Wendel
Bollman (1814-1884) from Baltimore started working for the B&O railroad and created a more stable bridge of iron for the trains. His first iron bridge was at Savage in 1850, and received a patent in 1852. Many photos (one of Mr. Bollman) and information at link below.
Patent no. 8,624 dated January 6, 1852
1855 ad
Elysville north of Ellicott City (built 1855) 1857
Illchester south of Ellicott City after flood of 1868
Harper's Ferry built 1851, rebuilt after Civil War;
Lots of information and pictures at: Vogel, Robert M. The Engineering Contributions of Wendel Bollman. Smithsonian… Bulletin 240, 2010 HERE
©2018 Patricia Bixler Reber
Forgotten history of Ellicott City & Howard County MD
Please check your facts on the "first" Bollman bridge. RR historian Paul S. Bridges (1939 - 2018) claimed Bollman's patent in 1850 was called "Elysville patent" for its location across the Patapsco River at what is now known as Daniels. Could confirm with B&O RR Museum who have a rare commemorative silver piece celebrating the accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteI got the info from Smithsonian Museum Bulletin 2010 by Robert Vogel, link at end of the post: "The first all-iron Bollman truss was constructed over the Little Patuxent River at Savage Factory, near Laurel, Maryland, in 1850. [patent 1852] … Almost immediately following completion of the Savage Bridge, Bollman undertook the design of replacements for the large Patapsco River span at Elysville (now Daniels), Maryland, and the so-called Winchester span…" [p89]. So he may have made changes in that truss to Elysville one. Bollman 1852 patent online https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/6f/38/23/9e0c1fb78ea644/US8624.pdf
ReplyDelete