The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-02-04


'Thc waterbury Bridge Disaster.
ST. ALBANs. VT, Feb. ..
The statement concerning the test and
failure Of the new iron bridge of the Cen
trail Vermont over the Winoosli river near
Waterbury last Saturday, published in the
Rutland Wy0d of this morning is distin-
guishcd by an unfortunate inaccuracy too
frequently noticeable in the columns of
that journal. The principal error in this
account is concerning the DETECTION Of the
bridge under pressure, as contained in the
following paragraph quoted from the
Ue2uM.
Sheets completion trains have been pass
ing over il daily, but until Saturday it had
been subjected To no severe trial of
strength. 1t was then tested after the fol-
lowing manner -Four freight cars were
loaded with forty tons of iron each, at
tachcd 10 an engine backed on the bridges
first one then two; and SO on until the
four had been placed on; removing them
after each test. Upon being subjected to
the weight Of one it settled half an inch
two, three quarters of an inch more; three,
two and half inches more, and in no case
did it spring back 10 lis original level after
the removal of the cars AS the final test.
the four cars, having combined weight
of more than two hundred tons,
were placed ON when it Immediately col
lapsed. precipitating the four cars aud two
men who were on them into the river be-
low, a distance of about thirty feet. One
Of the men was very seriously injured, hay
ing his collar bone broken and his head Sc
verely cut. The other escaped compare
lively unhurt. They were bridge men, and
| it is said were moi ordered there, and had no
| business on the cars during the test. The
| civil engineer receives good deal Of blame
/ tor not reporting the fact that after each
| test the bridge did not spring back to its
/ former level as, had that fact been known.
the accident might have been avoided.
The greatest detection is now stated at
81 inches under three cars each located with
40 tons of iron.
The .f,ct is that no observation was taken
with three cars on the bridge, and that the
maximum detection noted by the engineers
at any time was precisely one inch,
We are enabled to give below the au-
thentic and only observations taken by the
engineers on the detection of the bridge
under the various tests applied. The OBJ
servations were taken and detection noted
only on the middle span of the bridge, with
results as follows;
Detection with freight train on the
bridge standing still Quarters, ! inch.
Centre l-G inch. Lateral sway inch.
FIRST TEST.
Single engine at rest ON center.
Quarters ! inch; centre, } inch; lateral
not taken.
SECOND TEST.
Engine alone, running six miles per hour.
Quarters, 1 inch centre, 7-1G inch; lat.
eral not taken.
IIIED TEST
Engine alone, running ten miles pcrhour
Quarters, BIG inch centre, ZIG inch
lateral sway, ZIG inch.
FOURTH TEST.
Engine alone, running twenty-five mile
per hour,
First (north) quarter, / inch centre
ZIG inch Last quarter, 5-1G inch lat
eral sway. 5-lG inch
FIFTH TEST
Engine and one car loaded with fifty ton
of iron
First quarter, 4-lG inch centre, inch
q Last quarter, 5-1G inch lateral sway 81
inch.
SIXTH TEST.
Engine with two cars loaded with fit
= tons Of iron, each standing on centre
i, Quarter. inch centre, inch.
= From the above it will be seen that tn
detection was very slight all things cor
sdcrcd, and remarkably uniform.
1t is true that the contract provided tbs
the bridge should sustain pressure of B
600 pounds pei lineal foot, but that it WI
- proportional to sustain that pressul
is scarcely the whole truth, as the figure
show it to be capable of sustaining pre-
s sure of 1900 pounds per lncal foot,
/ -four times the weight credited by the lie
>, dH The " fact that the bridge failed
&C spring back to its original position aft
e tdCl ttal, - uol u ltNl III All. On lHc Co
= trary. on being relieved from pressure Il
> bridge promptly regained its level in ever
W instance, until the final crash,
~ The failure of the bridge under its la
> test is a thing which as yet cannot in al
-, way be accounted for with certainty. \
-, defect can be found in the work, and,
above stated careful calculations show
III to have been capable of sustaining weg
more than four times as great as that und
which IL fol1 NJ