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Coleman Bridge

Berkshire County, Massachusetts
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Photos 

General View Of South Portal Elevation, Looking North

Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

Map 

Facts 

Overview
Iron pony truss bridge over Phelps Brook on Windsor Bush Road
Location
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Status
Abandoned and left in place. Rising water from protected beaver dam downstream puts bridge in danger.
Builder
- Charles H. Ball of East Windsor, Massachusetts
Design
Ball Pipe Queenpost Truss: Coleman Bridge is a historic Ball-patent pipe bridge on Windsor Bush Road over Phelps Brook in Windsor, Massachusetts.
The bridge was built in 1894 and added to the National Historic Register in 2000. It is a Ball-patent pipe bridge.
Dimensions
Span length: 31.0 ft.
Total length: 31.0 ft.
Deck width: 12.7 ft.
Skew angle
8 degrees
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on February 18, 2000
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.53243, -72.99291   (decimal degrees)
42°31'57" N, 72°59'34" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
18/664832/4710846 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Plainfield
Inventory numbers
NRHP 00000112 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 49902 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (6,123)
Berkshire County, Massachusetts (76)
Built 1893 (180)
Built during 1890s (2,445)
Charles H. Ball (4)
HAER documented (1,096)
Inundated (63)
Massachusetts (940)
 NR-listed (2,836)
Pipe Truss (4)
Pony truss (14,994)
Queenpost truss (213)
Skewed (4,660)
Span length 25-50 feet (13,357)
Total length 25-50 feet (9,723)
Truss (29,290)

Update Log 

  • April 15, 2017: New photos from Chester Gehman
  • December 5, 2016: Updated by Chester Gehman: Bridge threatened by rising water
  • June 7, 2014: New photos from Chester Gehman
  • October 25, 2011: Updated by Tony Dillon: Added builder
  • October 25, 2011: Added by James McCray

Sources 

  • James McCray - jamesinslocomb [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • HAER MA-119 - Coleman Bridge, Spanning Phelps Brook, on Windsor Bush Road, at eastern edge of Windsor State Forest, Windsor, Berkshire County, MA
  • Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • Wikipedia
  • Chester Gehman - gehmanc2000 [at] yahoo [dot] com
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Comments 

Coleman Bridge
Posted April 15, 2017, by Chester Gehman (gehmanc2000 [at] yahoo [dot] com)

It will be a real shame if this historic bridge is lost in the rising waters of Phelps Brook. One of only three pipe bridges built by Charles Ball of Windsor, MA still in existence, and the only one not preserved in some way. Come on, Windsor! Charlie Ball was a native son!

Coleman Bridge
Posted October 25, 2011, by Tony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Closer to a Queenpost in design... definitely very unique!