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Satellite)
The castle-like pivot pier is what caught my eye.
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Francis Otterbein posted
Swing Bridge Cleveland circa 1910. Superior Avenue viaduct over the Cuyahoga River. |
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Mike Brady commented on Francis' posting
Started construction 1875, opened 1878 for traffic and removed in 1923 due to a new bridge. I love this photo of it being built. |
Surprisingly enough, this bridge was the site of the worse traction railroad accident in American history. On November 16th, 1895, car #642 driven by motorman Augustus Rogers plunged into the Cuyahoga River below when the draw was mistakenly left open. Safety mechanisms were in place to prevent such accidents, a derailer switch was in place on both sides of the draw spaced 100 feet apart, the motorman would have to get out, throw the switch, and climb back on to proceed. Beyond this was a pair of gates that he also had to open, but were driven electronically once the car had passed. The power source failed that evening, resulting in the gates never closing. As car #642 approaches the draw with 25 passengers aboard, motorman Rogers motioned for conductor Edward Hoffman to get off and throw the switch; he obliged and did so. Picking Hoffmann back up the car rolled towards—and then through the gates. Falling some 101 feet into the Cuyahoga River below, it struck an abutment of the bridge and bounced into the Cuyahoga River—killing 17 of the 25 passengers
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September 21, 2018
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