Bridge Design

[Andy C]

I am doing a Scout Eagle project at a local Civil War Site. My project includes building a trail and a walking bridge over a ditch. I would like the bridge to look authentic. The bridge would be about 20 feet long and 6 feet wide. The bridge must be simple to construct, sturdy, long lasting and made of wood. Does anyone have any ideas, designs or places to look? Dad has suggested using pressure treated fence posts.

Thanks
Andy C

Andy, please sign all your posts with your full name - Mike Chapman

[dusty27]

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwphome.html


This site will have pictures of bridges taken during the war. That should give you some ideas on design.

This one looks like a simple design.

http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/cwpb/01200/01246r.jpg

[Faction]

Good luck on your project! I think you picked an excellent Eagle Scout Project. I really hope everything works out for you.

Chris Clements

[robwall1861]

I am doing a Scout Eagle project at a local Civil War Site. My project includes building a trail and a walking bridge over a ditch. I would like the bridge to look authentic. The bridge would be about 20 feet long and 6 feet wide. The bridge must be simple to construct, sturdy, long lasting and made of wood. Does anyone have any ideas, designs or places to look? Dad has suggested using pressure treated fence posts.

Thanks
Andy C

Andy, please sign all your posts with your full name - Mike Chapman

Andy, good luck with your Eagle Scout project. I got mine at 16, the same year I joined reenacting. I also worked on a local park in my town, (Monroe, CT), but unfortunetly it wasn't a Civil War Site....

Trust me, it will look AWESOME on a resume showing you commitment to something and that you have the ability and throughness to get a job done and done right...

Robert F. Wallace
38th NCST

[JohnTaylorCW]

Hi Andy,

While it was published in 1892, about 30 years after what your looking for, you might want to see if you can find a copy of "Fences, Gates and Bridges - a practical manual." From the description: "The section on bridges is eminently practical. It deals only briefly with large structures and then focusses on the types of bridges and culverts that a small property owner might require. As with the rest of the book, this section has excellent illustrations of all of the types. In fact, the book has some 300 illustrations in all, indicating the importance in the 1800s of being able to sell a book based on its illustration because a much smaller percentage of the population was literate than is currently the case." (Source: Leevalley.com) It's part of a series of reprints of Orange Judd Co. books. The book is currently in print, and is available for about $8. You might see if you can get it on interlibrary loan. If not - here is a link:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?SID=&ccurrency=2&page=32232&category=1,46096,46100

Hope that's helpful. Can anyone recommend something a bit more "in Date" for Andy?

Very best of luck on your project!

John T

[Rifleman]

I am doing a Scout Eagle project at a local Civil War Site. My project includes building a trail and a walking bridge over a ditch. I would like the bridge to look authentic. The bridge would be about 20 feet long and 6 feet wide. The bridge must be simple to construct, sturdy, long lasting and made of wood. Does anyone have any ideas, designs or places to look? Dad has suggested using pressure treated fence posts.

Thanks
Andy C

Andy, please sign all your posts with your full name - Mike Chapman

Andy,
Get in contact with some local logger's/saw mill's. They in turn can hook you up with with someone who does timber frame construction. The key to building an authentic/period bridge that will hold up will be these people I just mentioned...They understand wood!

Feel free to email me with questions;


Thad W. Dolzall