Railway Construction

John Stuart Mill · en
-----------------------------------+-------+----------------
           Name.                     | Span. |  Description.
  -----------------------------------+-------+----------------
                                     | feet. |
  Forth Bridge                       | 1,710 | Cantilever.
  Niagara                            |   821 | Suspension.
  Sukkur                             |   820 | Cantilever.
  Poughkeepsie, U.S.A.               |   548 | Cantilever.
  Douro                              |   525 | Arch.
  St. Louis                          |   520 | Arch.
  Cincinnati                         |   515 | Linville truss.
  Haarlem                            |   510 | Arch.
  Kuilemburg                         |   492 | Lattice bow.
  St. John’s River                   |   477 | Cantilever.
  Niagara                            |   470 | Cantilever.
  Britannia                          |   460 | Tube.159
  Ohio River,  Pennsylvania          |   442 | Pratt through truss.       159
  Saltash                            |   434 | Tube and girder.
  Hawkesberry Viaduct                |   410 | Compound truss.
  Conway                             |   400 | Tube.
  Vistula                            |   397 | Lattice.
  Spey River, Garmouth, N.B.         |   350 | Bowstring.
  St. Laurence                       |   330 | Tube.
  Hamburg                            |   316 | Double bow.
  Cologne                            |   313 | Lattice.
  Runcorn                            |   305 | Lattice.
  Sunderland                         |   300 | Bowstring.
  Rondout Bridge, Buffalo            |   264 | Pratt through truss.
  Newark Dyke (New)                  |   259 | Lattice bow.
  Tay Bridge (New)                   |   245 | Lattice bow.
  Ohio River, Louisville             |   245 | Fink truss.
  Beaver Bridge, Pennsylvania        |   230 | Pratt deck truss.
  Craigellachie Bridge               |   200 | Lattice.
  Rohrbach Bridge, St. Gothard River |   197 | Wrought-iron arch.
  Windsor Bridge                     |   187 | Bowstring.
  Victoria Bridge over Thames        |   175 | Wrought-iron arch.
  Shannon River Bridge               |   165 | Bowstring.
  Carron Bridge over Spey            |   150 | Cast-iron arch.
  Preston Viaduct                    |   102 | Cast-iron arch.
  Trent River Bridge                 |   100 | Cast-iron arch.
  -----------------------------------+-------+----------------------


Retaining Walls.--Instances frequently occur during the construction
of a railway where it is advisable, if not absolutely necessary, to
substitute retaining walls in preference to forming the slopes of
cuttings and embankments.

The excavation of a cutting may be greatly reduced in quantity by
introducing low retaining walls, as in Fig. 195, and the saving in the
material to be removed will be all the more important in those cases
where cutting is in excess of embankment.