
Why is such a large crew required to open it? Most swing bridges only need one person in the bridge house (in this case above the tracks, centered over the pivot) to open and close it.
Where is the barge or sail boat that couldn't pass under, requiring the bridge to be opened in the first place?
they only open when someone needs to pass that will not fit under the bridge. It is maritime law because they are blocking the water way and able to open. They are planning on building a new bridge that will be much higher and will not open.
The old couple in the sail boat had takeb it to Havre de Grace marina for some repairs and bring ing it home. So they went through twice.
@@walterhipkins hey who are you calling "old"... We were in our early 50's when you shot the video.
That little ass boat could have lower its mast. But then again, the bridge does need to open from time to time to keep functioning properly.
MAYBE THE SAIL BOAT GOING THRU WAS INCIDENTAL TO THE REAL OPENING
All that trouble so Commodore Vanderbilt could get his Titanic upriver...???
count the number of men working vs the number of men standing around doing nothing
Koollove beuful l
Susqehanna 2222 -The Three Stooges.
Rich person privilage in action. 40 workers making 30 dollars per hour swinging hammers for almost an hour to open then again to close it and inspect to make sure the trains can go back through. Does the owner of the boat have to pay for this? If not it is tacked onto the fees the railroad charges which trickles back down to the goods bought in the stores. On a positive note the drone footage and video are awesome and I enjoyed watching it twice. I was expecting some huge marvel though to come through the bridge and not some pissy azz sailboat though so I'm sorry the ending let me down so.
Maritime Law. We have to open the bridge. Beating your chest and complaining about "privilege" has nothing to do with it and won't change it. Be it one boat or a hundred, the law says the bridge gets opened.
@@stinkydoggy98 are you with Amtrak? That was me and my boat. I have a few questions.
@@bikerfry I am. And I've done dozens of these bridge openings. Both Susquehanna and Bush River.
@@stinkydoggy98 is the rail welded or bolted?
@@bikerfry Its continuous rail except at interlockings and bridges. In places like Susquehanna and Bush River bridges, the joints are bolted for easier removal in order to operate the bridges.
I think is it so stupid that all that work has to be done to open a bridge just because some person has to take a tiny little boat. If it was a bigger commercial boat then I would understand.
it's the law because they are blocking the water way. They are planning to build a new bridge which will be much higher and it will not open.
For a sailboat? Blahaha!