The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-01-14
HOW TO BUILD a BRIDGE
IN q HURRY.
T'Ese Difference Between One
Man EBOsSing aud One Mil
lion Trying re kkOSs.

AAOAA - 80 H<OS5S
Philadelphia Cor. n. Y. IIcraId.I
When the old Market street
bridge oyer the Sckuylkill was
burned in November last, it was re-
garded as a peculiarly serious mis-
hap. 1t was on the line of the main
thoroughfare of the city, not only
connecting West Philadelphia resi-
dents with the city proper, but
bringing passengers and merchan-
! disc to and from the depots of the
Pennsylvania railroad and all its
many connections. But more i'm
portant even than this was this fact
that it was the most natural and di-
rect route to the Centennial
grounds, destined next year to be
the Mecca of SO many hundreds of
| thousands. The loss of the bridge
was not an Inconvenience, merely;
it was a positive danger, menacing
the success Of the Centennial Exhi-
bition itself. Centennial-mad Phil
adelphians were accordingly in de-
spair. The time-honored old bridge
had taken years to finish, and the
great Exhibition only six months
distant. With corrupt ring con-
trolling the city government,
whose interest it would be to
lengthen the job of constructing
another SO that their pickings
might be more frequent, what
could be hoped for? The Mayor
issued a proclamation while the
| flames were were still raging, the
City Council held special meetings,
consultations of engineers took
place, and there was endless talk
but no solution of the problem of
how to do the work in time, where
to get the large sum of money and
whom to find to do it. The broad
brilns had good reason to shake
their leads and sigh. But Mr..
Thomas A. Scott, President of the
Pennsylvania railroad, dropped in
to the Mayors Office, one day, and
said: ''See here, I'll build you a
strong bridge with double the ca
pacity of the old one. 1t shall cost
| $50, 900, $4,000 less than the insur-
ance on the burned bridge; I'll sell
it to the city for cost price exactly;
I'll return every cent less than S55,-
600 that it costs, and I'll guarantee
to have it done by the 1st of Janu-
ary."
| When the city authorities had re-
covered breath, this bold PROPOSE
ton was accepted. Public opinion
demanded it +; but it was not with
out struggle that the city govern
ment ring saw their visions of fat
Scott had anticipated their accept
ance, by telegraphing all over the
country of Pennsylvania as soon as
soon as he made his proposition, or
dering the bridge timber to be i'm
mediately cut and loaded upon cars
to await orders. The instant the
contract was signed he sent dis
patches ordering that these cars be
battached to lightning express trains
and whirled toward Philadelphia
with the speed of the winds. Be-
fore Mr.. SCOTS proposition had
been officially received everything
was ready. About $50 men stood
with saws, hammers and spikes in
their hands on the banks of the riv-
err at the site of the old bridge,
waiting for the ordinance to pass,
ready 10 strike the first blow the
moment the signal was given. 1t
was toward evening, on the 9th of
December, when the contract was
signed, and work was begun with
out an instant's delay and kept up
all that night. BY daylight and by
torches and calcium lights, Sundays
and week days, in fair weather and
storm, without an hours intermis-
sion, the bridge building was car
ried on under the direction of Mr..
VIM. K. Lockhard, division super
intendent of the railroad, superVis-
ed by Col. Scott. At l o'clock to-
day, three hours less than twenty
one days from the time the Mayor
signed the ordinance, or seven day
ahead of time, the bridge was fin
ished and formally opened to trav-
ell. His Honor, Mayor Stoky, Mr..
Thomas A. Scott, Chief Highway
Commissioner Hill and Chief Engi-
neer Smedley drove the first vehi-
Gle over and first inspected the
work. The men who have been en-
gagged upon It were then treated to
q Christmas dinner at the railroad
depot in West Philadelphia, and
: will be permitted to take well
earned rest during the holidays.
The bridge is a Howe truss, well
constructed of white pine, with q
flooring of oak, the timbers having
been shipped from Harrisburg,
Wrightsville, Hunts Run and ST.
Mary. The structure Is $40 feet
long, the two end spans beng each
: I62 feet, and the centre span PIG feet
in length. The truss is % feet high