Buffalowed Bill Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Gentlemen, At a party this weekend I was talking to a guy, who mentioned that he had been trying to determine the make a model of the car that went down with the famous Tacoma Narrows bridge (Gallopin Gertie). Without a doubt I have known what it was, but today it would just be a guess. Now I'll let the experts have a shot at it.-Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 When I was an Engrineering student at LSU in 1969, I remember this video being played to show us how not paying attention to harmonics in design could be fatal I vaguely remember all the courses I needed to be an Engrineer (due to studying distilled and brewed spirits as a minor), but this are one. I never figured out the harmonics deal, thought that was something you played, like Dylan.... Fascinating now, fascinating then..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 2 hours ago, trimacar said: When I was an Engrineering student at LSU in 1969, I remember this video being played to show us how not paying attention to harmonics in design could be fatal I vaguely remember all the courses I needed to be an Engrineer (due to studying distilled and brewed spirits as a minor), but this are one. I never figured out the harmonics deal, thought that was something you played, like Dylan.... Fascinating now, fascinating then..... My university was responsible for leading the investigation to the westgate bridge collapse during construction that killed 35 workers, they saved the pieces after the royal commission and placed them around the engineering buildings to remind graduates what the price of failure is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 Based on the shape and splits of the rear window, and the shape of the trunk, I vote for a 1938 Cadillac Series 65, 75, or 90, probably the 132" wheelbase Series 65 (the 75 V8 and 90 V16 shared a 141.3-inch wheelbase). In 1939 the license plate and its lamp were moved to the center of the trunk--and there was no longer a Series 65. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 10 hours ago, hidden_hunter said: My university was responsible for leading the investigation to the westgate bridge collapse during construction that killed 35 workers, they saved the pieces after the royal commission and placed them around the engineering buildings to remind graduates what the price of failure is. Yes, that's why so many things are over-engineered, i.e. built stronger than needed by many factors. It does make one think of the genius of Henry Ford, how his company was able to design a car, Model T, that was strong enough, yet light enough in construction not to strain the components to a failure mode. There are numerous discussions of how, on early rough roads, a heavy, "over engineered" automobile would beat itself to death by it's own weight/mass, while a Model T would transverse the same road nimbly and with no damage. Darn engineers. Can't live with 'em, but you wouldn't have nuttin' without 'em, as my wife says.....her favorite story is when we were trying to get our then 2 year old granddaughter to pose in a picture, and I asked her to "turn 90 degrees"........to a 2 year old..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorialynn2 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Wow, I've never seen that. Crazy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 On 05/07/2017 at 3:33 PM, trimacar said: When I was an Engrineering student at LSU in 1969, I remember this video being played to show us how not paying attention to harmonics in design could be fatal I vaguely remember all the courses I needed to be an Engrineer (due to studying distilled and brewed spirits as a minor), but this are one. I never figured out the harmonics deal, thought that was something you played, like Dylan.... Fascinating now, fascinating then..... I believe that video is shown to every first-year engineering class right down to this day, and one still has to write their own thesis as to why it collapsed in only a 42mph wind. Yes, harmonics and oscillations were a huge factor in its failure, along its unprecedented 1:74 span-to-width ratio. The great debate among structural engineers still go on. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 My son watched the video, amazed, and his comment was that he never knew concrete could be that flexible! I don't remember doing a thesis on the bridge, but could have....I was at LSU from 1969 to 1973, interesting time to be away from home, and I even remember SOME of it......what's the song, say, "except for memories erased by sweet red wine"...(Strawberry Hill, I think, if you say what you paid for that wine per bottle one can probably guess what year you drank it!! It was under a dollar back then.....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pomeroy41144 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Very famous film footage. The car owner had run for safety and abandoned his dog in that car. Poor pooch. I would have risked my life to save my dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72caddy Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) My understanding (hearsay mind you; I am not a structural engineer.) was that this really changed suspension bridge design. The wind caused the bridge to act like a plane wing where the air pressure above and below were different causing lift _ which is very bad for a suspension bridge where you are counting on the weight of the bridge to keep it in position. Once it lifted and caused the other pieces to change orientation it just tore itself apart. Edited July 7, 2017 by 72caddy Spelling (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 On 05/07/2017 at 5:59 PM, hidden_hunter said: My university was responsible for leading the investigation to the westgate bridge collapse during construction that killed 35 workers, they saved the pieces after the royal commission and placed them around the engineering buildings to remind graduates what the price of failure is. The Westgate Bridge failure was due to carelessness and total disregard of any consequences resulting thereof. Being a pre-assembled Box Girder construction bridge, tolerances were ignored, and when the span did not match the adjacent one for height once it was hoisted onto the piers for boltup, it was suggested to add weight to bring it down from where it was five inches out. Instead of lowering it back to the ground for proper re-assembly, the inevitable happened. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digger914 Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 First time I've seen Gallopin Gertie in color, not the first time I've seen the footage of this famous dog rescue and bridge collapse. People who drove the old bridge "Gallopin Gertie" would tell you that this wasn't the first time the thing flapped in the wind and it wasn't safe to drive when it did. Even the improved replacement bridge moved enough in high wind to flip moving cars on their way across. The next improvement to the improved bridge were the wind warning lights and I've crossed that bridge in the wind. The cars that don't slow down when the lights are on are the cars that slide down the road on their roofs and sometimes this happend with one gust of wind. Was in Seattle last week, first time in 20 years and where I was heading took me across the improved, improved, improved bridge. Nice drive in calm weather with clear sky's and supposed to be better in a breeze. I was only there for the day and I'm in no hurry to go back and find out for myself. The Gallopin Gertie film shows only one car on the bridge, one driver foolish enough to drive the bouncing bridge when no one else would. No heroic dog rescue here, just another dumb ass that wasn't going to be stopped by bad weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 14 minutes ago, Digger914 said: The Gallopin Gertie film shows only one car on the bridge, one driver foolish enough to drive the bouncing bridge when no one else would. No heroic dog rescue here, just another dumb ass that wasn't going to be stopped by bad weather. Story has it, he was a newspaper photographer. Don't those guys get bonuses and danger pay for doing 'stupid' things to get that special photo for their readers? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Gregory Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 An engineer told me the reason engineers wear those iron rings on their little finger . Is that that the steel came from the collapse of the Rainbow or Honeymoon Bridge in Niagara Falls and to remind the engineers to do a good job . He also said it also balances the lead in their rear ends and get to work . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digger914 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 3 hours ago, 8E45E said: Story has it, he was a newspaper photographer. Don't those guys get bonuses and danger pay for doing 'stupid' things to get that special photo for their readers? Craig That's the thing with stories, this happened before I was borne and back when it happened everybody in town knew who the driver was, what the car was and who tried to rescue the dog. By the time the Space Needle was built the only thing everyone could agree on was the dogs name was Tubby, he was on his way home from the vet and he wasn't getting out of that car again until he got home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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