General Elevation, From The Northwest, Showing Entire Bascule Span Of The Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge
Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record
View photos at Library of Congress
BH Photo #129279
I was looking thru historical photo's of Hammond,Indiana today,which is in the county where I have lived all my life.
I spotted a Scherzer rolling lift bridge in north Hammond.It was still being used in the photo from 1958.It had gone out of use by the early 60's,as I recall.Traffic on the Calumet river had ceased due to industrial change's in the area.
I stopped one day to look at the "gear" section which still remained after the the road had been paved solid over the bridge.
Such old,remaining evidence's of past activity alway's give me a sort of "ghostly" feeling.I had worked at Inland Steel back then and had certain regard for large structure's made of steel.
My father had worked on a Standard Oil Company Of New York(SOCONY Vacuum) tanker many year's back.He had likely passed under that bridge on the way to the local Standard refinery.
Still busy up here.-----Model railroading is a hobby of mine,so I have studied many bridge type's.
Merry Christmas----I have a web site at SKYTRAINZASTRON with some speculative "archaeology" which you find interesting.---
There's a lot of photos there, but no photos of the bridge in the up position. Was that bridge still operable up to the day it was dismantle?