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23-779: The Wreck Lead Bridge is a railroad drawbridge carrying the Long Beach Branch of the Long Island Rail Road over Reynolds Channel , between the City of Long Beach and the Village of Island Park , in Nassau County , New York , United States. The Wreck Lead Bridge is a steel and concrete bascule bridge . It carries a single track across the channel, with the Long Beach station to its south and

46-402: A balistraria ) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts . The interior walls behind an arrow loop are often cut away at an oblique angle so that the archer has a wide field of view and field of fire . Arrow slits come in a variety of forms. A common one is the cross , accommodating the use of both

69-425: A ditch or moat , crossed by a wooden bridge. In early castles, the bridge might be designed to be destroyed or removed in the event of an attack, but drawbridges became very common. A typical arrangement would have the drawbridge immediately outside a gatehouse , consisting of a wooden deck with one edge hinged or pivoting at the gatehouse threshold, so that in the raised position the bridge would be flush against

92-528: A smaller target; however, it has also been suggested that it was to allow the defenders of White Castle to keep attackers in their sights for longer because of the steep moat surrounding the castle. When an embrasure linked to more than one arrowslit (in the case of Dover Castle , defenders from three embrasures can shoot through the same arrowslit) it is called a "multiple arrowslit". Some arrowslits, such as those at Corfe Castle , had lockers nearby to store spare arrows and bolts; these were usually located on

115-475: Is called a turning bridge , and may or may not have the raising chains characteristic of a drawbridge. The inner end carried counterweights enabling it to sink into a pit in the gate-passage, and when horizontal the bridge would often be supported by stout pegs inserted through the side walls. This was a clumsy arrangement, and many turning bridges were replaced with more advanced drawbridges. Drawbridges were also used on forts with Palmerston Forts using them in

138-401: Is normally found. The bridge may extend into the gate-passage beyond the pivot point, either over a pit into which the internal portion can swing (providing a further obstacle to attack), or in the form of counterweighted beams that drop into slots in the floor. The raising chains could themselves be attached to counterweights. In some cases, a portcullis provides the weight, as at Alnwick . By

161-542: The Island Park station to its north. When in the closed position, the bridge's bascule span, located midstream, has a clearance below of 17 feet (5.2 m) above the high-tide mark. The original Wreck Lead Bridge was a wooden swing bridge which was built in 1880, upon the construction of the present-day Long Beach Branch to Long Beach. By the 1980s, it was in need of replacement, with its deck frequently being stuck & subsequently delaying train and/or boat traffic;

184-568: The city walls . Although used in late Greek and Roman defences, arrowslits were not present in early Norman castles . They are reintroduced to military architecture only towards the end of the 12th century, with the castles of Dover and Framlingham in England, and Richard the Lionheart's Château Gaillard in France. In these early examples, arrowslits were positioned to protect sections of

207-480: The crenellations . The invention of the arrowslit is attributed to Archimedes during the siege of Syracuse in 214–212 BC (although archaeological evidence supports their existence in Egyptian Middle Kingdom forts around 1860 BC). Slits "of the height of a man and about a palm's width on the outside" allowed defenders to shoot bows and scorpions (an ancient siege engine) from within

230-410: The longbow and the crossbow . The narrow vertical aperture permits the archer large degrees of freedom to vary the elevation and direction of their bowshot but makes it difficult for attackers to harm the archer since there is only a small target at which to aim. Balistraria, plural balistrariae, from balister, crossbowman can often be found in the curtain walls of medieval battlements beneath

253-401: The loophole for firearms . In its simplest form, an arrowslit was a narrow vertical opening; however, the different weapons used by defenders sometimes dictated the form of arrowslits. For example, openings for longbowmen were usually tall and high to allow the user to shoot standing up and make use of the 6 ft (1.8 m) bow, while those for crossbowmen were usually lower down as it

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276-432: The 14th century, a bascule arrangement was provided by lifting arms (called "gaffs") above and parallel to the bridge deck whose ends were linked by chains to the lifting part of the bridge. In the raised position, the gaffs would fit into slots in the gatehouse wall ("rainures") which can often still be seen in places like Herstmonceux Castle . Inside the castle, the gaffs were extended to bear counterweights, or might form

299-730: The Long Beach Branch (which was severely damaged during Sandy), would undergo a major bridge rehabilitation and modernization project which would fortify it against future floods. As part of the project, the bridge received an emergency generator and improved electrical systems to make it more resilient in the event of severe storms. Many of the bridge's aging underwater power cables were also replaced. Drawbridge As used in castles or defensive structures, drawbridges provide access across defensive structures when lowered, but can quickly be raised from within to deny entry to an enemy force. Medieval castles were usually defended by

322-531: The bridge was also vulnerable to flooding due to its low spans, which caused the swing bridge mechanisms to regularly be submerged in saltwater. A modern replacement span was soon proposed by officials, and the plans were finalized by the latter half of the decade following the LIRR, Town of Hempstead , Village of Island Park, City of Long Beach, and the United States Coast Guard all agreeing on

345-399: The castle wall, rather than all sides of the castle. In the 13th century, it became common for arrowslits to be placed all around a castle's defences. Elements of fortification such as arrowslits became associated with high social standing and authority. As such, damaging them could be significant as an aspect of slighting . The successor of arrowslits after the advent of gunpowder was

368-514: The field of fire, but the field of vision could be enhanced by the addition of horizontal openings; they allowed defenders to view the target before it entered range. Usually, the horizontal slits were level, which created a cross shape, but less common was to have the slits off-set (called displaced traverse slots) as demonstrated in the remains of White Castle in Wales. This has been characterised as an advance in design as it provided attackers with

391-532: The form of Guthrie rolling bridges . Drawbridges have appeared in films as part of castle sets. When the drawbridge needs to be functional this may present engineering challenges since the set may not be able to support the weight of the bridge in the conventional manner. One solution is to build the drawbridge from steel and concrete before hiding the structural materials behind wood and plaster. Arrow slits An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop , loophole or loop hole , and sometimes

414-496: The gate, forming an additional barrier to entry. It would be backed by one or more portcullises and gates. Access to the bridge could be resisted with missiles from machicolations above or arrow slits in flanking towers . The bridge would be raised or lowered using ropes or chains attached to a windlass in a chamber in the gatehouse above the gate-passage. Only a very light bridge could be raised in this way without any form of counterweight, so some form of bascule arrangement

437-440: The plans. Construction on the current bridge commenced in 1987 and was finished in the spring of 1988. The opening of the $ 25.4 million bridge occurred on May 9 of that year. It has a deck which sits 10 feet (3.0 m) higher than the one on its predecessor, allowing for more boats to pass underneath it without the bridge needing to open; the reduction in required bridge openings also improved train service and capacity. As part of

460-458: The railroad's decision to discontinue its Placida– Boca Grande freight route. When planning the bridge, the MTA purchased the then-16-year-old span for $ 475,000 (1986 USD ) and shipped it to New York by barge; reusing the bascule span saved the LIRR an estimated $ 1 million (1986 USD) in project costs. In the 2010s, following Superstorm Sandy , the MTA announced that the bridge, along with the rest of

483-615: The replacement project, the locations of both the maritime navigation channel and the bridge's bascule section were shifted southwards, from their previous location along the Island Park shore to their current location midstream. The current bridge's bascule span was originally built and used as one of the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 's former drawbridges in Placida, Florida ; service on that line ceased upon

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506-513: The side-timbers of a stout gate which would be against the roof of the gate-passage when the drawbridge was down, but would close against the gate-arch as the bridge was raised. In France, working drawbridges survive at a number of châteaux , including the Château du Plessis-Bourré . In England, two working drawbridges remain in regular use at Helmingham Hall , which dates from the early sixteenth century. A bridge pivoted on central trunnions

529-409: Was easier for the user to shoot whilst kneeling to support the weight of the weapon. It was common for arrowslits to widen to a triangle at the bottom, called a fishtail, to allow defenders a clearer view of the base of the wall. Immediately behind the slit there was a recess called an embrasure ; this allowed a defender to get close to the slit without being too cramped. The width of the slit dictated

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