Having determined the number of bridges over the aqueduct, the logical next step was to take pictures of all 10:
THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
22 comments:
Here are the other 3 bridges: Guy
Guy thanks for posting the bridge pictures. I especially liked seeing the Jolicoeur and Woodland bridges because I remember them the best. I often walked over either one when ever I went to Verdun when I was a young girl living in Cote St. Paul. Dianne
Thanks Guy ,......I appreciate your time & effort ,taking those pictures of all the bridges,....the only new one for most of us would be that Galt Av. bridge,......Do You know what year it was built ,......I'm guessing late 80's ...............................Again Thanks for the Verdun pictures, HF&RV
Les, All those to whom I asked the question of how many bridges there are over the aqueduct did not know and were surprised to hear that there are 10. The Bishop Power bridge is a real beauty and is the nicest looking bridge of the aqueduc as well as of the Lachine canal. The Latour bridge is under renovation and based on the plans wich appeared in the La Presse recently will be very ordinary looking. If you copmpare with the beautifull bridges that exhist in europe, we cetainly lack taste. Guy
Your right Guy ,.some of the bridges are plain,.but they are functional,and I also suspect that it probably costs more for manpower here than in Europe (at least when these bridges were built) I too couldn't think of the 10th bridge.....but my brother new of it,.I know Galt is the newest of the group,.Galt Av bridge did not exist at all when we were kids,.......you had to go to either Church or over to 4th/Joliceur. both of those bridge were two-way ,...where I believe now Church av bridge is one way N ,..and Galt of course one way S. Again thanks for the Bridge pictures,........for many of us who are not close enough to Montreal/Verdun,.to make a quick trip in,.We appreciate the efforts that some of our members go to ,in order to keep us all in the loop: Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Merci Guy ! For all the photos of Aqueduct’s bridges. The next step is to determine which ones are crossed by buses ? JM
I would imagin,....... Church ,Galt,.Bishop Power,.......and I would imagin a Bus service goes into Lachine from the end of the Acquduct on LasalleBlvd. ...........possibly Dollard ( but I don't remember that for sure) let me know how I did,..................HF&RV
JM I would say the buses use Church,Woodland when they come from Jolicoeur Metro, Dollard and the one at Bishop Power. Not sure but could be.. Lad
JM Part two do you know if the bus that uses Woodland is the 37 I think, does it not use the Church Bridge to complete the loop to the Metro. Not sure but is it over one to go and the other one to come back. Thanks Lad
Let's get some very important facts here. 1 Which bridge did you hide under to smoke? 2. Did you ever cross the arch on Fourth Avenue bridge? 3. If you tried to cross the arch and changed your mind, how high did you go? 4.Which bridge did you try to fish from when you were small? 5. Did you try to walk the railings on any of them? 6. How many bridges were there when we were young, say up to 1960? 7. When you crossed the fourth Avenue Bridge from Montreal to Verdun, what was right in front of you? Anything else you can think of? Ed
Hi there ! Bridges over the Aqueduct and bus lines: summary review (not exhaustive at all) A) In Verdun: No 1: de l’Église: #37: Jolicoeur No 2: Galt: #37: Jolicoeur No 3: 4th & 5th Avenue, Verdun (Jolicoeur in Ville-Émard) No 4: Woodland: #37: Jolicoeur No 5: Stephens No 6: Cow’s Bridge (Douglas Hospital) Was it a legend or was it reality ? At the beginning, they built a tunnel but the cows refused to use it. Then they built a bridge, the cows were satisfied. Maybe Ed or somebody else could confirm or infirm this « legend » This bridge was used to allow the cows to browse on the North bank of the Aqueduct. No 7: Crawford Bridge: #112: Airlie B. In Ville LaSalle: No 8: Bishop Power Blvd: #109: Boulevard Shevchenko #110: Centrale No 9: Dollard: #112 Airlie #123 Dollard No 10: LaSalle Blvd: #110: Centrale If someone has any corrections or additions, please proceed ! JM
Hi JMH .,........ I seriously doubt that there was ever a tunnel for the cows,. at one time the area would have been all available for wandering,..and then the Acky was built ,I doubt they would have built a tunnel prior to building a bridge(for cows),.......I suspect that in those days ,People were far more Common Sense minded,...and if a cow didn't cross the bridge (2C the other side),.then it very quickly would have found it's way to a 'Dinner Plate' near the farmer,...............Just cause the cows came from the Douglas side ,doesn't mean the farmers were Crazy..................hahahahahhah I did post pictures quite awhile back showing the actuall building & construction of the Acqeduct,.........but I don't recall if the newspaper article of the day mentioned the construction of the bridges......?? I think Guy saved those pics ,if I remember rightly,.perhaps he can check and see if there was an accompannying news article (is there such a word as that last one I tried to spell........hahahaha) Have Fun & Remember Verdun
Hi JM, There never was a tunnel. It was a covered bridge. For some reason they had trouble getting the cows to enter. Ed
Hi Ed ! Thanks for your answer. I wonder why they built a covered bridge ? Unfortunately, I’m not to aware of cows’ psychology and behavior ! JM
Hi Ed ! Even if there has never been a tunnel under the Aqueduct, Douglas Hospital has a network of tunnels ... Douglas Hospital, Verdun 1938 The first tunnel is constructed. Today, our underground tunnel network extends 1.2 kilometres. http://www.douglas.qc.ca/hospital/history/timeline.asp?l=e JM
That's a newer site JMH,.I hadn't seen this one ,.or at least not this updated one,..the Photo Slide show,...certainly shows a lot more modern looking grounds with a lot of Modern Art,....... I will try to find some of the old pictures we had on here (a couple years ago???) showing the tunnels,...and many of the insides of this institution, the site you posted ,.has a really good aerial shot of the complete grounds, ............................................................................................................................ HF&RV
Hi Lad ! re: http://groups.msn.com/VerdunConnections/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=1&ID_Message=45856 Yes, bus line 37-Jolicoeur uses both bridges (Woodland & de l’Église) as you can see on this map: http://www.stm.info/English/bus/plan_lig/A-PL37.htm JM
JM, There's a possibility the cover on the bridge was to keep cows from going over the rail. Cows often panic and when the leader turns back into the group there is chaos. A farmer will tell you never walk into the barn when the cows are coming out or vice-versa. It confuses them to see someone coming towards them. They might jump over the rail. I believe it is possible for a cow to hump over the rail, it is documented history that a cow jumped over the moon. I, myself jumped over a bridge rail once only to find out the scary thing coming towards me was my mother in law. Ed
During my research on the Aqueduct, I have discovered the following concerning the pumping station at the beginning of the aqueduct at LaSalle Boulevard. There are 4 concrete pipes 610 m long from shore above the Lachine Rapids. These 4 concrete pipes 2100 mm in diameter are fixed to a concrete structure 66 m by 12 m lying on the bed of the river. In order to stop the water from freezing at the intake, there is a tank natural gas heated to 60 deg. c by 6 burners of 2,9 mw capacity. Pipes bring the heated water along the 610 m from shore, therefor the water is maintained above the freezing point. Enclosed are 4 photographs I took of the building complex at LaSalle blvd wich contains the pumping and heating equipment. Now we know what is in that building. Guy
Thanks Guy ,.that is neat information,....... Is the museum (small one ) still in operation there? I Remember something like that being around,explaining the system,... but I cannot recall ever hearing about the heating system too! Nice to learn something new....................... HF&RV
I will add my comments As told to me by my elders, the aqueduc was constructed in two stages. From the pumping station to Crawford bridge. From Crawford bridge to river. At Crawford bridge on the Mtl. side, there is a manhole cover that gets you into a hugh pipe that follows the aqueduc to the river, I have not been inside same ,since I was a boy , but it his about 9 feet in Dia. That is the reason the banks are higher than the road. Crawford bridge also acted like a dam, with only one section opened. Pump to crawford has crushed stone & grass sides. Crawford to river high concrete walls, some have fallen in Per world war 2, they had 24 hour police patrol along aqueduct, the police station was at the park, at crawford bridge. they had the old 4 door Ford touring cars. If caught fishing a $ 40.00 fine Ron
Wow , $40 Bucks seems astronomical,considering the times,......How would most be able to even pay that one,.Yikes.............. Sounds like you had a few neat adventures growing up there Ron...... I never knew about that tunnel/pipe......... Good Recall,,,,,,, HF&RV
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