Building
the railroad that 'Went to Sea' with photos.
Page 6
Building piers for the concrete arch railroad bridges
continued by adding the 'arches' between the piers.
This step was
basically done in five operations: 1) install and secure pre made
wooden arch forms between the existing piers. 2) Build a wooden base
between and connected to the existing piers, 2) Build a wooden floor or
base on top of the arch forms, 3) add and secure wooden walls, called
spandrel walls, on top of the base, 4) build and attach to the base and
walls the inner forms for space to fill with soil and gravel on which
to lay the cross ties and steel track, and 5) After pouring and
hardening these wooden forms would be removed and most likely reused at
another location. Steps four and five are often not shown in photos.
These five steps were the same along the project, but the mixing and
pouring of the concrete varied.
The base and spandrel wall forms were built in Miami and numbered for
assembly on site.
The curved arch and the walls were barged to the location.
The arch forms are in place and attached to the piers, and a floor is
being laid.
The spandrel walls are placed and secured on top of the completed
arches.
Above is a close-up view of traveling
concrete
plant's track and the mixer drum in the upper right corner. Concrete
was
mixed and poured as the mixer slowly moved across the forms on tracks
attached outside of the entire setup. It straddles the wooden form
structure and mixes, pours and moves along the structure.
A top view of a series of arches in the Lower
Keys after the wooden forms have been removed. Note that the center
portion
is hollow to be filled later and the cross ties laid on the fill. This
will
absorb the shock and vibration as well as be a quieter ride. The track
to the right is a work track for derricks, etc. to have easy access.
This concludes the presentation of
construction
railbeds. Now for a look at some of the equipment used in construction. |