Re: "Whitton" type trestle near Old Junee

[Lambing Flat <bullack@cia.com.au>]

Derick Wuen wrote:

> Thanks for this.
>
> A question about Whitton trestles and your measurements (not that it matters
> all that much).
>
> In many documents they are referred to as "24 foot ballast top openings",
> with the 24 foot denoting "span". Ever since I measured a 7 span version at
> Michelago (with imprecise measuring gear) I have been convinced that it was
> in fact a 25 foot "span", centre to centre, leaving 24 foot clear span
> between footings after allowing for the thickness of the vertical timbers.
>
> You now have 26 foot spans halved to 13 feet.

Reading Don Fraser's “Bridges Down Under”, it seems that there was some
controversy with Whitton trying to "stretch" the spans to the maximum, starting
with 24 ft in the earlier ones, but going up to nearly 30ft in some cases
apparently.  I can't do the accurate quote because I can't find the @#$% book at
the moment!  From memory there was  a lot of toing and froing with different
length spans until the 6ft span became the "standard", (if such a thing could be
said to exist in those days.)


DPC James McInerney

STOP!  In The Name Of The Lore!

At http://www.cia.com.au/bullack/ , "Lambing Flat's" mainpage for the HO model
and NSWGR information.
Or http://www.cia.com.au/bullack/rvrtitle.html  for the "Rurr Valley Railway",
my G gauge garden line