Czech police wonder where bridge has gone

Metro | AFP ^ | 2/19/08

[LibWhacker]

Police in the Czech republic are trying to find out who stole a 4 tonne railway bridge from the border town of Cheb.

The company which was responsible for looking after the bridge raised the alarm when, ever alert, they noticed that the bridge wasn't there any more.

The bridge was on a disused stretch of line just outside Cheb.

Martina Hruskova, a spokeswoman for the Czech police, commented to AFP: 'We are not sure if it was taken for personal use or for its scrap value.' Exactly what that 'personal use' might be was left unsaid.

'It is the first time we have dealt with this type of theft,' she added.

Of course, it's not the first time some light-fingered bridge enthusiast has made off with a bridge. At least two bridges have been nicked in Russia in the past six months, and a pair of bridge thieves appropriated two Macedonian bridges last February.

[mad_as_he$$]

Best news story of the day!!!!!roflmao.

[rdl6989]

College prank?

[boomop1]

Have they looked in the classifieds Bridge 4 sale?

[Dysart]

Already posted, long ago... here:

Led Zeppelin- The Crunge

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Ask Ted Kennedy. He has a thing about bridges.

[gridlock]

I remember once I was busted on I-81 with a highway bridge in the car. I told the cop, “Yo! It’s for personal use!”, but he didn’t buy it...

[Bender2]

Hey, they stole... my bridge, too!

[FR Class of 1998]

Exactly what that 'personal use' might be was left unsaid.

The love that dare not speak its name... suspensiphilia.

[ChristianDefender]

LOL...

Forget the bridge... That's one ugly never mind...

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Sorry that I can’t see the humor in some poor guy who obviously had a rough life. Looks like he’s got a sense of humor anyway. Sorry for you.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Truly a bridge to ... nowhere ...

[GAB-1955]

And we thought our Border Patrol was bad?

[capt. norm]

"I can pick up 150 feet of bridge anywhere"

[Emmett McCarthy]

A cop who wouldn’t “buy a bridge”? Musta been one of the smarter ones.

[Domandred]

... how do you steal a bridge?

[Bender2]

Re: Sorry that I can’t see the humor in some poor guy who obviously had a rough life. Looks like he’s got a sense of humor anyway. Sorry for you.

Yes, he seems to have a sense of humor. Too bad... you don't seems to have one. Gadzooks! Lighten up, you seem duller than the Potentate of the Tehran Thought Police!

[Bender2]

Re: ... how do you steal a bridge?

First... tell the mark to open wide!

[BallyBill]

4 Tons is a tiny bridge. 4 Tonne, I’m not sure about.

[rdl6989]

Serial bridge bandits are such a nuisance. I hate it when this happens.

[kcar]

Bridge spotters be on the lookout.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Love that picture of Helen Thomas. Thanks. Now I cannot eat, forever.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Did they put out an “APB”? - “All Points Bridge” alert.

That must have been one helluva tractor-trailer to carry a 4 ton bridge. Maybe has 50 gears?

[dfwgator]

Where is that confounded bridge?

[Bender2]

Re: Love that picture of Helen Thomas. Thanks. Now I cannot eat, forever.

Hell, Max... you need to lose weight anyway. Have another beer!

[RichInOC]

Any knucklehead can steal road signs. Stealing an entire bridge takes a certain style.

[ApplegateRanch]

ton = short ton = 2000#; tonne = long ton or metric ton = 2200#

Either way, Tennessee Ernie Ford is laughing at the whips, since that is so far short of 16 tons/day/person.

[Chief Engineer]

If you go to the original story at:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080218/od_afp/czechpolicecrimeoffbeat_080218175128

you will read the same story, but the caption under the picture says the bridge was washed out.

Additionally one look at the still intact rails shows that the rails are polished. It was an active rail line.

[ApplegateRanch]

I’ll grant all you say, and thank you for it.

OTOH, they may mean the collapsed remains were stolen.

As to used or unused, I’ll (as above) grant those tracks look recently used, but I’ll bet they aren’t using the line now!

[Chief Engineer]

Be sure to check E Bay.

[Lost Dutchman]

"I can pick up 150 feet of bridge anywhere" Great Line from a great character in a great movie. Thanks.

[Grzegorz 246]

Eastern European ping list

---

FRmail me to be added or removed from this Eastern European ping list

[Loud Mime]

Kelly’s Heroes.........a classic.

[Publius]

"It was those kids from Commie Martyrs High School."

(Deliciously obsure Firesign Theater reference.)

[Loud Mime]

Porgy Tirebiter?

Don’t eat with your hands, son. Use your entrenching tool.

(I have Ralph Sport-Sport committed to memory)....

[Publius]

In the case of Porgy Tirebiter in “High School Madesss”, it was the entire high school that was stolen. The entire plot revolved around the kids from Communist Martyrs High School stealing Morse Science High School.

[denydenydeny]

Has anyone actually been to Cheb? It’s right on the German border and when I visited it it was a total wild-west town. If you had a car with German license plates, girls would literally climb onto the hood of your car at stoplights. I’ve never seen any place like it.

[Loud Mime]

I’ve always liked the idea of the contradictory “Commie Martyrs’ High School.”

[dighton]

Gotta see that sometime. One of your favorites, BlueLancer, if I recall correctly.

[Camel Joe]

Maybe they replaced it with a virtual bridge like the virtual fence our Gub’ment has just approved to keep them pesky m’agrints out. I think it works like the kings clothes...