science

Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook

Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook rather than just read about it. In short: The Macdonald River railway bridge is a heritage-listed railway bridge that carries the Main Northern Line across the Macdonald River located in Woolbrook, in the Walcha Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The railway bridge was designed by John Whitton as the Engineer-in-Chief for the New South Wales Government Railways and built during 1882 by J.

Key takeaways

Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Macdonald River railway bridge is a heritage-listed railway bridge that carries the Main Northern Line across the Macdonald River located in Woolbrook, in the Walcha Shire, New South Wales, Australia. The railway bridge was designed by John Whitton as the Engineer-in-Chief for the New South Wales Government Railways and built during 1882 by J. S. Bennett, with iron work by J. & C. Brettell, Worcester, England. The railway bridge is also known as the Woolbrook rail bridge over the Macdonald River and the Woolbrook Lattice Railway Bridge. The bridge and adjacent infrastructure is owned by Transport Asset Manager of New South Wales, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. The bridge was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 and was added to the (now defunct) Register of the National Estate on 18 April 1989.

History During the 20-year period 1873–1893 there was a massive program of public works in New South Wales, particularly in expanding the road and rail networks. It was a boom period that ended with a severe economic depression. Despite the boom conditions, the respective Chief Engineers, for Roads (William C. Bennett) and for Railways, John Whitton, were constrained to economise by using as much local material as possible, consequently an enormous amount of hardwood timber was used for bridgeworks, mostly timber beam and timber truss bridges. However, there were many major rivers to be crossed, requiring long span bridges, for which no form of timber bridge was suitable. These large bridges had to be metal and supplied from England, a very expensive import cost to the successive colonial governments. Both Chief Engineers were British so they chose the widely used wrought iron lattice truss bridge in the half-through form. Twelve of these were built for the railways and 24 for roads. These two sets of iron lattice bridges are the most significant group of bridges of the colonial period. A high percentage are extant and still in use, eleven on railway bridges and eighteen on road bridges. The current railway lattice bridges are the:

1876 – Macquarie River bridge at Bathurst 1881 – Macquarie River at Wellington 1882 – Peel River bridge at Tamworth 1882 – MacDonald River bridge at Woolbrook 1884 – Murray River bridge at Albury 1884 – Macquarie River bridge at Dubbo 1885 – Murrumbidgee River bridge at Narrandera 1887 – Lachlan River bridge at Cowra Two former railway lattice bridges (1885 Georges River at Como and 1886 Parramatta River at Meadowbank) were converted for use by pedestrian/cycle ways. The 1871 lattice railway bridge over the Hunter River at Aberdeen was replaced by steel girders and demolished.

Description A single-span wrought iron lattice bridge. The span is 48 metres (159 ft) to the centre of bearings and the lattice work has seven triangulations. The bridge carries a single 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge railway, with transomes on timber stringers on metal cross girders, which frame into the sides of the lower chords. The main trusses are through type lattice trusses, simply supported. They are of constant depth with seven triangulations and are connected together above the track by characteristic arched, latticed braces. The abutments are of brick. The super structure was fabricated by J. and C. Brettell, Worcester, England; A. and R. Amos were the principal contractors. The bridge was placed in service on 2 August 1882. This is the only iron lattice railway bridge with brick abutments.

Condition As at 26 April 2006, the bridge's physical condition was good. Apart from relatively minor technical works of repair and strengthening, all the iron lattice railway bridges retain their original fabrics. In 2017 it was reported that the 135-year-old steel bridge has a 30 kilometres per hour (19 mph) speed limit for passenger trains.

Heritage listing This bridge is one of Whitton's major 1870s wrought iron bridges and is an excellent example of early bridge construction. The lattice girder is one of Whitton's original 12 bridges of that design and they represent the third stage of bridge construction in NSW following the stone viaduct and iron tubular bridges. This bridge is a member of the most significant group of colonial bridges in New South Wales. Collectively, as items of railway infrastructure, they contributed significantly to the history and development of New South Wales. Each bridge is an imposing structure at its site. In terms of contemporary bridge technology the wrought iron lattice bridge was among the best for major bridgeworks. Woolbrook rail bridge over McDonald River was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. Twelve wrought iron lattice railway bridges were built in New South Wales during the boom period for railway construction 1871–1887, starting at Aberdeen and ending at Cowra. Nine of the survivors are owned and managed by the Transport Asset Holding Entity. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. All nine iron lattice railway bridges are imposing structures The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. Every iron lattice railway bridge crossed a major river which made it possible for the railway extension to develop the districts reached, socially and commercially. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. The iron lattice bridge was a technically sound structure for the bridge technology of the late colonial period. Its strength and durability have shown it to have been a very cost-effective form of bridge. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. Collectively, the iron lattice railway bridges represent a significant class of bridge structure.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook

In research: Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1882 establishments in Australia, Bridges completed in 1882, Girder bridges in Australia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook in simple terms?

Why does Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Macdonald River railway bridge, Woolbrook.