h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Covered Bridges of Bucks County, Pennsylvania - A2656956
Author: Jimi X - U53353

An entry about the covered bridges in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Covered bridges are a major tourist draw for some parts of the state, especially at their most 'scenic' during the autumn.

Cheers!
- Jimi X

Good entry Jimi.

This may be totally irrelevent but it did leave me wanting to know more about covered bridges, as in why they were first built and when - I did also wonder what they were convered with.

I mentioned that the first covered bridges were built in Europe in the middle ages in the first sentence.

I can add a bit more that they were built of wooden timbers and the 'covering' is essentially a roof to protect the exposed timbers from the elements, extending the life of the bridge's materials.

Thanks for reading!


- Jimi X

Hey Jimi Another nice one with a few things to sort out

Footnotes should be before the full stop (or any other puctuation), not after it.

"Covered bridges were so popular in the eastern USA because of the sheer abundance of timber. However, with a bridge's trusses and supports made entirely of wood, weather damage would be a serious problem. Thus the simple solution of adding a roof covering over the bridge."
I'm a little perplexed by that paragraph. Firstly, I don't think you need 'so' in that sentence if you also have 'because'. I can see how it would work in speech, but it doesn't seem quite right on the page. Maybe 'particularly popular' would look better? A Sub-ed would prolly know more about this than me.

Secondly, it says that covered bridges were popular because of the timber abundance, but it also says that the bridges were covered to protect from weather damamge. The 'however' in the middle of the para negates the first sentence. Perhaps what you meant to say was that the roof helped to protect the timbers *and* there were a lot of covered bridges because there was a lot of timber

But if the roof is also made of wood, doesn't that just mean more timber to rot?

"more than 200 operating covered bridges"
When was the last one built? Might it be be better to say 'remaining' if they're not being built any more?

That whole paragraph could easily be one sentence instead of three I think.

"in a three-hour driving"
'in a three hour drive'?

Does the Bucks County Conference and Visitors Bureau have a website? Ah, they do http://www.buckscountycvb.org/

"At 82 feet in length, it is just downstream from Loux Bridge"
That suggests to me some dependence on being 82 feet long *because* it's downstream from Loux Bridge, as in f'rinstance, 'at 1,000 feet long, the bridge is the longest of its type in the world'. Do you see what I mean?

Are the bridges painted? If so it would be a nice addition to the description of each one.


Scout

::Cough::

What, you wanted action on that quickly?!?

My Internet connection has been a bit dodgy lately and I'm off on a second honeymoon tomorrow...

I *promise* that I'll address all your concerns in another week or two. I've started working on them already, it's just a matter of going back in my files to find the rest of the information you're seeking.


- Jimi X

I only told you to blow the doors off.

DD. Cryptic as always I see...

My name is Demon Drawer, not a lot of people know that.

Great entry by the way Jimi. In case you haven't noticed my to do list has expanded again.

> I *promise* that I'll address all your concerns in another week or two.

Has this had a chance to have happened yet?

And one week after Mikey asks for it, it is finished.

Sorry for the *huge* delay in working on this one.

Life, don't talk to me about life.

I think I've made all the fixes that were requested. If I missed anything do give me a shout and I promise to get to it in a reasonable time period. Honest!


- Jimi X

Does that mean before or after Halloween?


First footnote is still after the full stop for that sentence.

a three-hour driving >> a three-hour driving tour, perhaps?


Some things you could include if you want (or not, actually I'm just personally curious).
How do the bridges handle the larger cars? They wouldn't have been built wide enough to allow two full traffic lanes, would they? Or are they all one-lane bridges?

How are the bridges maintained? I expect they're painted regularly, and the roofs timbers replaced as needed? Are the driving surfaces specially treated or replaced occasionally?

This makes me wish we had more than four of these bridges in Missouri.

Fixed the first footnote, added a footnote about current vehicle limitations and added 'tour' back into the description of the tour.

Just to satisfy your curiosity, they're maintained very much like any other bridge or roadway. Some have asphalt running through them and others simply allow you to drive on the wood.

Some of the bridges can look a bit ratty before re-painting and I didn't figure it would be fair to say 'So and so bridge needed a fresh coat of paint at the time of writing'. Besides, my lovely bride says that the peeling paint adds to their charm...

Hope that covers all.


- X

Very interesting entry.



Not to be picky but I've found a typo: in the paragraph on Sheard's Mill Bridge you have 'while' instead of 'white'.

Is it worth adding a tiny reference to the obvious film? Many people will have seen it and may have become interested in the subject as a result.

F

I reckon I'll fix that typo by X-mas...

Actually, it's already done.

I've never seen the film (Bridges of Madison County right?) so I can't offer much about that other than the fact that I stole the form of the title of the film for the title of the entry...


- Jimi X

It's a nice film. It would be interesting to know where it was filmed; I imagine if one of 'your' bridges was featured you would already know. I'd search for it but I've got limited internet access from here.

This is a good entry (IMHO) and I'm sure a lot of people will find it interesting. These bridges are very photogenic so any additional details suggesting which bridges are particularly picturesque might be of value to any photographers reading it.

F

The Bridges of Madison County" was made on location in Madison County, Iowa. http://www.madisoncounty.com/movie.html

Each one has its own personality and any could make a nice photo, depending on the season or lighting... I reckon I'll leave that bit out.

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