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Tioronda Bridge

Beacon, New YorkBowstring truss bridges in the United StatesBridges completed in 1873Demolished bridges in the United StatesHistoric American Engineering Record in New York (state)
National Register of Historic Places in Dutchess County, New YorkRoad bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)Steel bridges in the United StatesTransportation buildings and structures in Dutchess County, New York
Tioronda Bridge from west
Tioronda Bridge from west

The Tioronda Bridge once carried South Avenue in Beacon, New York, across Fishkill Creek. Built between 1869 and 1873 by the Ohio Bridge Company, it was demolished by the city in December 2006. The bridge had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, but a decade later had deteriorated to the point that it had to be closed.Three stone abutments laid in randomly coursed ashlar remain in the river, with one steel stringer and some utility pipes. They supported three spans 34 feet (10 m) in length for a total span of 110 feet (34 m). The bowstrings, arched hollow tubes which once carried the load but later only became guardrails, were the bridge's distinctive structural feature.It was one of the last remaining bowstring truss bridges in the United States, one of the oldest vehicular bridges in New York and one of the few 19th century iron bridges known to have been based on a patent model. Only one other bridge, over Sandy Creek in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, is known to have been built from that model as the Ohio Bridge Company ceased operations in 1873, possibly due to that year's economic crisis.The trusses themselves were preserved for possible ornamental use on a rebuilt bridge. However, it is not known when such rebuilding would take place, and the city's police and fire departments would like a rebuilt bridge to be wider than the current abutments and decking, still in place, would allow for.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Tioronda Bridge (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Tioronda Bridge
South Avenue,

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Wikipedia: Tioronda BridgeContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 41.488611111111 ° E -73.974166666667 °
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Address

South Avenue 590
12508
New York, United States
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Tioronda Bridge from west
Tioronda Bridge from west
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Mount Beacon Incline Railway
Mount Beacon Incline Railway

The Mount Beacon Incline Railway was a narrow gauge incline railway up Beacon Mountain near Beacon, New York. A popular local tourist attraction, it operated for much of the 20th century, providing sweeping views of the Hudson River Valley. Efforts to restore it continue today. The Otis Elevator Company and Mohawk Construction opened the 2,200' 3 ft (914 mm) gauge railway on Memorial Day, 1902. Sixty thousand fares were sold in its first year; two decades later that had almost doubled. Riders were often day visitors from New York City who came up the Hudson River by steamboat to Newburgh and then took the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry across the river. After a trolley trip to the base station on Wolcott Avenue (today NY 9D), the railway would take them up to the 1,540-foot (469 m) northern summit via an average gradient of 65% (33°) and a maximum gradient of 74% (36.5°), the steepest in existence while the railroad operated.As was the case of so many other period incline railways, the Beacon funicular was in reality a means to a larger end. The 75-mile (121 km) panoramic views from the summit of Beacon Mountain and natural setting would be the lures to get tourists to the doorstep of several profitable attractions the railway's backers built atop the mountain, including the Beaconcrest Hotel, a Casino, and a private cottage community following land sales. The hotel and casino were in place by 1926, which proved a banner year, with 110,000 passengers riding to the top. Tragedy struck the next year, with fire consuming both the hotel and casino. Though they were rebuilt within a year, this proved the turning point in the rail's history, with the tourism-dampening Great Depression and World War II to follow.Thanks to the automobile replacing historic mass transit to the area - which had brought passengers en masse up the river in excursion boats, via the railroad, and thence trolley right to the base of the lift - recreational patterns changed and the Beacon attraction never regained its popularity. Financial problems and more fires plagued the concern, which was unable to maintain necessary maintenance on either the railway or the summit attractions. In 1978 the railway ceased operations. In 1982 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. A fire attributed to vandalism the next year completely destroyed the trackway and consumed the lower station, following which the only remaining structure at the top, the powerhouse, was raised. The route still remains and is visible from much of the city. The Mount Beacon Incline Railway Restoration Society is working to rebuild the railroad and restore service.