Ferdinand Arnodin

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Ferdinand Joseph Arnodin (October 9, 1845 – April 24, 1924) was a French engineer and industrialist born in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, Rhône and deceased in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire in Loiret. Specialising in cableway transporters, he is regarded as the inventor of the transporter bridge, having been the first to patent the idea in 1887.^[1] However, the first such bridge was in fact designed by Alberto Palacio, with Arnodin's help.

Nine of the eighteen known examples may be attributed to him. Three of them still exist. They use the technology of both suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges. Arnodin built a great number of second generation suspension bridges at the turn of the 20th century and he also restored and consolidated a number of old first generation suspension bridges (before 1860): the aprons were reinforced and the old wire cables replaced by spirally-wound double torsion steel wire ropes, often with addition of a cable-stayed bridge (known structural modification under the name of “Système Arnodin”). His factory (for the production of prefabricated metal sub-structures) was established in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire. Vestiges of this factory were still visible a few years ago, and the chimney could still be seen, half ruined, between the Loire and railway.

The Loire Fleet Museum, at Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, shows memories of these workshops: an old model of the Nantes transporter bridge, a section of steel wire rope manufactured by Arnodin and photographs.

Major works

Bilbao Puente Colgante, 1893, still in use
Bizerta/Brest Transporter Bridge, 1898
Rouen Transporter Bridge, 1898
Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge, 1900, still in use
Nantes Transporter Bridge, 1903
Marseilles Transporter Bridge, 1905
Newport Transporter Bridge, 1906, still in use
Bordeaux Transporter Bridge, never finished
Sidi M'Cid Suspension Bridge, Constantine, Algeria, 1908, 160 m span

References

↑ Troyano, L.F., "Bridge Engineering - A Global Perspective", Thomas Telford Publishing, 2003

External links

Newport Transporter Bridge — an historical perspective
Ferdinand Arnodin information at Structurae
Rochefort Transporter Bridge

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Persondata
Name	Arnodin, Ferdinand
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 9, 1845
Place of birth
Date of death	April 24, 1924
Place of death

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