The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-29 00:00:00

THE WI?ECK OF THE .ALIII.I.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—ln your powerfully written article of
Thursday last on the loss of the Alma you state,
" We have very little doubt that 30 or 40 per cent.
of British merchant ships now actually prosecuting
their voyages could not show their thowles in their
places if suddenly required in any direct emer-
gency." As this sentence may be productive of
much uncomfortable feeling in those who travel on
the deep, allow me to make known through your
columns the manner in which this sort of thing is
done in the service to 'which I belong.
Each senior midshi .man of a watch is put in
charge of a boat, which he, has to keep clean, free
from lumber, and ready for lowering at any
moment. The rowlocks are attached each to its
place by a lanyard, not stowed away in lockers ; the
oars are always becketed to the midship thwart to
prevent their falling out should the boat cant in
lowering; spare plugs and bailers are always secured
in the boat, and falls coiled down clear for working.
Every night at 8 o'clock the fourth officer goes
round to each boat separately and sees that all is in
readiness for lowering, and reports the same to the
captain. The rule is never departed from under
any circumstances ; and if it were adopted in every
merchant ship we should hear no more of such dis•
asters as that which befel the Alma.—l am, sir,
yours obediently,

ONE OF GREEN'S MIDS.

THE SPOT ON THE SUN.

BRIDGE FOR THE VICTORIA STATION
AND PIMLICO RAILWAY.

The bridge which is being erected over the
Thames for the Victoria Station and Pimlico Rail-
way is being proceeded with rapidly. The stone
used in the construction of the bridge is of three
kinds, viz., for the footing of the piers, Yorkshire
rag landings ; for the piers up to the level of
Trinity high-water, Portland roach stone ; and for
the whole of the masonry above high-water-line,
Bramley Fall stone. The bricks in the piers are
to be "paviors," and for the other parts Cowley
stocks.

The bridge will consist of four principal openings
across the river, having each a clear span of 175
feet, and of one side opening at each end over the
road leading to the suspension-bridge, with a clear
span of 70 feet. The principals openings are each
spanned by six wrought-iron arched girders, rest-
ing on cast-iron bed plates fixed to the piers and
abutments, and will be composed of I shaped ribs,
with top and bottom tables, and central web of flat
plate-iron, connected together by means of angle-.
iron and T iron covers, and the whole riveted to-
gether.
Horizontal wrough-iron girders stretch from arch
to arch, bearing on the piers in the centre of their
length, upon cast-iron bed-plates fixed on the ma-
sonry of the piers.
The spandrils between the arches and horizontal
girders are intended to be filled in with a wrought-
iron framework, radiating from the arch. The
radiatiug bars will be intersected longitudinally by
a flat wrought-iron plate passing through the centre
of each bar.

The roadway will be carried by means of wrought-
iron transverse bearers placed three feet apart and
bolted through the horizontal girders and arched
ribs, each alternate bearer being continued through
the centre and external spaces.
The seventy-feet opening over the road will be
spanned by six horizontal wrought-iron girders.
The roadway over this opening will be carried by
means of wrought-iron cross-bearers, placed three
feet apart, bolted through the horizontal girders,
and each alternate bearer being continued through
the centre external spaces.
On the top of the external horizontal girders a
cornice will run along the entire length of the
viaduct on each face, and will be composed of
wrought-iron plates, rolled or bent to the required
forms.

The whole of the wrought-iron used in the work
is to be obtained from the Monkbridge Iron Com-
pany.

Power is given to the engineer to test to the
following extent :

18 tons' strain must be borne without
a greater extension of length than k of an inch.
21 tons strain ... i „ extension.
23 tons' strain .. I
If It ff ft
25 tons' strain
4

and all bars must bear a tensile strain of 26 tons
before fracture.
Mr. Kelk is the contractor for the Victoria sta-
tion and Pimlico line, and considerable progress has
been male in the works. In two of the three piers
in the river, of the bridge we have illustrated, the
foundations have been put in, and the masonry is
considerably advanced towards the springing of
the arch. In the third pier the piling of the coffer-
dam is completed, and preparations are made for
the commencement of the masonry. In the two
abutments the coffer-dams have been finished several
weeks, and the excavations are well advanced ;
moreover, with a trifling exception, all the masonry
required for the construction of the bridge is on the
ground and ready dressed.—Buildcr.