Skip to main content

1966

Bollman Truss Bridge
Society: ASCEMain Category: CivilSub Category: Bridges, TransportationEra: 1860-1869DateCreated: 1869Little Patuxent RiverSavageState: MDCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.asce.org/Project/Bollman-Truss-Bridge/Creator: Bollman, Wendel

The design of the Bollman Truss Bridge-patented in 1852 and one of the first to use iron exclusively in all essential structural elements-was critical in the rapid expansion of American railroads in the 19th century. Replacing wooden bridges, which  were cumbersome to build and vulnerable to decay, the Bollman Truss Bridge could be built relatively quickly and inexpensively, while providing the long-lasting qualities associated with metal. This allowed new rail lines to be built over long distances in a short period of time.

YearAdded:
1966
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/Andrew Bossi (CC BY-SA 2.0)Image Caption: Bollman Truss Bridge as it looks today, after the repairs done in 1934-84.Era_date_from: 1869
Subscribe to 1966

Innovations

Bollman Truss Bridge

The design of the Bollman Truss Bridge-patented in 1852 and one of the first to use iron exclusively in all essential structural elements-was critical in the rapid expansion of American railroads in the 19th century. Replacing wooden bridges, which  were cumbersome to build and vulnerable to…

Read More

We hope you enjoyed this essay.

Please support America's only magazine of the history of engineering and innovation, and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to Invention & Technology.

Donate

Stay informed - subscribe to our newsletter.
The subscriber's email address.