The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1876-11-10
Wonderful Achievement I'm
Bridge Building.

| ington, the old line from Lexing
ton to Nicholasville, and the con
struction track from NickolasvillC
to the Kentucky river, at which
point the great high bridge, iroI
truss, is being built.
/ The work ION the bridge pre-
sents some extraordinary fea
lures, one, in particular, that is
remarkable. At this point before
the war, a suspension bridge was
projected and work commenced
by the celebrated Rcobling. The
towers on either side were finish,
ed. There they stand now, facing
each other across the river, 1,12t
feet apart, 2S5 feet each
FROM base to summit, presenting
handsome arches.
AS a suspension bridge was i'm
practicable for the Cincinnati
Southern Railroad, and an iron
truss was decided upon, and it
was supposed that these arches
would be of no use. But the ge-
MUS of the contractor has disap-
proved this idea, and turned the
arches to a novel and valuable
use. The contractor is Mr.. G.
Shaler Smith, the President and
Chief Engineer of the Baltimore
Bridge Company.
BY means of one of these piers,
he to-day presents the wonder
full spectacle of a massive iron
truss bridge growing out from
the side of a precipiece over a
great abyss, adding to itself sec
ton after section, as it hangs and
elongates there, without any sup
port beneath it-a marvel in the
eyes Of any spectator. And it is
wonderful to see moving along
this structure a locomotive ,'trav-
eler" thirty tons whose huge
arms toy with great iron girders
and joists; and to see, all over
the work, swarms of mechanics
who labor there in perfect securi-
ty apparently, even while it
would seem to obey the inexora-
bic law of gravity, the growing
bridge ought to crash into the
gull beneath it. And as this
"baseless fabracn has added to it.
self pannel after pannel, or sec
ton after section, the wonder of
beholders not posted has grown
from day to day. The north half
of the bridge has been growing
out from the north side of the
river. The south half will soon
start to meet it.
The secret of this marvellous
growth of a huge iron bridge is in |
the use that has been made of the
old pier on the north side. The |
piers of a suspension bridge are
to serve as the an
chorage of the great wire cables
that support the roadway. The |
cables pass over the towers. Mr..
9. Shaler Smith has used this an
chorage, already provided there,
to save himselfthe great expense
that would be involved in the
of false works, or
frame trestles 1,125 long and 2S5
feet high, across the river from
bluff to bluff. After the most
elaborate and accurate calcula-
tons of the capacity Of wrought
ron bars, imbedded in the earth
and solid rock, to resistthe strain
)f daily growing tension, he
started to work and hitched sec
ion of his bridge that was to be,
% the anchorage. Placing the
traveller" on top Of this first sec
ion, on rails laid on the upper
chord, he then built another sec
ion out on the end of this first
,ne. And so this bridge in the
,ir, and on the air apparently, has
crown out, reaching out from
within itself like a spy-glass,
;eemingly.
1t was a nice point to calculate
o what length they could depend
IN their anchorage, and on the
trength of the section connec-
ions. But it was also nicer
,oint in figures to decide at what
.ngle to set the first section, that
N reaching the first Temporary
,ier the end might rest nicely at
he proper level. These calcula-
ions were successful great tri-
Imph Of engineering skill.
There are to be only two per
nanent piers under this bridg ge
'etween the starting points Of it,
which are 1,125feet apart. These
lill be 375 feet each from side to
ide, leaving a middle span Of
Is feet. These piers will be nov
! in construction. Theirmassive
tone foundations are in the wa
er. These piers, made of wrought {
'on bars, will taper gracefully
70 feet from high water, almost
. Il point to the bridge chord, 1
,hich will rest on them on twelve I
lch piers, set in heavy saddles. {
While the bridge will have the
npport Of these two piers, it will, y
the same time, have n bearing {
nat will admit Of the superstruc- /
Ire yielding to the weight that