The bridge over the rails is gone now.
There were concrete and steel beams over the tracks, between the piers..
We cut the old beams loose and then two big cranes came overnight
and loaded them onto flatbed trailers.
Now the bridges between the abutments and piers need to be removed.
On this day there is a real chance we may need to "foul the tracks".
This makes CC an important guy today.
This big machine with it's attached battering ram
will bash through the deck
and smash the concrete beams.
It's raining concrete below the deck as Norm starts the hammering.
Once the deck is gone he starts on the reinforced concrete beams.
These old things are still quite hard and still very sturdy.
No match though, for the hydraulic power of the big ramhoe.
The first beam falls through. The end is near.
The big machine's stinger does it's job. Breaking the back of
the beams.
The old bridge is broken. Her beams have caved
and all that is left is the parapet wall.
The first half goes down easily, but the second half is hanging tough.
and tougher
and still
Finally it gives in and Lou stands ready to cut the remaining re-bars.
The old bridge is gone now. It's kind of sad, but the new one will be bigger, safer and very slick.
And I'll be showing you how a bridge is built.
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