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| Montreal's Victoria Bridge was meant to look like... |
But is it an eyesore? So thinks architect Jean-Claude Marsan who notes* that the bridge was built by Robert Stephenson with an aim to recreate the Britannia Bridge in Northern Wales about a decade earlier.
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| ... North Wales' Britannia Bridge.... |
The Britannia Bridge was praised as an artistic masterpiece as its stone piers were things of beauty and the four stone lions also added flair with a play poem below reading: "Four fat lions, Without any hair, Two on this side, And two over there."
Talented architect Francis Thompson, who deserves much of the credit for the Britannia Bridge, did not sign on to help with the Victoria Bridge, the longest bridge in the world at the time of its opening. That was a big loss.
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| ...but should have been built to look like the Brooklyn Bridge.. |
The Victoria remains an impressive engineering feat but it fails as art, he says as the black limestone pillars are the only bit of artistic flair.
"The masonry, as well as that of the abutments did not have the distinction, discretion or ingenuity of Britannia Bridge," says Marsan.
Marsan said that the Victoria Bridge relied too much on the old world and argues that a more suitable project would have been something like the Brooklyn Bridge.
*Montreal in Evolution 1981 253-254
When constructed, Victoria Bridge was better looking? First bridge crossing the St. Lawrence River.
ReplyDeleteMade from tubes, and, single track.
Approach V. Bridge.
http://31.media.tumblr.com/49a689fa8134d0a12457c04b139a81cd/tumblr_mf1uloZkhI1rd9ioko1_1280.jpg
Second V. Bridge.
http://www.memorablemontreal.com/document/image/original/HM_ARC_003238-001.jpg
Painting of first V. Bridge, looking downstream, Montreal on far shore. Sloped piers are on upstream side ONLY, to lift and break ice, a way to tell in photographs the flow of the river, and which shore the photo is from.
http://www.fineart.utoronto.ca/canarch/quebec/montreal/montreal.jpgs/mon-25.jpg
Ice piled up @ V. Bridge.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3148/2860494056_cd56e183f8_z.jpg?zz=1
Looking towards South Shore, note the mountains in distance,.
http://www.gettyimagesgallery.com/Images/Collections/William-England/01.jpg
Stone for piers was quarried @ a pit on the Lakeshore and barged down to bridge site. The quarry existed into the Sixties, filled with water, and kids used to dive into it, fun to watch on a hot summer's day.
As train traffic increased, as did the weight of cars and locomotives, the bridge was rebuilt with double track, as it is now. Second bridge sloped upwards from ends to centre span to allow steamers to pass beneath after running the Lachine Rapids.
http://www.auctions.glasstrio.com/stuff/c/c_qc_lachine_rapids_steamer_side_3_qtr_27284.jpg
What grace it had was destroyed when the Seaway Diversion was constructed upstream on the South Shore.
( The CPR bridge at Lachine/LaSalle/ Highland was rebuilt, also. )
http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq8mckri5o1qd3g3go1_500.jpg
http://www.vintagepostcards.org/auctions/montreal-quebec-cpr-railroad-bridge-railroadiana.jpg
Two overhead spans were to allow passage of steamers before running the rapids.
Google both for more info.
Thank You.
O.T. Sort Of.
ReplyDeleteWhen built, both the Victoria Bridge and the CPR Bridge @ Lachine/LaSalle/Highland were both single-track.
Both were rebuilt to accomidate heavier trains and the larger locomotive required to pull them, the developement and application of Air Brakes allowed much longer and heavier trains to be handled.
The Janney Coupler made switching safer and reduced slack action in train as opposed to former link and pin coupling.
Janney Coupler. Opens and Closes similar to two fists.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6038/6220304899_5cdb835694_z.jpg
http://lionelllc.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/couplers1.jpg
Link and Pin. Needs no description as to safety, fingers lost, and death.
http://members.kos.net/sdgagnon/grc06.jpg
Anyway. Evidence of the original single track of the CPR LaSalle to Lachine Canal is not easy to find.
But, if one travels West on St. Joseph in Lachine one sees an elegant stone arched bridge carrying the CPR, the original single-track bridge.
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.439082,-73.65519&spn=0.000004,0.001682&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=45.439256,-73.655409&panoid=QsF_RjAiOx5huxcBj74cRA&cbp=12,239.63,,0,-5.27
When the track was doubled and the CPR bridge over the St. Lawrence rebuilt and twinned, a SECOND bridge was built in steel over St. Joseph.
St. Joseph looking East.
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.438774,-73.655705&spn=0.000004,0.001682&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=45.438652,-73.65642&panoid=2tpvSNwdzWJss8n-XT9C7Q&cbp=12,46.39,,0,-0.95
First CPR bridge Lachine Canal, looking downstream to Montreal Harbour.
http://www.uer.ca/locations/viewgal.asp?picid=350122
Second CPR Bridge Lachine Canal, looking upstream. Dominion Bridge plant beyond on far shore.
http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cpr_steam/3700b.jpg
Thank You.
M. P. and I. you are awesome! I hope the owner of this blog is grateful for your comments! Happy trails!
ReplyDeleteMore O T ish stuff.
ReplyDeleteOne reason I send data to these forums is that some of the images are captioned wrong, as in the following, or the locations have completely changed and could not be readily identified, today.
The text says the raft is about to pass under the bridge at Coteau Landing on the CNR line from Coteau to Cantic and beyond.
In reality, the raft is about to pass under the first CPR bridge at Lachine.
http://cageux.ca/photos.html
I do NOT know if rafts such as these came down the St. Lawrence ABOVE the entrance of the Ottawa River?? and therefore, would never have passed under the bridge at Coteau, or if the bridge at Coteau was even constructed in the Cageux Era?? Never checked.
Here is a photo of road traffic on the Victoria Bridge when it all was on the upstream side.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~macfie/PHOTOS/ballbros.jpg
Beyond the fence is a train with a steam crane and outfit car.
Victoria Bridge and Jacques Cartier Bridge, nee Harbour Bridge, were both toll in the past and their tokens appear on eBay and elsewhere regularly. About the size of a Quarter, as I recall.
http://www.numicanada.com/medias/jetons/token-victoria-bridge-g.jpg
http://media4.allnumis.com/1189/pont-victoria-jacques-cartier-bridge-1960_1189_55963228dc1f4ddL.jpg
The M&SC operated on the downstream side.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/RailTram_19091030_MSC_PremierTramArriveASt-Lambert.jpg
The date on the large transmission tower below V. Bridge is 1961.
Blacks Bridge is long gone, but, the grain elevators still exist.
http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/photos/cnr_interurban/MSC_105b.jpg
The track on which the woman was run over recently passes this side of the elevators in the photo, then Esses east over the new rail bridge above the old Lachine Canal locks to the Port of Montreal.
When I was young, there were thirteen 13 railway crossings between Wellington and Victoria Bridge, including one at the bridge entrance into a scrap yard which the M&SC had to cross on a diamond.
There was a wooden sidewalk on the downstream side of the M&SC track on the V. Bridge to walk shore to shore in the event a car was disabled or the power went off. Pedestrians could use the path to save a fare, a LONG walk on a cold winter night @ 20 below F.
Thank You.
Most North American bridges--excluding well-known exceptions such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate--were built to be functional whereas British and European bridges tended to be more visually appealing.
ReplyDeleteDespite Marsan's opinion, the existing Victoria Bridge--which replaced what was essentially a series of metal boxes--was built to be functional and not as a work of art.
Beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder. One could just as easily consider Place Ville Marie to be an "ugly monstrosity".
Wasn't our Olympic Stadium originally touted as "magnificent"?
Familiarity breeds contempt.
I erred.
ReplyDeleteThe track to the Harbour passes on the RIVER side of the aforemention elevators South of where Black's Bridge once was, then diagonals north
Obviously there is not sufficient room to the North of those elevators for the curve on the approach to the Ess Bridge, etc.
As a kid in the Fifties, a lock gate was run into by a downbound ship in the Lachine Canal at this location and drained the basin to the North of the elevators. 1956??
We went down to look.
They were lucky there were TWO sets of locks which delayed, but did not stop ship traffic from locking thru.
A series of 'Crossing Gates' as on a railway crossing, with a thick cable wall to wall, were installed at canal locks thereafter to stop errant vessels downbound.
The gate with the cable integral hinged up and down on the South side of the lock, and, when down, latched into a heavy metal socket on the North side.
One of those latticework gates can be seen in the raised position in the left background above the leaning man with the hat, at time 0:18 in the video on You Tube
A newish 'mod' in the Canal's late life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyFFPZWNmVQ
In the following Link, one of the best sources for Montreal Information!! The basin drained by the ship hitting the lower lock gates can be seen to the South of the lower lock of two. As I recall, there was a ship in the basin at the time, and it bottomed out, it's propeller and rudder indecently exposed.
http://archivesdemontreal.com/greffe/vues-aeriennes-archives/jpeg/VM97-3_7P6-28.jpg
At the foot of McGill can be seen the M&SC trackage to Black's Bridge, which is Open for a ship. The M&SC Station and Yard and so on. Tramways 'round the block to turn back Route 29 Outremont to Terminus Garland @ Decarie.
M&SC and Tramways shared the track on McGill, but had TWO trolley wires as voltages different.
Also can be seen is the freight track leading West thru the streets to the Swing Bridge by Wellington, now marooned from rail.
The Swing Bridge was used in the Buster Keaton Film 'The Railrodder' @ time 5:25.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjVXz5BphQM
Lots of memories here, CN lift bridge @ Wellington, Five Roses Flour, etc. al.
http://www.fiveroses.ca/Content/images/five_roses_history.jpg
Just found this photo!
M&SC car headed for V. Bridge crosses over CNR Spur to coal yards, looking North. Part of Griffintown in rear.
http://newdavesrailpix.com/odds/qu/htm/msc20.htm
The location can be seen in this image, with the M&SC angling across CNR in left centre of photo, with Interlocking Tower controlling semaphores to right of diamond. Griffintown to North.
http://archivesdemontreal.com/greffe/vues-aeriennes-archives/jpeg/VM97-3_7P4-23.jpg
Lots to see, here. Note how M&SC passes hard by still-extant pump house on Riverside to it's left/west side.
When expressway built, Riverside St. was moved East and now covers waterway from Lachine Canal to West end of basin.
Thank You.
Incidentally, for those who don't already know, the 1947 aerial map archive of Montreal can be more easily manipulated by simply clicking "save picture as" into the Windows Picture file.
ReplyDeleteFrom there each saved map section image can then be zoomed in and out of to the desired resolution, rather than the restriction of being toggled only from the lowest to the highest.
It is unfortunate that sections of the 1947 map of Montreal are missing and that other decades are not available.
Interestingly, issue #514 of Canadian Rail (sept-oct 2006, p. 187) makes a good argument that the Victoria bridge had a prototype, and it wasn’t the Brittania bridge. In fact, the prototype was linking Montréal island with the west.
ReplyDeleteIt was the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue bridge over the Outaouais river, linking Montréal island to Perrot island, whose main span was a tubular span, just like those who were to be used on the Victoria bridge.
Pictures: http://emdx.org/rail/Pages-from-Canadian-Rail_no514_2006-187.png
source: http://www.exporail.org/can_rail/Canadian%20Rail_no514_2006.pdf
Here are old Montreal Views.
ReplyDeletehttps://farm9.staticflickr.com/8027/7556141410_9bbd263c6c_z.jpg
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3262/2865649230_05b243038b_z.jpg?zz=1
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Montreal_from_Street_Railway_Power_House_chimney%2C_QC%2C_1896.jpg
Thank You.
There is a lovely book entitled 'The Bridge at Quebec' which follows the tragic story of the huge Quebec Bridge up to it's final completion. A must-read for those interested in Bridges, History, and Canada.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0253337615/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=
Now, at one time there was another spectacular bridge upstream on the St. Lawrence at Cornwall, Ontario, which carried the New York Central from the USA to Ottawa, Ontario thru 1958.
When I was young we used to travel by car to Kingston, Ontario on old Highway 2, which was then 2/17 travelling from Upper Lachine Road near West Broadway/Coca Cola/SKF/International Trucks to Vaudreuil where 17 branched off to Ottawa and Hwy. 2 followed the Soulange Canal and onwards to Kingston and Toronto.
Anyway, one of the sights at Cornwall was the Big NYC Bridge alongside the Cornwall Canal.
However, it too had a list of tragedies similar to it's aforementioned relation downstream beyond the Harbour Bridge at Montreal.
Much data here for the historian.
http://www.cornwallpostcards.ca/bridge.html
Thank You.