TOP 15 FASTEST-GROWING CITIES BY PERCENT CHANGE 7/1/2022-23

TOP 15 LARGEST-GAINING CITIES BY NUMERIC CHANGE 7/1/2022-23

GOAT CANYON TRESTLE

Goat Canyon Trestle is a wooden trestle in San Diego County, California. At a length of 597–750 feet, it is the world's largest all-wood trestle. Goat Canyon Trestle was built in 1933 as part of the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, after one of the many tunnels through the Carrizo Gorge collapsed. The railway had been called the "impossible railroad" upon its 1919 completion. It ran through Baja California and eastern San Diego County before ending in Imperial Valley. The trestle was made of wood, rather than metal, due to temperature fluctuations in the Carrizo Gorge. By 2008, most rail traffic stopped using the trestle.   To resist Goat Canyon's high winds, it was built with a 14° curve. Additionally, the bridge was built without nails.

TRESTLE AS SEEN FROM THE SOUTHEAST IN 2016

"BIG CARL"

 

"Big Carl" is the nickname of the SGC-250, the world's largest land-based crane. The crane is designed and built by Belgium-based Sarens and was launched in 2018.  "Big Carl" is the nickname of the crane's director of technical solutions, Carl Sarens. The crane's full name is SGC-250, which stands for "Sarens Giant Crane 250".  "Big Carl" is 250 meters tall at its tallest configuration and can lift 5,000 tons at a radius of 40 meters. It has 52 counterweight containers, each weighing 100 tons, and 12 engines. The crane also has a load moment of 250,000MT and runs on 96 individual wheels.  "Big Carl" has been stationed at Hinkley Point in Somerset, UK since 2019, where it has been used in the construction of the new nuclear power site.

THE ACCO SUPER BULLDOZER AND THE KOMATSU D575A TRACTOR-CRAWLER

The Acco Super Bulldozer is the largest and most powerful tracked bulldozer ever made. It was built in Portogruaro in northern Italy by the Umberto Acco company. This bulldozer has a gross weight of 183 tons and is powered by two 675 hp (503 kW) Caterpillar engines placed horizontally opposed, which deliver a total combined output of 1,350 hp (1,010 kW). The super bulldozer has a blade that is 23 feet wide and 9 feet high. The total length of the bulldozer is over 40 feet from the tip of the blade to the ripper on the rear. The ripper alone is about 10 feet tall, being powered by huge hydraulic rams.  This bulldozer was initially built to be exported to Libya in the early 1980s to help in land development. As the Leader of Libya, Colonel Gaddafi, was heavily involved with international terrorism at that time, the United States imposed a trade embargo on that country in 1986. As a direct consequence of these trade restrictions, the completed Acco Dozer was never shipped to its intended destination. This bulldozer has never been put to any operational use and was put into storage where it was built.

THE ACCO SUPER BULLDOZER

The Komatsu D575A tractor crawler produced in a 'SR' (Super Ripper bulldozer/ripper configuration), or as a dedicated bulldozer in the form of the 'SD' (Super Dozer). Is the world’s largest production bulldozer.  Specifications: ·         1,150 horsepower ·         Weighs 152 tons ·         16 feet tall and has a ground clearance of 2 feet 5 inches ·         Maximum speed of 7 miles per hour ·         Blade capacity is approximately 90 cubic yards ·         Fuel tank capacity is around 422 gallons  Due to its immense size, the D575A must be broken down into component form when it is moved from one job site to another. Moving all the components requires six to eight truck loads depending on local laws.

A Komatsu D575 pictured with a man leaning against the push arm.

U.S.COUNTIES WITH THE SAME NAME AS THEIR STATE

IOWA COUNTY, IOWA

NEW YORK COUNTY (MANHATTAN), NEW YORK

OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA

HAWAII COUNTY, HAWAII (LARGEST COUNTY IN LAND AREA IN THE U.S.)

ARKANSAS COUNTY, ARKANSAS

IDAHO COUNTY, IDAHO (LARGEST COUNTY IN LAND AREA IN IDAHO)

UTAH COUNTY, UTAH

ATLAS-1 (TRESTLE)

 

ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Laboratories near Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  ATLAS-I was the largest NNEMP (non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse) generator in the world, designed to test the radiation hardening of strategic aircraft systems against EMP pulses from nuclear warfare.  Built at a cost of $60 million, it was composed of two parts: a pair of powerful Marx generators capable of simulating the electromagnetic pulse effects of a high-altitude nuclear explosion (HANE) of the type expected during a nuclear war, and a giant wooden trestle built in a bowl-shaped arroyo, designed to elevate the test aircraft above ground interference and orient it below the pulse in a similar manner to what would be seen in mid-air.  Trestle is the world's largest structure composed entirely of wood and glue laminate.

A Boeing B-52 strategic bomber being prepared for EMP testing at Trestle in 1982.

FERRARI WORLD ABU DHABI

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi is a mostly indoors amusement park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Ferrari World is covered by a gigantic free-formed roof with a surface area of approximately 2,000,000 square feet. The Ferrari World roof would cover the Vatican City in Rome. If the Ferrari World building was stood on its end it would be tallest man-made structure in the world at over 300 stories. The Ferrari shield logo on the roof measures 213 feet in length and covers an area of 32,000 square feet. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi has the record for the largest space frame structure ever built.

FERRARI WORLD ABU DHABI

HUNTS POINT COOPERATIVE MARKET

The Hunts Point Cooperative Market Inc. is a cooperative owned by its member stockholders. The company operates and maintains a facility in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx for its member shareholders and other tenants, all of which are primarily involved in the process and distribution of meat and meat products in the tri-state area. The facility is the largest of its kind in the world and is the major distribution hub for the New York City metro area.   ·         Approximately 2400 employees work in the Hunts Point Coop Market ·         The market was originally built in 1972 as a 40-acre facility with 6 buildings but now is over 60 acres with 7 buildings ·         The Coop consists of 52 companies that process and distribute meat and meat products in just under one million square feet.

HUNTS POINT COOPERATIVE 2008

THE JAMNAGAR OIL REFINERY

 

The Jamnagar Refinery is a private sector crude oil refinery owned by Reliance Industries in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. The refinery was commissioned on 14 July 1999 with an installed capacity of 668,000 barrels per day (106,200 m3/d). Its current installed capacity is 1,240,000 barrels per day (197,000 m3/d). It is currently the largest refinery in the world.  The entire complex, as of 2013, consists of manufacturing and allied facilities, utilities, off-sites, port facilities and a township (415 acres) with housing for its 2,500 employees, on over 7,500 acres (11.7 sq mi) of land. If all the pipes used in the refinery were laid out, one after another, they would connect the whole of India from north to south.

THE JAMNAGAR REFINERY AT NIGHT

ARLINGTON COUNTY VIRGINIA AND TURNBERRY TOWER

 

Arlington County is a county in the state of Virginia. The county is in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C.  In 2020, the county's population was estimated at 238,643, making Arlington County the sixth-largest county in Virginia by population and the largest unincorporated community in the United States.  The Turnberry Tower, located in the Rosslyn neighborhood, is a 26-story high-rise, and is the tallest condominium building in the Washington D.C. Metro.

TURNBERRY TOWER

MARION STEAM SHOVEL AKA THE LE ROY STEAM SHOVEL

 

The Marion Steam Shovel, also known as the Le Roy Steam Shovel, is a historic Model 91 steam shovel manufactured by the Marion Steam Shovel and Dredge Company of Marion, Ohio. It is located on Gulf Road in the Town of Le Roy, New York.  it is believed to be the largest intact steam shovel remaining in the world, and may have been used in the excavation of the Panama Canal.  A model 91 steam shovel set what was then a world record in 1912 when it dug 5,554 cubic yards (4,246 m3) of earth from a pit at the site of Gatun Dam.  The Model 91 required eight workers to operate. Four worked in the main section. The operator sat in the front booth and used levers to move the hoist and lift and lower the bucket. When it was time to move the shovel, he took care of that as well. A cranes man, who sat on the left-hand side of the boom, controlled the crowd engine, which allowed him to set the depth of the cut and release the bucket's contents when it was full by tugging on a wire rope attached to it. In the rear was an engineer who tended the boiler and a fireman who shoveled the coal.  Outside the shovel a crew of four took up and laid the track along which its flanged wheels moved. They also set up the jackscrews necessary to stabilize the shovel in front of the rock face it was digging and dismantled them when it was time to move.

MARION MODEL 91 STEAM SHOVEL

SS UNITED STATES

SS United States is a retired ocean liner built in 1950-51 for the United States Line at a cost of $79.4 million. SS United States is the largest ocean liner constructed entirely in the United States and the fastest ocean liner to cross the Atlantic in either direction. On her maiden voyage, July 3-7, 1952, United States broke the eastbound transatlantic speed record (held by the RMS Queen Mary for the previous 14 years) by more than 10 hours, making the maiden crossing from the Ambrose lightship at New York Harbor to Bishop rock off Cornwall, UK in 3 days, 10 hours, 40 minutes at an average speed of 35.69 knots (40.96 mph). On her return voyage United States also broke the westbound transatlantic speed record, also held by RMS Queen Mary, by returning the America in 3 days 12 hours and 12 minutes at an average speed of 34.51 knots (39.71 mph). SS United States is currently moored at Pier 82 on the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Preservation groups have been raising funds to save the ship, but its fate remains uncertain.

SS UNITED STATES, PIER 82, COLUMBUS BOULEVARD, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
By Brian W. Schaller - Own work, FAL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61238420

DUQUESNE BREWERY CLOCK – PITTSBURGH, PA

 

Located on Duquesne Brewing Company building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Duquesne Brewery Clock has the largest clock face in the United States. When it was installed in 1933, it was the largest single-face clock in the world. The 60-by-60-foot clock face, with a 35-foot minute hand and a 25-foot hour hand, both of laminated aluminum, is nearly twice the size of London’s Big Ben. Originally located on a Mount Washington hillside, the clock’s face has been used as advertising for a succession of businesses. Most recently, AT&T took over the rights to advertise on the clock and redesigned the face to display the traditional blue and white AT&T logo.

The Duquesne Brewery Clock in 2019, with no advertising

THE RHEINTURM (RHINE TOWER) - GERMANY

The Rheinturm (Rhine Tower) is a 789-foot concrete telecommunications tower in Dusseldorf, Germany. It houses a revolving restaurant and observation deck at a height of 558 feet.    The Rheinturm was inaugurated on December 1, 1981. It contains 7,500 cubic meters of concrete and weighs 22,500 tons.    As a special attraction, a light sculpture on its shaft works as a clock. The sculpture was designed by Horst H. Baumann and is called Lichzeitpegel (light time level). The light sculpture on the Rheinturm is the largest digital clock in the world.

Digital Clock Explanation of Display

PHILADELPHIA CITY HALL

Philadelphia City Hall serves as the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  It houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the offices of the Mayor of Philadelphia. It is also a courthouse, serving as the seat of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and houses the Civil Trial and Orphans' Court Divisions of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. Built of brick, white marble, and limestone, Philadelphia City Hall is the world’s largest free-standing masonry building. The weight of the building is borne by granite and brick walls up to 22 feet thick. The building structure used over 88 million bricks and thousands of tons of marble and granite. The building was constructed from 1871 to 1901. Designed to be the world’s tallest building, it was surpassed during construction by the Washington Monument and the Eiffel Tower. Upon completion of its tower in 1894, it became the world’s tallest habitable building. It was also the first secular building to have this distinction, as all previous world’s tallest buildings were religious structures, including European cathedrals and – for the previous 3,800 years – the Great Pyramid of Giza. With almost 700 rooms, City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States. FUN FACT: In the 1950s, the city council investigated tearing down City Hall for a new building elsewhere. They found that the demolition would have bankrupted the city due to the building’s masonry construction. SEE ALSO: William Penn Statue

NORTHSIDE OF PHILADELPHIA CITY HALL
By Toniklemm - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81012838

EUREKA (FERRYBOAT)

Eureka is a side-wheel paddle steamboat, built in 1890, which is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Originally named Ukiah to commemorate the railway’s recent extension into the City of Ukiah, the boat was built by the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad Company at their Tiburon yard.  The ship originally carried people between San Francisco and Tiburon during the day and hauled railroad freight cars at night. Ukiah had two sets of standard gauge tracks that ran the length of the main deck. Passenger accommodations were on the upper deck.  During the First World War, Ukiah was used to ferry heavy loads of railroad cars across the bay for the United States Railroad Administration. Due to stresses brought on by the heavy loads, Ukiah was rebuilt at the Southern Pacific Yards in Oakland between 1920-1922, and emerged as the auto/passenger ferry Eureka.  Between 1922 and 1941 Eureka was on the Sausalito commuter run, departing Sausalito at 7:30 and San Francisco at 5:15. As a passenger ferry, she could carry 2,300 passengers and 120 automobiles. At that time, she was the biggest and the fastest double-ended passenger ferry boat in the world – 299 feet 6 inches long, with an extreme width of 78 feet and gross tonnage of 2,420 tons.  Completion of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937 doomed ferry service between San Francisco and Marin and service was completely abandoned in 1941.  Although a number of large ferryboats survive in the U.S., Eureka is the only one with a wooden hull. Beneath her upper works, the round-bottomed hull is 42 feet wide and 277 feet long. Her walking beam engine was built in 1890 by the Fulton Iron Works in San Francisco. It is the only walking beam engine in the United States preserved in a floating vessel.  Eureka is the largest existing wooden ship in the world.

FERRYBOAT EUREKA

DEVON ISLAND

Devon Island is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. With an area of 21,331 square miles (slightly smaller than Croatia), it the largest uninhabited island in the world. It the second-largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canada’s sixth-largest island, and the 27th-largest island in the world.

ICEBERG B-15

Iceberg B-15 was the world’s largest recorded iceberg. It measured 183 miles long, 23 miles wide and had a surface area of 4,200 square miles. That is larger than the whole island of Jamaica. Calved from the Ross Ice Shelf of Antarctica in March 2000, Iceberg B-15 broke up into smaller icebergs, the largest of which was named Iceberg B-15A. In 2003, B15-A drifted away from Ross Island into the Ross Sea and headed north, eventually breaking up into several smaller icebergs in October 2005.

MILLENNIUM PARK – CHICAGO

Millennium Park is a public park in downtown Chicago. The park, which is bounded by Michigan Avenue, Randolph Street, Columbus Drive and East Monroe Drive, features a variety of public art. The park covers a 24.5-acre section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously occupied by parkland, Illinois Central’s rail yards, and parking lots. Because the park sits atop a parking garage and commuter rail Millennium Station, it is considered the world’s largest rooftop garden.

MILLENNIUM PARK (LOOKING NORTH - MICHIGAN AVENUE ON THE LEFT)