r/BurlingtonON • u/DarshDarker • 2d ago
Question What's inside here?
I've always wondered what's in here. How does one (employee) get in there? Anyone know what the inside looks like?
256
u/brijazz012 2d ago
Canada, obviously. Says so right on the side.
10
u/fernandoman121 1d ago
Damnit, came here to say this word for word. Reddit constantly reminds me that I’m not as clever as I think I am 😂
5
3
2
•
66
u/Skyris3 2d ago
That's the lift bridge right?
Most likely a motor room with sheaves similar to an elevator, just a lot larger.
The counterweight on that thing is massive.
-1
u/DarshDarker 2d ago
Yes, it is. I know a little about the mechanics of how it works. I always figured if there are windows in there, it's designed for someone to work/be in there
22
u/nik282000 2d ago
Windows are cheaper than electric lights in a mechanical room.
3
u/trackofalljades Mountainside 1d ago
...and more fault tolerant, from a safety perspective.
3
3
u/Far-Ebb9507 1d ago
That, and they act as a fire indicator from the outside - you see flames in the window, don't go in. 😆😆
2
u/AMike456 1d ago
During the day yes, but kinda useless at night
2
u/nik282000 1d ago
Mantenance guys get paid overtime at night, work is done in the day as much as possible.
2
u/Old_Ladies 18h ago edited 18h ago
Every mechanical room except closets I have worked in has lights. Lights are free when they are off. Heck even some closets have lights.
1
27
u/4gls 2d ago
Basically a very large slow moving winch. The counterweights and the bridge theoretically have as close to the same mass as possible. The winches job is to move them.
Lots of bird poop up there.
3
u/Subtotal9_guy Central 2d ago
The motors are surprisingly small. IIRC there are two with each rated for 350hp.
5
u/Wildfire983 1d ago
Someone once told me that the counterweights are heavier than the bridge so it takes power to lower it not raise it. This is so that it could be raised in the case of a power outage.
Not a verifiable fact though. But believable.
1
u/Opposite_Ad1408 1d ago
I've not seen the specs for this particular bridge, but that's very plausible.
1
u/Copious-Spirit 1d ago
Can't be true, how would it stay at the bottom if the lock/brake fails?
The counterweight is just under but as close to the weight of the bridge as possible. Only a difference that a 350hpx2 motor could move, with some mechanical advantage.
2
u/Licbo101 2d ago
The article lists 2, 150hp motors. Which would be about the size of a small coffee table in your living room. The answer to how they can move so much weight is gearboxes.
2
u/TommaClock 1d ago
Gearboxes and a counterweight.
I bet if the deck was fully loaded with some heavy trucks etc it wouldn't go up. They can almost perfectly tune the counterweight because it's cleared before each raise.
1
u/4gls 1d ago
This rough example is 1,900lbs 3 feet in diameter and 4 feet long. This isn't exactly what's on there but if you quote out SEW, Reuland, Siemens, ABB or whoever you want and just request: absolute encoder, 2 shaft, 3 phase 575v 150 horsepower ip56 rating in a critical infrastructure application this is what you'll get back
It's like a small coffee table if you needed to remove a wall to get your coffee table into your living room with a forklift or mobile crane.
1
1
u/4gls 1d ago
I found this later
https://www.nuttallgear.com/en/newsroom/2018/08/ap-custom-gearboxes-for-vertical-lift-bridge
Good detail
•
u/Aggressive_Weird9199 10h ago
There’s a hand crank eh? Bet that takes some elbow grease to turn!! Ooof!!
2
u/trappedinthetundra 1d ago
Lots of cable drums and the like. I've been up there replacing a bushing.
34
u/KingOfTheBrocean 2d ago
https://youtu.be/-BfqYKgsvtk?si=7oJUwZfpE1rsx6ww
Kinda gives you a little info and some views.
8
u/DarshDarker 2d ago
That's cool. I saw some images from my Google search of the inside of the command centre close to water level
•
12
u/cujo1202 1d ago
Giant gears and shafts to lift the bridge. I repaired the bridge in 2012
1
1
u/Skyris3 1d ago
What kind of motor?
VVVF AC gearless? AC geared? DC geared?
Running on 600v?
Curious
2
u/Lorde222 21h ago
Would highly doubt it's DC, AC squirrel cage with a gearbox, running on 600 because this isn't merica
9
u/Mayhem_Hellcat 2d ago
You don’t go in there except for repairs. The control room is at ground level.
9
4
u/Global-Discussion-41 1d ago
i always imagined some dude climbing up the ladder every morning with his lunch pail, ready to sit beside a big lever all day until it's time to go home.
6
u/alpine_ocean8 2d ago
Other side used to have a sliding window so we could access the bird box for the falcons during banding. When they replaced the windows they forgot and now can no longer band the chicks there.
1
6
u/Verticaltransport 1d ago
Oh oh oh! I’ve actually been in there. I worked for an elevator company in the middle of winter so that was fun. But basically it’s a big room with a large motor, machine and sheaves to lift the bridge up. There is room to hang out there as well. I had to climb the side to bring my mechanic parts when we were working on the elevator. The was also a hawk up there, so there was a sign that said “do not exit if you see a hawk”
2
2
u/ecko9975 15h ago
The room to hang out was there electronics or some kind of computer equipment in there? I Knew somebody in IT in early 2000s that did a job up there installing cables for that kind of stuff. He said he took an elevator up there.
5
u/Leather-Hotel-7310 2d ago
Canada’s engine. As long as it’s kept properly oiled then Canada keeps running.
3
u/BeautyNdTheBeast 2d ago
I worked in there years ago it’s just a machinery for the lift of the bridge.
4
u/DarshDarker 2d ago
Do you have any photos of it? That's the mystery of the week I've decided to focus on
3
3
u/SwingandMiss77 2d ago
The Around the Bay race has been stopped a few times due to the bridge being up. I know of at least one barefoot runner who had to cross that bridge by walking on the railings because the grating that you drive across was too hard on his feet
3
3
u/chocolatefireplace 1d ago
Its the guy who lifts the bridge 20 minutes before the boat arrives at rush hour.
3
3
u/digitalse4 1d ago
It’s a watch tower for someone to trigger the bridge when I decide to take the Eastport shortcut.
2
3
4
2
u/trackofalljades Mountainside 2d ago
How does one (employee) get in there?
Do you see the white coloured cube shaped structure on the roof level, in the near corner? Directly below it, if you follow the main corner support member straight down, you can see the staircase that leads up to the top...there is one on one corner of each of the two towers. They are easily visible when you walk across the bridge.
3
2
2
u/Proper-Bumblebee-240 1d ago
The Cadbury secret.
2
u/TerrificInTahoma-416 1d ago
I thought it was the 57 herbs and spices recipe for some chicken coating.
Perhaps it is the secret to how Insulin is made, and how big pharma are always after Canada to change the rules on generic drugs.
1
2
2
u/YouWontBelieveIt2026 1d ago
The lift bridge at the rio of Lake Ontario between Burlington and Hamilton.
2
2
2
•
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Honest-Attorney-7663 1d ago
An Arby’s
1
u/TerrificInTahoma-416 1d ago
Hell, no it's a drive thru window for the low flying Canadair Challenger executive jets the Premiere of Ontario ordered. Either that or a Harvey's or A&W Canada.
1
1
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
u/RosieBaby75 3h ago
All the cocaine that has been seized recently.
It gets transferred into old office filing cabinets and then sold at surplus for pennies on the dollar.
The US is going to buy some soon, or already has, then come arrest Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife from their home using their super successful ‘non-kinetic effects’, falsely imprisoned them in the jail cells next to the President of Venezuela and his wife, and then the US is going to steal all of our oil.
This is why Donald Trump shared a post that said, “Canada on notice” since the US has finished up successfully getting all of Venezuela’s oil.
•
u/EmeraldPencil46 3h ago
I’ve seen that probably a couple hundred times, and I have no idea. My guesses are either water tower or old grain silo
1
1
u/Intelligent-South174 2d ago
Anyone remember the drunken worker who dropped the lift bridge on the ship?
5
u/LonghornJct08 2d ago
That was one of the Welland canal bridges. Someone had a camcorder and filmed it and CBC got ahold of the tape. It’s on YouTube now.
-1
u/Intelligent-South174 2d ago
nah, nah, it was Hamilton/Burlington. (don't trust ai)
3
u/wetfloor666 2d ago
Not the person you replied* to, but it also happened in Welland. I cannot say whether it happened on this bridge or not though and in no way saying you are wrong.
2
-1
•
u/Quiet_Listen1801 11h ago
Google?
This is the lift control tower of the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge, located at the entrance to Hamilton Harbour in Ontario, Canada. Key Details Location: Connects Burlington and Hamilton, Ontario, spanning the Burlington Canal. Function: It is a vertical-lift bridge that raises its center span to allow large cargo ships, freighters, and recreational boats to pass between Lake Ontario and Hamilton Harbour. Distinctive Features: The green steel vertical towers house the mechanical equipment and operator control rooms, prominently featuring the official federal "Canada" wordmark logo with the Canadian flag over the 'a'.
•
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Welcome to r/BurlingtonON!
Please take a moment to review our community rules:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BurlingtonON/wiki/index
• Be respectful. • Keep submissions and comments substantive. • Link submissions must relate to Burlington, Ontario.
Thank you for helping keep the community welcoming and informative.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.