Etched In Stone

[Flat Water Films]

The Wisconsin Central Bridge at Arcola, Built in 1884 by Union Bridge and Iron Works, it was part of the Wisconsin Central's route from Chippewa Falls to St. Paul. The original bridge was removed on February 28 1916 following replacement with the Arcola Highbridge completed in 1909.

This Pratt truss high bridge on stone piers crossed high above the Saint Croix River, before being replaced with the new high bridge upstream. The bridge was built in 1884, as a Pratt through and deck truss high bridge. It was removed in 1916. The bridge featured pin connections, long spans and lightweight truss engineering. Today, all substructures still exist.

So, we built this megalithic stone railroad bridge in 1884, only to replace it with an erector set style bridge 25 years later? Pretty amazing technology for the 1880's.

Look at the ruins of some remaining buildings from that time period in this video, built with primitive field stones, then compare them to the precision cut megalithic stones of the old bridge? On April 1, 1909, the Wisconsin Central, valued at fifty-two million dollars, was sold to the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Saulte Ste. Marie, also known as the Soo Line Railroad Company. https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi...

The Wisconsin Central Railway Company was created in 1897 when the Wisconsin Central Railroad (1871–99) was reorganized from bankruptcy. In 1954, the name went back to Wisconsin Central Railroad Company. The railroad was merged into the Soo Line Railroad in 1961. https://infogalactic.com/info/Wiscons...)

I looked and looked for information regarding the old Wisconsin Central Bridge and found how deep the rabbit hole is. Lot's of conflicting information.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmfloQ8HOAQ&t=13s&ab_channel=FlatWaterFilms

 

[Quiahuitl]

The precision cut stones are a striking feature of a lost time. There were so many buildings made of large accurately cut stones. I wonder how those stones were made? We are told there were only hand tools available and early steam engines which produced just a few horsepower. How many manhours does it take to produce just one large accurately shaped stone, using hand tools? A lot...

We are also told that no hard steels existed in the early 1800s and therefore there are no known materials that could have cut stone.

I did some research and it turns out that even with modern steel, you cannot saw through granite. If I've understood this article correctly, you can shape granite with hammer and chisel, so this article recommends chiselling a guide groove then using a diamond saw.
How to Cut Granite With Hand Tools | Homesteady

Jon Levi published a piece describing the demolition in the 1920s of one of those gorgeous 'Tartarian' buildings in the USA that would have been built in the 1800s most likely (or earlier).

The building was made of solid, interlocking granite blocks that were 5-7 feet thick at the base tapering to 3 feet at the top. There's a staggering number of manhours in producing just one large granite block that is cuboid, let alone one with an interlocking shape. There must a thousand of such blocks within the building, so we are looking at roughly a thousand manyears labour to produce the blocks. Assuming they had the technology we are told. And there were hundreds of buildings like this in every city.

 

[Flat Water Films]

Minneapolis City Hall

 

[Flat Water Films]

Located another picture of the old bridge From the Wisconsin side. The story line is it was removed due to the steep grades. I'm not seeing that here?

 

[iseidon]

In the Sverdlovsk region, I know of the ruins of two ancient bridges with only their supports left. In the village of Shilova (rus) and the village of Makhnyovo (rus).

The ruins of the old bridge in Makhnyovo.

Spoiler: More Makhnyovo photos

The ruins of the old bridge in Shilova.

The worse quality of masonry blocks and bricks can be explained by the harsher climate, which had a negative impact on the structure.

Apparently, these ruins (pre-revolutionary) are some of the most technologically advanced buildings in these villages even today.

Regarding Minneapolis City Hall. The City Hall building in Syracuse and the old Nashville train station come immediately to mind. But buildings in this style are periodically found in the United States.

City Hall in Syracuse.

The former Union Station in Nashville.

UPD1.

Thanks to this thread, I found johnmarvigbridges.org. Thank you.

UPD2.

Another similar building (First United Methodist Church) in Birmingham, Alabama.

 

[Flat Water Films]

Thanks for the pictures and link.