More than 80 years ago they told William Harris Hardy that it couldn't be built.

Hardy was a vice president of the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad and the thing that "couldn't be built" was a proposed 21-mile-long railroad bridge across swampy land and Lake Pontchartrain just north of New Orleans, La.

Hardy chose to ignore the doubters, and his railroad proceeded to build what was at the time the longest bridge in the world and is yet today a vital link in the Southern Railway System's NO&NE line, which runs between Meridian, Miss., and New Orleans.

Pontchartrain is the largest lake in Louisiana and the largest salt water lake in the world, with an area of some 630 square miles. When the bridge was first built, the approaches spanned some 12 miles of swampy ground on the south side of the lake and an additional three miles on the north end.

In November, 1884, the first passenger train crossed Pontchartrain Bridge on a trial run at a speed of 40 miles per hour. No doubt the proudest passenger on that train was Hardy himself. He had made his point.

By 1896, the wooden trestle over the swampy ground at both ends of the bridge had been replaced with earth fill, leaving the five and three - quarter miles of trestle that bridge the lake.

After the new ties have been placed under the track, two workmen ease the rails back down into position on the ties.

In 1916, the NO&NE became a part of th3 Southern Railway System; today, the Pontchartrain Bridge daily carries the freight and passenger trains of the Southern and of the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad to and from the "Crescent City."

It stands as a working memorial to the engineers who designed and built the bridge and to W. H. Hardy, the man who had the foresight and the courage to push for its construction. It is also a tribute to the men who are responsible for maintenance of the bridge: The men in the railway's Atlanta office building who plan maintenance programs for the bridge; and the men who spend winter and summer out on the open lake performing the work that keeps the bridge open to traffic. .. an 11-man Southern Railway bridge force whose foreman is J. P. Alexander.

The maintenance of the trestle is a never-ending job. Alexander - or "Mister Alec," as his men know him - and his crew are currently working on a renewal program that annually replaces short sections of the trestle found to be in need of heavy repair. In addition to this type of work, which is scheduled by the office of the Chief Engineer- Bridges, Alexander and his men correct any possible trouble spots found by H. B. Moreland, the bridge supervisor who makes a weekly inspection of the trestle by motor car and by boat. Alexander's crew is also responsible for the maintenance of the two steel swing spans that open for boats traveling the lake.

The swing span at the north end of the five and three quarter mile long bridge opens to permit a pleasure cruiser to pass through the structure. The maintenance of the two swing spans is also the responsibility of J. P. Alexander and his bridge crew.

Originally, the bridge was of all wood construction,but in recent years precast concrete, a more durable material for use in or around water, has replaced some of the wooden frame members, such as trestle caps. At two points on the bridge, groups of 50 prestressed concrete trestle crossties have been installed in one of the first such installations ever made on any railroad in the world.

The replacement ties are carried out onto the bridge by the specially designed truck iu the background and are eased up into their position under the rails using the mobile hoist.

In 1961, the Pontchartrain Bridge was provided with yet another claim to fame. It is the longest bridge in the world to be equipped with welded rail. (Laid in quarter-mile-long sections, this type of rail installation provides a smooth, quiet ride for both passengers and freight.)

While one member of the bridge crew checks the measurement, a second man uses a spike maul to tap a newly replaced crosstle into correct alignment in the trestle deck. (right) Using the pneumatic spike driver mounted on the "Bridgemaster," a workman quickly and easily drives the spikes that fasten the rails to the ties as J. P. Alexander, bridge foreman, looks on.

The bridge crew is equipped with a variety of machines and tools that let them accomplish their work efficiently. An Austin Western hoist, capable of traveling over the road or on the rails, is used to load and unload heavy timbers, and it handles the timbers into proper position in the trestle. A specially designed truck - also capable of highway or railway travel - carries men, tools and timbers to the point of work out on the trestle. A machine known as a "Bridgemaster" is equipped to pneumatically drive spikes, jags," and "drift bolts" - which connect the various components of the trestle. The "Bridgemaster" also provides a source of power for an assortment of pneumatic wrenches, drills and bridge jacks used above and below the deck of the structure.

The bridge crew's present renewal program calls for the replacement of from 100 to 175 trestle caps each year and approximately 3,000 ties in a similar period. (At last count, there were 27,914 crossties in the bridge's 30,737 - foot length.) Maintaining a work schedule like this presents Alexander and his crew with problems not generally found in track work. To begin with, their work space is only 10 feet wide and it averages 10 feet above the lake's surface. The trestle deck is of open construction, which means a five - or six-inch open space between each tie. Tools and equipment are carefully handled to prevent them from falling into the lake. And, to avoid a similar fate, the men in the bridge crew eventually become as sure footed as cats.

"During the winter months," Alexander observes, "the weather is somewhat of a problem - the cold, rain and wind - but it doesn't affect our work too much. "We have work that must be done ashore and we try to save that for days when there is a real storm out on the lake. But," he continues, "we have worked out there when the waves were breaking over the top of the trestle. During weather like that," he adds reassuringly, "we wear life preservers. "When there's any really rough weather that we feel might cause damage to the bridge, we patrol the trestle constantly," says Alexander. "And, if any debris - logs or trees - gets lodged in the pilings and threatens to weaken the structure, we make every effort to remove it. We always try to get this flotsam ashore where it won't cause any more trouble, to us or elsewhere on the lake. But sometimes the best we can do is to pull it under the bridge and let it blow on down the lake. We know when we have to do that," he adds with a smile, "that we'll get another chance at it the next time a storm blows in from the other direction."

At the end of a day's work, equipment rolls back across the Pontchartrain Bridge to the north shore of the lake.

Although working out in the middle of Lake Pontchartrain does, as one member of the bridge crew remarked, "get a little 'hairy' at times" there are compensations. During the summer there is always a pleasant breeze across the lake and it is much cooler working out on the bridge than working ashore. And, perhaps the greatest compensation for all is that of knowing they are doing an unusual job - and doing it well. .