Theodore Cooper
Encyclopedia
Theodore Cooper was an American civil engineer
. He may be best known as supervising engineer on the Quebec Bridge
when it collapsed in 1907.
Upon receiving a degree in civil engineering in 1858, Cooper accepted a position as Assistant Engineer on the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac (Massachusetts) Tunnel. He entered the Navy in 1861; his military career lasted over a decade and included active duty aboard the gunboat Chocorua and the Nyack in the South Pacific, as well as assignments as an instructor and engineer at the Naval Academy. After resigning from the Navy in 1872 with the rank of First Assistant Engineer, he was appointed inspector at the Midvale Steel Works
by James Eads, designer of the noteworthy Mississippi River steel arch bridge (Eads Bridge
) at St. Louis; he succeeded Eads as Engineer of the Bridge and Tunnel Company from 1872-75. Cooper was also assistant engineer in charge of the construction of the first elevated railroads in New York City. He was one of the five expert engineers selected by the president to determine the Hudson River bridge span. Cooper was also the consulting engineer for the New York Public Library
.
Cooper's designs included a broad variety of structures, ranging from the Laredo Shops of the Mexican National Railroad to the furnace plant of the Lackawanna Coal and Iron Company
at Scranton, Pennsylvania, but his most memorable contributions were in the area of bridge design. His bridge-building career extended from his discharge from the Navy until his retirement in 1907. He designed the Junction Bridges over the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh (1876), the Seekonk Bridge at Providence, Rhode Island, the Second Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River
at New York City, and the Newburyport (Massachusetts) Bridge over the Merrimack River
. The third Sixth Street Bridge has been identified as the only surviving structure entirely designed by Cooper, whose involvement extended even to such details as the bridge's handrail, lamps, and fascia.
Between 1885 and 1902, Cooper published several important works on railroad and highway bridge design. His theories strongly influenced the adoption of wheel-load analysis for railroad bridges. Also during this period, he served as consultant to numerous commissions charged with the development of rapid transit systems in such cities as New York and Boston. The career of this distinguished and celebrated engineer (twice awarded the Norman Medal by the American Society of Civil Engineers
) ended in tragedy when the monumental Quebec Bridge, for which Cooper was supervising engineer, collapsed while under construction in 1907, resulting in 75 fatalities.
Cooper died in his home in New York City on August 24, 1919 of pneumonia at the age of 81. He was unmarried.
type steam locomotives, pulling an infinite number of rail cars. Each locomotive was given an axle load
ing of 10000 pounds (4,536 kg) for the driving axles, 5000 pounds (2,268 kg) for the leading truck, and 6500 pounds (2,948 kg) for the tender trucks. Each trailing rail car was given an axle loading of 1000 lb/ft of track. During the 1880s, railway bridges were built using an equivalent rating of E20. By 1894, when Cooper presented his standard, he recommended a standard of E40, or four times the E10 standard. By 1914, the standard had increased to E60. By the mid 1990s, the American Railway Engineering Association was recommending E72 (7.2 times the E10 standard) for concrete structures, and E80 for steel structures.
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. He may be best known as supervising engineer on the Quebec Bridge
Quebec Bridge
right|thumb|Lifting the centre span in place was considered to be a major engineering achievement. Photo caption from [[Popular Mechanics]] Magazine, December 1917...
when it collapsed in 1907.
Upon receiving a degree in civil engineering in 1858, Cooper accepted a position as Assistant Engineer on the Troy and Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac (Massachusetts) Tunnel. He entered the Navy in 1861; his military career lasted over a decade and included active duty aboard the gunboat Chocorua and the Nyack in the South Pacific, as well as assignments as an instructor and engineer at the Naval Academy. After resigning from the Navy in 1872 with the rank of First Assistant Engineer, he was appointed inspector at the Midvale Steel Works
Midvale Steel
Midvale Steel was a succession of steel-making corporations whose flagship plant was the Midvale Steel Works at Nicetown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which operated from 1867 until 1976...
by James Eads, designer of the noteworthy Mississippi River steel arch bridge (Eads Bridge
Eads Bridge
The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, connecting St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois....
) at St. Louis; he succeeded Eads as Engineer of the Bridge and Tunnel Company from 1872-75. Cooper was also assistant engineer in charge of the construction of the first elevated railroads in New York City. He was one of the five expert engineers selected by the president to determine the Hudson River bridge span. Cooper was also the consulting engineer for the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
Cooper's designs included a broad variety of structures, ranging from the Laredo Shops of the Mexican National Railroad to the furnace plant of the Lackawanna Coal and Iron Company
Lackawanna Steel Company
The Lackawanna Steel Company was an American steel manufacturing company that existed as an independent company from 1840 to 1922, and as a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel company from 1922 to 1983. Founded by the Scranton family, it was once the second-largest steel company in the world ....
at Scranton, Pennsylvania, but his most memorable contributions were in the area of bridge design. His bridge-building career extended from his discharge from the Navy until his retirement in 1907. He designed the Junction Bridges over the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh (1876), the Seekonk Bridge at Providence, Rhode Island, the Second Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River
Harlem River
The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx...
at New York City, and the Newburyport (Massachusetts) Bridge over the Merrimack River
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
. The third Sixth Street Bridge has been identified as the only surviving structure entirely designed by Cooper, whose involvement extended even to such details as the bridge's handrail, lamps, and fascia.
Between 1885 and 1902, Cooper published several important works on railroad and highway bridge design. His theories strongly influenced the adoption of wheel-load analysis for railroad bridges. Also during this period, he served as consultant to numerous commissions charged with the development of rapid transit systems in such cities as New York and Boston. The career of this distinguished and celebrated engineer (twice awarded the Norman Medal by the American Society of Civil Engineers
American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
) ended in tragedy when the monumental Quebec Bridge, for which Cooper was supervising engineer, collapsed while under construction in 1907, resulting in 75 fatalities.
Cooper died in his home in New York City on August 24, 1919 of pneumonia at the age of 81. He was unmarried.
Coopers Loading System
Cooper is also responsible for developing in 1894, a system of calculations and standards for the safe loading of railway (railroad) bridges. Cooper's loading system was based on a standard of E10, meaning a pair of 2-8-02-8-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...
type steam locomotives, pulling an infinite number of rail cars. Each locomotive was given an axle load
Axle load
The axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight felt by the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle. Viewed another way, it is the fraction of total vehicle weight resting on a given axle...
ing of 10000 pounds (4,536 kg) for the driving axles, 5000 pounds (2,268 kg) for the leading truck, and 6500 pounds (2,948 kg) for the tender trucks. Each trailing rail car was given an axle loading of 1000 lb/ft of track. During the 1880s, railway bridges were built using an equivalent rating of E20. By 1894, when Cooper presented his standard, he recommended a standard of E40, or four times the E10 standard. By 1914, the standard had increased to E60. By the mid 1990s, the American Railway Engineering Association was recommending E72 (7.2 times the E10 standard) for concrete structures, and E80 for steel structures.
External links
- Text of 21 page HAER writeup at pghbridges.comPghbridges.comPghbridges.com is a reference site created by Bruce S. Cridlebaugh. Formally titled, Bridges and Tunnels of Allegheny County and Pittsburgh, PA, pghbridges.com has information on many of the structures of the area...
(this text is in the public domain since it is taken from the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, and material from this article was taken from this text) - Paper "American Railroad Bridges", given at an ASCEAmerican Society of Civil EngineersThe American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
convention and reported in "Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers", 1889, n. 21. also Reported in Engineering News — July 6, 1889 (from catskillarchive.com) - Prelude to Failure part one of a multipart article on Cooper and the Quebec Bridge
- The Bridge at Quebec – by William D Middleton. Contains an undated picture of Theodore Cooper.
- "Theodore Cooper Dies at 81." New York Times obituary.