AN IMPROVED METHOD OF ERECTING GIRDER BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS, AND APPLIANCES TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH DECTION
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frank Beattie, of Newport, in the County of Fife, North
Britain, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF ERECTING
GIRDER BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS, AND APPLIANCES TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH
DECTION"
Sealed the 28th November 1876, and dated the 31st May 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frank Beattic at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st May 1876.
FRANK BEATTIE, of Newport, in the County of Fife, North Britain, Engineer.
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF ERECTING GIRDER BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS, AND
APPLIANCES TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH ERECTION."
My Invention relates to bridges and viaducts composed of girders sustained by
piers of masonary, brickwork, iron, or other material or combination of materials,
and is particularly applicable in cases wherein the girders are sustained at great
heights over rivers or valleys, and in cases wherein it is not possible or convenient
to erect scaffolding. In such cases I raise the girders by successive stages or lifts,
and I erect the piers in corresponding stages, a portion of each pier being carried
upwards in advance of the other portion to sustain the lifting appliances, and the
remaining portion being completed after the girder has been raised a stage, the said
lifting appliances being raised by means of cranes or lifting apparatus mounted on
the girder. I will suppose the piers to have been erected to such a height as that
the girders can be brought into position by means of pontoons or barges, and left
upon the piers by the receding tide. Portions of the piers are now built up to a
further height equal to each lift of the girder. The amount of lift in each stage
will depend upon the size and nature of construction of the girders and piers.
When the piers are of masonary or brickwork the extent of lift in each stage may
be equal to one, two, or more courses or thereabouts. Supposing, for example, the
piers to be constructed principally of cast-iron columns in nine feet lengths the amount
of lift may be nine feet or a multiple of nine feet. The lifting appliances are now
raised into position upon the advanced portion of the piers. To lift the girders I
prefer to employ hydraulic rains mounted on foundation plates or beams, and
adapted to lift other beans to which the ends of the girders are connected. This
connection may be effected by means of links, rods, or bars, I prefer to attach per-
forated bars to the ends of the girders and to form the ends of the aforesaid girders
of a forked shape, the said bars passing through the forks. The pitch of the holes
[Price (id1

page_text: Steel
or perforations in the bars may correspond to the lift of the hydraulic rams.
pins are passed through certain of the said holes and rest upon the ends of the
lifting beams or upon hollowed blocks placed or fixed thereon, and the rams are set
to work so as to raise the girder, both ends of the girder being by preference
lifted simultaneously. It is most convenient to raise two girders together, as in
such a case each end of the lifting beam may engage with the perforated bar
attached to one end of the girders. The girders having been lifted to an extent
equal to the pitch of the holes in the lifting bars or a little over pins are passed
through other holes in the bars so that when the rams are run down the weight
of the girders will be sustained by the foundation beams. The girders are thus
raised by successive short lifts until the first stage in the lifting of the girders is
completed. The masonary or brickwork or the members of the structure of the
piers left out in the construction of the advanced portion of the piers is or
aro now built up or fixed in position so that the girders may be sustained
thereby. A second advanced portion of each pier is then erected, and the beams
and hydraulic rams are lifted into position thereon, and the operations are repeated
until the desired height is obtained. The lifting apparatus mounted on the girders
may be employed to raise the materials used in the construction of the piers.
raising of the girders for all the spans of the bridge or viaduct may proceed simul-
taneously or in succession, or two or more spans may be raised together as preferred
or considered to be most suitable in cach case. In some cases it may be necessary
to employ duplicate sets of hydraulic rams and lifting beams.
The
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Frank Beattie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th
November 1876.
FRANK BEATTIE, of Newport, in the County of Fife, North Britain, Engineer.
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF ERECTING GIRDER BRIDGES AND VIADUCTS, AND
APPLIANCES TO BE EMPLOYED IN SUCH ERECTION."
My Invention relates to girders sustained by piers of masonary, brick work, iron
or other material or combination of materials, and is particularly applicable in cases
wherein girders of comparatively great size are sustained at great heights over
rivers or valleys, and in cases wherein it is not possible or convenient to erect
scaffolding. In such cases I raise the girders by successive stages or lifts, and I
erect the piers in corresponding stages, a portion of each pier being carried up-
wards in advance of the other portion to sustain the lifting appliances, and the
remaining portion being completed after the girder has been raised a stage, the
said lifting appliances being raised by means of cranes or lifting apparatus mounted
on the girder.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood I have appended here-
unto two Sheets of Drawings marked with letters of reference, to which Drawings
I will now refer.
In Sheet 1 Fig. 1 represents a side elevation partly in section; Fig. 2 a plan;
and Fig. 3 an end elevation of the top of the masonry portion of a pier with the
ends of two girders resting thereon, the three Figures being drawn about one sixty-
fourth of the full size of the example selected. Fig. 5 represents the upper left-
hand corner of Fig. 3 drawn to a larger scale; Fig. 6 is a plan of the same parts,
and Fig. 7 is a cross section on the line A in Fig. 5.
In the example which I have selected to illustrate my Invention I have sup-
posed that four spans of a double girder bridge spanning a river and supported by
piers having a braced iron superstructure are in course of erection, and in Sheet 2
I have illustrated five stages of the process.
In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, B represents the upper part of a pier upon which the metal
superstructure is to be erected; the dotted line C indicates the high-water level,

page_text: and D, D, represent the ends of two wrought-iron lattice girders, which I will
suppose have been floated into position at high water by means of pontoons, and
have been left in position by the receding tide with their ends resting upon the
masonry piers. I will also suppose that the two girders are permanently con-
nected together at the top and bottom by means of ordinary or suitable cross
girders and parts, so that they can be lifted as one structure.
In Fig. it will be seen that the end A. of each girder is in the form of a square
tube, that is, it is of the box form. To the inner side of each of the ends A is
bolted or secured a strong tee-shaped bar b, in the projecting web of which bar
holes are drilled or formed. In the example the said holes are about one foot
pitch. The central portion of the superstructure of the pier is erected to a certain
height preparatory to the raising of the girder. In the example the said super-
structure consists of eight columns c, c, forined in nine-fect lengths, as is most
usual, crected upon a metal foundation framing and connected together by means
of distance pieces one foot deep, to which pieces the cross beams D, D, are attached,
the whole being tied and bracel together as is usual.
In Figs. 1 and 3, and also in Fig. 8, Sheet 2, the four central columns and their
connecting pieces and parts are seen carried up to a height of about twenty feet
from the foundation framing. In Fig. 1 the portion so erected is drawn in section,
and one of the girders B is removed to show the lifting arrangements. A beam e
to carry the hydraulic cylinders and rams f is now placed in position across the
beams D, D, which are shored up by means of temporary struts, as indicated by
the dotted lines g, in Fig. 1, if not strong enough to sustain the weight to be
raised. The beam e is or may be in the form of a box girder, and each end is
formed with a jaw, that is to say, with a slot or recess into which the projecting
perforated bar B enters. A similar beain his mounted on the two rams f. Pins, pre-
ferably of steel, are now passed through holes in the two bars b, b, that is, in the
upper holes in the example, and hollowed bearing blocks or steps are placed under
each pin on each side of the bar b, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6. The said blocks being
loose upon the bean adjust themselves to the positions of the pins, but if preferred
for any reason the said blocks may be fixed upon the beam.
It will be understood that there is a corresponding arrangement in all respects on
the next pier at the other end of the span. The hydraulic cylinders are connected
with a pump or with pumps working in any convenient situation, and preferably
the two cylinders in each pair are connected with one pump or set of pumps, so
that a regular action may be maintained. The pumps being set to work the
beam is raised by the rams, and the said blocks bearing against the steel pins
the said beam takes the weight of the girders. I consider it to be safest not to
raise both ends of the span simultaneously, but to raise one end a short distance
and then to cease the action of the rams at that end and to raise the other end a
corresponding distance. When the girders have been raised to the extent of a
little over a foot steel pins are passed into lower holes in the bars b, so that when
the girders are lowered slightly the said pins will rest in blocks upon the beam c,
which will then take the weight of the girders. The rams are then run down, and
the upper pins transferred to the next holes lower down, and the operations of the
rams are repeated. The girders are by these means raised by successive lifts of one
foot each until they have been raised to the extent of, say twenty-one feet. During
the raising of the girders the erection of the outer columns may be proceeded with,
and when the girders have been sufficiently raised the said outer columns may be
connected with the others, and also the extension of the inner columns may be
proceeded with during the raising of the girders, and when the girders have been
raised twenty feet or over the connection and bracing may be completed, the parts
then being as represented in Fig. 9; or the erection of such columns may be
deferred until the girders have been raised to the extent of the stage, say, for
example, to the extent of twenty-one feet as aforesaid, as found to be most con-
venient. If the beams or cross bars connecting the outer with the inner columns
are strong enough to sustain the girders, the girders may now be lowered on to the

page_text: said beams or cross bars, but if not strong enough it will be necessary to have a
duplicate set of beams e to place upon the beams which connect the tops of the
sets of four inner columns, the beams e first used remaining in position to sustain
the girders. The rams and the beams h are now lifted into position upon and
above the beams e, and the operations for lifting the girders another stage, say
of twenty feet, are commenced. To raise the said rams and beams into position,
and also to raise the materials used in the erection of the piers, I employ cranes
which are mounted upon the girders as indicated in Fig. 8, and which
remain in position upon the girders during the whole of the operations of
raising the same. When the arrangements for commencing the third stage in the
raising of the girders are completed the parts will be as indicated by Fig. 10. The
beams e used in the first stage are now raised into position on the top of the inner
superstructure, and the previously described operations are repeated. Fig. 11
represents the girder as when raised sixty feet, and Fig. 12 as when raised eighty feet.
The various dimensions herein given and the extent of cach lift of the girders, and
also the constructive details of the girders and superstructure of the piers being
furnished for convenience of illustration may be varied as required, or considered to
be desirable in each case. In the example illustrated in Sheet 2, the four spans or
two or more of the spans of girders represented may be raised simultaneously, or
they may be successively raised to the extent of cach stage, that is to say, for
example, one span may be raised twenty feet and the others be raised in succession
to the same height, the succeeding stages being effected in a similar manner.
preferred the spans may be successively raised to the full required height, that is to
say,
the operations may be confined to a single span until the raising is completed,
but I do not consider this to be so suitable as the other methods as for one reason,
the complete bracing together of all the columns of the piers below the girders could
not be effected as the raising proceeded, in some cases, as for example, when raising
bow-string girders, it may be preferred or considered to be most suitable to employ
chains or links to connect the beans with the girders. In cases wherein the
girders are raised singly, the rains may be situated on each side of the girder and
the perforated bars be attached to the ends of the girder or to other suitable parts.
In lieu of the perforated bars b, bars provided with studs or projections may be
fixed to the girder, or to each girder, or the girder may be provided with such studs
or projections, blocks resting on the beams e and being placed under the studs or
projections when the girder is to be lifted or sustained, the effect being the same as
in the example illustrated.
If
My Invention is also applicable in the raising of girders which are to be sustained
by piers of masonry, concrete, or brickwork. Fig. 4, Sheet 1, illustrates such a case.
In this example the central part i of the masonry has been carried up in advance
and the beams and rams have been raised into position to raise the girders. As the
raising of the girders proceeds, or when they have been raised a stage, the masonry
is completed to the full width of the piers, the portion erected in advance having
been arranged to bond with the portions subsequently added. The girders may now
be lowered on to the completed side portions of the piers and the central parts be
again carried upwards in advance to support the lifting appliances. In such cases
the girders may be lifted to the extent of one, two, or more courses of masonry at
each stage, or to the extent of several courses of brickwork, say, for example, to the
extent of fifty courses of brickwork, more or less, according to the depth of the
girders, or as may be determined by other circumstances. In some cases the girders
may be erected in position or on a scaffolding or platform with the ends resting on
the tops of the piers or foundations, so as to be ready to be raised into their perma-
nent positions when completed.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of my said Invention, and
means whereby the same may be carried into effect, I would have it to be understood
in conclusion that I claim―
First. The method of erecting girder bridges whereby the girders are raised by
hydraulic rams in stages, cach divided into several short lifts, the said rams and

page_text: lifting appliances being sustained by portions of the piers which are carried up a
corresponding stage in advance of the other portions, substantially as set forth and
indicated herein-before and in and by the accompanying Drawings.
And, Secondly. The construction of appliances for raising girders, and the methods
of operating with the same, substantially as set forth and indicated herein-before and
in and by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frank Beattic, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
FRANK BEATTIE. (L.S.)