Collection Guide
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Strauss (Joseph) Bridge Plans
M0163
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Joseph Strauss Bridge Plans
Creator:
Strauss Bascule Bridge Company
Identifier/Call Number: M0163
Physical Description:
250 map folder(s)
(circa 4,500 drawings)
Physical Description:
500 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1905-1935
Abstract: Original bridge plans and construction drafts. Four different bridge types are represented: Strauss direct lift bridge, Strauss
trunnion draw span, Strauss trunnion bascule bridge, and Strauss vertical lift bridge.
The collection is open for research. Note that material is stored off-site and must be requested at least 36 hours in advance
of intended use.
Several drawing sets (File 560, File 1265, and File 1490) are fragile and in the care of Conservation. Please contact Public
Services for more information on using these drawing sets.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transferred from the School of Engineering, Stanford University, 1966.
The plans are arranged in File number order, which roughly corresponds to a chronological arrangement. Where no file number
is available, the plans have been arranged chronologically.
Joseph Baermann Strauss (1870-1938) was an American structural engineer who revolutionized the design of bascule bridges.
Strauss held numerous patents for bascule bridges, including his major innovation of using concrete counterweights coupled
with a series of linkages to balance the moveable span. His company the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company (later called Strauss
Engineering Corporation), based in Chicago, Illinois, designed a variety of moveable and fixed bridges based on these patents.
He was also the chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge, which opened in 1937 in San Francisco shortly before his death in
1938.
Page from library catalog:
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4082908
[Identification of item] Joseph Strauss Bridge Plans, M163). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
The collection consists of original bridge plans and construction drafts. Four different bridge types are represented: Strauss
direct lift bridge (S.D.L.B.), Strauss trunnion draw span (S.T.D.S.), Strauss trunnion bascule bridge (S.T.B.B.), and Strauss vertical lift bridge (S.V.L.B.). The file number indicated was created and assigned by the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company. Years indicated after location
of the project are the earliest and latest dated plans in the set.
The majority of the plans and drafts are for bridges in the United States or Canada, however there are also plans for bridges
in Argentina, China, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Russia, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Norway. Also while almost
every plan is for a bridge there are also plans for a searchlight and an aeroscope.
Some of the plans are very fragile and require special care during handling. There are also some plans that are very dusty.
The type of information that can be found on a blueprint sheet is:
The type of bridge, the specific location of the bridge (e.g. Second Narrows, Burrard Inlet), the municipality and state/province,
who the bridge was designed for (e.g. Southern Pacific Railroad), bridge designer (The Strauss Bascule Bridge Co.).
For each sheet there is also: drawn by, traced by, checked by, revised dates, scale of the sheet, date, Strauss Company general
file number of the project, and sheet number. On the back of the sheets there is a date printed stamp.
Each project usually has around 10-20 sheets, although some have as little as one sheet and others have as many as 86.
The sheets also note what kind of drawing is depicted. Usually the first sheet in a project is a general drawing that shows
the whole structure as well as containing a list of all the other drawings/sheets in the project.
For the above bridge example, Second Narrows, Burrard, Vancouver, B.C., there are 27 sheets which are as follows:
General drawing
Stress sheet
Masonry plan and grillages
Bascule truss – front end
Bascule truss – interm. Part.
Bascule truss – trunnion end
Floor system – bascule span
Bottom laterals – bascule span
Floor system – tower span
Tower truss – lower part
Tower truss – upper part
Machinery girders
Counterweight link and operating strut
Counterweight trusses – upper part
Counterweight trusses – lower part
Concrete counterweight
Floor deck
Ladders and platforms
Operator's house and machinery house
Trunnions and bearings
Link pins and bearings
Operating machinery
Machinery bearings
Machinery bed and equalizer
Operating strut guide
End lock and buffer
Buffer on operating strut
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bridges
bascule bridges
moveable bridges
structural engineering
Civil engineering.
Blueprints.