What is this bridge for, exactly? Here it is, from both sides:

http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge1.jpg
http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge2.jpg

Some info:
1. It's old (obviously). Boards (for walking across) seem too rotted
to hold much weight.
2. I don't think it's wide enough for a tractor to drive across, but
it's obviously not just for human foot traffic, right?
3. The ditch of water beneath it is maybe 10-15 feet wide. I think
it's a man-made tributary from the Chippewa River. It seems to run
neatly along the boundaries of farm quarter sections in the area. The
bridge seems to connect two farms across the water.

Was the water used for irrigation, do you think? What role did the
bridge play? Thanks if you can help (or direct me to another source).

"MNRebecca" wrote in message
...
What is this bridge for, exactly? Here it is, from both
sides:

http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge1.jpg
http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge2.jpg

Some info:
1. It's old (obviously). Boards (for walking across)
seem too rotted
to hold much weight.
2. I don't think it's wide enough for a tractor to drive
across, but
it's obviously not just for human foot traffic, right?
3. The ditch of water beneath it is maybe 10-15 feet
wide. I think
it's a man-made tributary from the Chippewa River. It
seems to run
neatly along the boundaries of farm quarter sections in
the area. The
bridge seems to connect two farms across the water.

Was the water used for irrigation, do you think? What
role did the
bridge play? Thanks if you can help (or direct me to
another source)

Looks like a pulley bridge where only one side is opened up
(by pulling
one side up into the air) to let traffic (boats) through.

There's probably a hundred and one things that the water was
used
for but since it was made to open, the water was definitely
a pathway
to bigger waters. Most likely dug wider and deeper by man
to help
accumudate irragation for the two farms.

Donna
in WA who is just guessing.....

On 05/25/2010 04:21 PM, MNRebecca wrote:
What is this bridge for, exactly? Here it is, from both sides:

http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge1.jpg
http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge2.jpg

Some info:
1. It's old (obviously). Boards (for walking across) seem too rotted
to hold much weight.
2. I don't think it's wide enough for a tractor to drive across, but
it's obviously not just for human foot traffic, right?
3. The ditch of water beneath it is maybe 10-15 feet wide. I think
it's a man-made tributary from the Chippewa River. It seems to run
neatly along the boundaries of farm quarter sections in the area. The
bridge seems to connect two farms across the water.

Was the water used for irrigation, do you think? What role did the
bridge play? Thanks if you can help (or direct me to another source).
It's an interesting structure.
Would it be possible to get more pictures, possibly directly
down the bridge, from end to end?

On Tue, 25 May 2010 14:21:04 -0700, MNRebecca wrote:

What is this bridge for, exactly? Here it is, from both sides:

http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge1.jpg
http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge2.jpg

Some info:
1. It's old (obviously). Boards (for walking across) seem too rotted
to hold much weight.
2. I don't think it's wide enough for a tractor to drive across, but
it's obviously not just for human foot traffic, right? 3. The ditch of
water beneath it is maybe 10-15 feet wide. I think it's a man-made
tributary from the Chippewa River. It seems to run neatly along the
boundaries of farm quarter sections in the area. The bridge seems to
connect two farms across the water.

Was the water used for irrigation, do you think? What role did the
bridge play? Thanks if you can help (or direct me to another source).

Pipeline bridge?

MNRebecca wrote:

What is this bridge for, exactly? Here it is, from both sides:

http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge1.jpg
http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge2.jpg

Some info:
1. It's old (obviously). Boards (for walking across) seem too rotted
to hold much weight.
2. I don't think it's wide enough for a tractor to drive across, but
it's obviously not just for human foot traffic, right?
3. The ditch of water beneath it is maybe 10-15 feet wide. I think
it's a man-made tributary from the Chippewa River. It seems to run
neatly along the boundaries of farm quarter sections in the area. The
bridge seems to connect two farms across the water.

Was the water used for irrigation, do you think? What role did the
bridge play? Thanks if you can help (or direct me to another source).

That looks like a canal for transporting small barges... often they
would be spanned by variously configured Bascule bridges... used for
foot, cart, and livestock traffic. The one you depicted is probably
no longer used.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bascule_bridge

It looks more to me like that is a bridge used to support a big pump for
some kind of irrigation. Note the pump in the middle with the overhead to
rise the pump.


--
Bob Noble
http://www.sonic.net/bnoble

"MNRebecca" wrote in message
...
What is this bridge for, exactly? Here it is, from both sides:

http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge1.jpg
http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge2.jpg

Some info:
1. It's old (obviously). Boards (for walking across) seem too rotted
to hold much weight.
2. I don't think it's wide enough for a tractor to drive across, but
it's obviously not just for human foot traffic, right?
3. The ditch of water beneath it is maybe 10-15 feet wide. I think
it's a man-made tributary from the Chippewa River. It seems to run
neatly along the boundaries of farm quarter sections in the area. The
bridge seems to connect two farms across the water.

Was the water used for irrigation, do you think? What role did the
bridge play? Thanks if you can help (or direct me to another source).

"Bob Noble" wrote in message
...
It looks more to me like that is a bridge used to support a big pump for
some kind of irrigation. Note the pump in the middle with the overhead to
rise the pump.


I suspect that the "bridge" served to hold a "hydralic ram" which uses the
velocity of the water to pump a small portion of the water to the level of
the surrounding fields.

OR, it could just be a structure to hold a water turbine is the center of
the stream.

The structure in the middle tooks like something used to pull something
normall in the stream bed to the level of the bridge floor for maintenance.

"John Gilmer" wrote in message
"Bob Noble" wrote in message
...
It looks more to me like that is a bridge used to support a big pump for
some kind of irrigation. Note the pump in the middle with the overhead
to rise the pump.


I suspect that the "bridge" served to hold a "hydralic ram" which uses the
velocity of the water to pump a small portion of the water to the level of
the surrounding fields.

Nope. Hydraulic rams need a head of water above the pump so that the water
drops into the ram. - its the action of the water falling into the ram that
makes the pumping happen.

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
u...
"John Gilmer" wrote in message
"Bob Noble" wrote in message
...
It looks more to me like that is a bridge used to support a big pump
for some kind of irrigation. Note the pump in the middle with the
overhead to rise the pump.


I suspect that the "bridge" served to hold a "hydralic ram" which uses
the velocity of the water to pump a small portion of the water to the
level of the surrounding fields.

Nope. Hydraulic rams need a head of water above the pump so that the
water drops into the ram. - its the action of the water falling into the
ram that makes the pumping happen.


Nope, yourself.

You just don't understand how a hydralic ram operates.

It uses the kinetic energy of a stream to raise a small portion of water
well above the level of the stream.

"John Gilmer" wrote in message
net...

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
u...
"John Gilmer" wrote in message
"Bob Noble" wrote in message
...
It looks more to me like that is a bridge used to support a big pump
for some kind of irrigation. Note the pump in the middle with the
overhead to rise the pump.


I suspect that the "bridge" served to hold a "hydralic ram" which uses
the velocity of the water to pump a small portion of the water to the
level of the surrounding fields.

Nope. Hydraulic rams need a head of water above the pump so that the
water drops into the ram. - its the action of the water falling into the
ram that makes the pumping happen.


Nope, yourself.

You just don't understand how a hydralic ram operates.

It uses the kinetic energy of a stream to raise a small portion of water
well above the level of the stream.


John, you are wasting your time.

"John Gilmer" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
u...
"John Gilmer" wrote in message
"Bob Noble" wrote in message
...
It looks more to me like that is a bridge used to support a big pump
for some kind of irrigation. Note the pump in the middle with the
overhead to rise the pump.


I suspect that the "bridge" served to hold a "hydralic ram" which uses
the velocity of the water to pump a small portion of the water to the
level of the surrounding fields.

Nope. Hydraulic rams need a head of water above the pump so that the
water drops into the ram. - its the action of the water falling into the
ram that makes the pumping happen.


Nope, yourself.

You just don't understand how a hydralic ram operates.

I do but I'd love to see a cite that would prove me wrong. I have a use for
such a beast.

It uses the kinetic energy of a stream to raise a small portion of water
well above the level of the stream.

A stream can certainly be used to do that with a hydraulic ram but the
stream must allow the water to drop into the ram not just flow past it
gently like the water does in a slow moving irrigation channel.

I'd certainly be very interested to see a pic of any hydraulic ram that
works as you say it will. I can't see how a slow moving stream can make
use of the water hammer effect that gives the 'ram' its name but I'd
certainly like to know more details. Can you post a cite please.

On May 26, 5:51*pm, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote:
"John Gilmer" wrote in message
"Bob Noble" wrote in message
.. .
It looks more to me like that is a *bridge used to support a big pump for
some kind of irrigation. *Note the pump in the middle with the overhead
to rise the pump.

I suspect that the "bridge" served to hold a "hydralic ram" which uses the
velocity of the water to pump a small portion of the water to the level of
the surrounding fields.

Nope. *Hydraulic rams need a head of water above the pump so that the water
drops into the ram. *- its the action of the water falling into the ram that
makes the pumping happen.

Odd. My neighbor back when I was kid supplied his entire household
and livestock with one. There was no "drop into the ram" - it ran
purely on the stream flow. I realize I am wasting my time but...

A ram operates by a stream of water in a pipe suddenly being stopped
by a valve. the resultant surge compresses air in the champer which
pushes a small amount of the water into the discharge pipe through a
check valve. Vavlves reset and the flow is reastablished only to be
stopped again. Wash, rinse, repeat. It does not pump much water each
cycle but it operates 24/7. A cycle repeats every few seconds.

You could look it up on the 'net.
Harry K

Bob Noble wrote:
It looks more to me like that is a bridge used to support a big pump
for some kind of irrigation. Note the pump in the middle with the
overhead to rise the pump.


Belt driven powered by an electric motor. Maybe the overhead part
is used to pull the pump up to clean the debris that accumulates.

Bob Noble wrote:
It looks more to me like that is a bridge used to support a big pump
for some kind of irrigation. Note the pump in the middle with the
overhead to rise the pump.

Yes exactly. It sure looks like a big ass electric motor on the left
with a cover over the belt drive part of the pump on the right. Looks
like electrical conduit going to the electric motor, although the setup
looks older than conduit, it may have been upgraded at one time.

Like others said, the bridge itself was probably used and moved the this
location since it's probably 10 or more times stronger than it needed to be.

In article b1f92882-ad39-45aa-b926-aa43bc5320c4
@z17g2000vbd.googlegroups.com, says...

What is this bridge for, exactly? Here it is, from both sides:

http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge1.jpg
http://personal.morris.umn.edu/~webb...ndeBridge2.jpg

Some info:
1. It's old (obviously). Boards (for walking across) seem too rotted
to hold much weight.
2. I don't think it's wide enough for a tractor to drive across, but
it's obviously not just for human foot traffic, right?
3. The ditch of water beneath it is maybe 10-15 feet wide. I think
it's a man-made tributary from the Chippewa River. It seems to run
neatly along the boundaries of farm quarter sections in the area. The
bridge seems to connect two farms across the water.

Was the water used for irrigation, do you think? What role did the
bridge play? Thanks if you can help (or direct me to another source).

It looks to me like the bridge was built to do exactly what it is
doing,which is to hold a turbine pump. It's plenty stout, so maybe it
originally held an engine to run the turbine, which has been replaced
with an electric motor. The rack in the center is to pull the pump
during the winter to avoid freeze or flood damage. The canal is an
irrigation canal. Follow it toward the river and you will find a
headgate and probably a small diversion dam to channel water into the
canal.