"Fink's truss design was one of a number of early patented solutions to [the problem of how] to carry a massive, moving weight (a train) over long spans (to avoid the expense of building piers and obstructing waterways) on easily erected bridges (often in rough terrain) with good long-term economy..."
- Kent Farnow Smith, "America's Oldest Functioning Iron-Truss Bridge," 1978
Fink
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Library of CongressImage Caption: This bridge is an example of the Fink truss, the most efficient solution to building long-span bridges quickly and economically during its time.Era_date_from: 1858
1979
"The roundhouse is an amazing survivor of an important era in American engineering and architectural history. Eric DeLony, chief of the National Park Service's Historic American Engineering Record, has called it 'the most important surviving cast-iron framed building in North America.'"
From: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shop Complex: Historic Structure Report. By John P. Hankey, August, 2000.
YearAdded:
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Roger Wollstadt (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: The Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Roundhouse, built 1851.Era_date_from: between 1842 and the
2001
Innovations
Read More"The roundhouse is an amazing survivor of an important era in American engineering and architectural history. Eric DeLony, chief of the National Park Service's Historic American Engineering Record, has called it 'the most important surviving cast-iron framed building in North…
"Fink's truss design was one of a number of early patented solutions to [the problem of how] to carry a massive, moving weight (a train) over long spans (to avoid the expense of building piers and obstructing waterways) on easily erected bridges (often in rough terrain) with good long-term…
Read More