Talk:Bascule bridge

Tower Bridge

The Article asserts that Tower Bridge in London is probably the most famous example, yet there is no image of it, instead images of less widely known bridges are used. Why? Freddie42 00:03, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

The Tower Bridge has too many unique features that confuse the issue of what a bascule bridge is (towers, half and full suspension elements, cross-tower links). - Leonard G. 03:15, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Lists

People keep adding a list of bascule bridges. Wikipedia:Categorization policy states that lists that are simply a series of links should be converted into categories. Cacophony 16:38, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

Shouldn't this apply only to items that have articles? - Leonard G. 23:24, 4 September 2005 (UTC)

True enough, I'll revert and create redlinks for bridges on the list. Cacophony 05:09, September 5, 2005 (UTC)

You might want to see what I have done with List of honeybee articles. There is a major naviagational template (e.g. list of all honeybee articles) and a minor template (list of all bee types within a hive). The big list may be included directly as a template or referenced to an article containing the template. The latter seems preferable when the list would overwhelm a short article.

We could then have a template for all articles containing examples of bascule bridge types, and similarly for other bridge types. These might also be set up as a gallery as is the primary bridge article.

By the way, I need to obtain the bridge type of the Brunnel bridge (lower arcuate tension eyebar chain and an upper compression arch, with zero end thrust). - Leonard G. 15:40, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

Missing bridges/ historic roots

I'm no expert in this, but I have seen Dutch paintings of this type of bridge that I believe are are much earlier than most of the examples shown on this page. For example Van Gogh painted The Langlois Bridge at Arles with Road Alongside the Canal in 1888. Some of these may still exist, and a properly licensed photo could be sought.

[Flickr http://flickr.com/photos/tags/bascule/ Flickr] has a variety of images under the tag "bascule" but none that I see are the very early ones Van Gogh painted.

comment updated Nils Peterson 15:49, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

Animation question

The animation is clearly a double-leaf drawbridge, but I don't see any counterweights. Doesn't that lack disqualify it as a bascule? Mdotley 17:41, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

The animation is less than helpful:

• It does not show a bascule bridge.
• It gives no hint as to the actual operation of the bridge.
• There are no gates to stop the auto traffic. The car to the right stops only because the bridge has opened. If the driver were faster he would likely have drowned after being launched into the river.

I believe the article would be improved by its removal. Any discussion before I expunge it?

Snezzy (talk) 19:10, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

I've restored this image. The animation is intended to show the general concept, not be exhaustive. Note the similar animations on other such pages such as Swing bridge. That does not show the protective gates nor does it show the structure in the water which is often there to prevent boats from hitting the swung span. The key here is simple. If you want to be more exhaustive, please feel free to provide a better animation of this type. - Denimadept (talk) 21:22, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

I agree that this animation is misleading in that a key element, the counterweights, is missing. Otherwise this could be a simple drawbridge. Jarod (talk) 15:57, 20 January 2021 (UTC)

This page needs some work.

I am not an engineer, but I am a historic bridge enthusiast and have some experiance in the field. I think people are getting the Strauss bascule and the trunnion bascule bridge mixed up.. aren't they essentially the same thing? Also, the location of a counterweight does not affect the type of bridge. Scherzer rolling lift bridges do typically have a counterweight above the roadway and trunnions typically have it below, but in truth what defines the bridge type is how it raises. Trunnions rotate around an axel while scherzer rolling lifts essentially rock back like a rocking chair. I made an edit to one paragraph regarding this, but some of the captions may need further editing. It would be nice if someone with a genuine engineering background would do some work on this page.

ya'll is smart

Gallery

I just removed the gallery because I believe that wikipedia is not a place to blantely show off pretty pictures. If there is so many photos that they don't fit in the article itself, don't put them in. If I am wrong in thinking this, put the gallery back and leave a message on my talk page. --Umalee 16:18, 27 April 2007 (UTC)

How unreasonablr are these people putting pictures ilustrating Bascule bridges on the Bascule bridge page? It's a crime! the next step will surely be anarchy! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.68.212.220 (talk) 02:23, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

I put the gallery back in. If galleries didn't belong in wikipedia, the gallery tag wouldn't exist.Phasmatisnox (talk) 22:31, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

As long as the images add something to the article, then they can be there. Having 4 similar photos wouldn't add anything, but the present one shows the different types of bridge. Wongm (talk) 22:54, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

In truth, Wikipedia generally advises against image galleries, but there is no true consensus on when they are relevant (see this and this ). In this case, I say that the image gallery is worth it (there are many types of bascule bridge and they should be illustrated), BUT the images contained in it need captions that make it relevant. --Onore Baka Sama (talk) 03:52, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

Would it be better to have the gallery after the Tower Bridge section? TheSmuel (talk) 20:13, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree with this. I'll move it. --Onore Baka Sama (talk) 03:52, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

We need the gallery for goodness sakes!!! Put it back this instantly or else... The Damn Sferb (talk) 11:08, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

Or else what? Threats are not likely to get you very far on Wikipedia. Greyjoy ^talk 11:09, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

References

I have added a reference for the Tower Bridge information. I have also found a source of about movable bridges that seems to cover the technical information here. I will add it shortly. I have not checked that everything is covered but the source seems quite comprehensive. (I have linked to a preview on Google Books, so not every page is available)TheSmuel (talk) 20:20, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Merge with drawbridge

Drawbridge has it's own page and according to this article, a bascule and a drawbridge are the same thing. Why not merge the two? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.184.155.87 (talk) 03:18, 8 October 2014 (UTC)

Too many photos

There are ridiculously many pictures in the gallery section. Surely we don't need 27 pictures to illustrate how a bascule bridge is opened? JIP | Talk 16:00, 20 September 2021 (UTC)

@JIP: I'd simply turn it into a bulleted list of examples without any photos. How does that sound? – Finnusertop (talk ⋅ contribs) 19:51, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

That's a good idea, but please note that some of the bridges are listed multiple times in the gallery section, with different photos. A bulleted list needs each bridge only once. JIP | Talk 20:09, 26 September 2021 (UTC)

We already have a separate list-type article, List of bascule bridges. There's no need for a bulleted list here in the parent article, unless every item describes a particularly notable example – of a type of bascule bridge that is different from all others in the (short) list of examples – and cites sources. Otherwise, something like half a dozen (or fewer) photos of examples is an appropriate inclusion here in the parent article. I agree there are far too many photos here currently, but I don't support having zero photos; that's too few, in my opinion. SJ Morg (talk) 06:05, 27 September 2021 (UTC)