St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-08-18
Our Radix Letter.

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE-TIinowIN oN-
Err THE FIRST E-PAHrICULARS OF
THE GREAT ENTERPRISE LONG
sHoREMEN's STRIKE-TRIALS OF THE
woRKINGMEN MOURNING FoRTwEED
MATTERS AT rHILADELPHIA-T
CENTENNIAL OuTRIGGERs MARVELS
IN ALL SHAPES THE SORROWS OF
THE SHowMEN.
NEW YORK, Aug. II, 1876.
To the Editor Of he tdIoionidn
BY the time this comes before Your
readers Il notable step will have been
taken in the progress of ON big bridge
to Rrnoklyn. Both of the enormous
piers being at last completed and the
last injunction against its continuance
dissolved. the first of the week will
witness the spinning of the inst threads
across the stream. from one dizzy height
to the other, and from that point the
work will z" rapidly forward to com
plrton Some of the grandeur of this
enterprise may he gathered from Il few
statistics.
The work WAS commenced in january
$50. ;" that the laying of the inunda
ton and binding the piers alone has
been the work of over five Years. The
foundations rest on the solid rock -
feet below high water mark. \ de
Scliptiun of the lay ing of these tounda-
I L
e>ting l-tter-tlIr launching and sinking
oi the great C;lI>>oIIS, Weighing 5000
tons apiece, the condition of the work
men working away down under the
river, in ali sufficiently condensed To
hold back the mud and water and con
>cuIcntlN 81 dense a> to almost IHt"NI-
c:t, those " no hIc:ithcd ii and To make
the lamps blaze with dangerous fierce
ness these and many other details
would possess great interest. bit space
toi bid, more than a mention OF the
salient points. The bridge being ii >n>-
pension one the strain comes entirely
upon the "anchorageS on either side,
and the two piers. These anchoragc>
are great m:t>>e> at masonry holted To-
ncthcr and To Il heavy foundation with
heavy iron bars and clamps running in
every direction. To these will Ice las
tened the ends of the four main cables
which are to bear the weight ot the
bridge proper. These cables seem to
me the most stupcnduu> feature of the
hole structure. Each one will bc tif
teen and onr-lali inches III diameter
and will Ice CONFUSED ct G.:aO small steel
wires. twisted together. Perhaps it
MAY strike some reader that such :,
cable will he pretty heavy. Let rs
see. The wmc to Ice used weighs one
pound for every fourteen feet III length
and H. there are t" Ice ,;.:HO strands in
each cable. every fourteen feel viii
weigh 6,:}OO pounds. 81 100 pounds tu
the foot. H. the distance between th,
anchor.iyrS is $500 feet. OF more than
twice the distance between the piers, II
cable reaching straight across from ON,
to the other would weigh about 90.
600 pounds. But a> they have got IL
he longer to 9" up over the piers and H.
there are -four of them instead of one
the total weight will bet 800 900 pound,
or ;}.4OO tons. But how are such m;,S>,.,
of metal going To Ice put mp over til,
towers! That question, | confess, would
he apt To bother any one ot us if We had
the matter in charge, but the engineer
Mr. Rocbling, OhNiatt> this serious diff
.iculty 10y arranging To take the small
strands up, one 10y one, aud make tn,
cables in then proper places. 1t is Il,
easy when You know how. a> il was t,
Columbus friends to make an cgs
stand on end after he had done it to
them: but it isn't every one who coul,
have suggested the plan.
The piers, which have thus far hccl
the only visible evidence of progress
now tower alott in grand completeness
looking like the opposing fronts of TIVE
mighty cithedralS. the double ROADWAY
openings in each standing for Goth,
windows. From the river to the top
most piece of iron work is 275 feet. an,
the structures themselves are about u
10y 40 feet ut the base, tapeIing slight,
toward the top. The roadwayS will III
l:}5 feet above high water mark Il,
stand ut the bottom of one of thes
giant piles and look upward will max
giddN any but the steadiest head. From
: this position the top seems actually T.
r pierce the clouds. The staging upo
which the workmen travel up and dow
its endless sides narrow down to il poin
! III lIt Vast WI N
= men themselves, when they can he dis
, cerned at all. look like antS-aS. doubt
| less, we of the earth appear to then
On the top of each are the saddles,
: aS the grooved irons are called on whic
the big cables ride. These saddles III
/. in proportion To the rest of the work
: Weighing Is tons apiece. They hay
I got to have some s"lidity to sustain tn
, weight which will rest on them whc
all is finished, IL weight estimated Il
| nearly 10000 tons. one half of whic
: will he the bridge proper or part bt
tween the towers.
The wires which are about to Il
thrown across will he light ones. use
only for drawing over the small cable
that are to support the temporary 70,
= bridge for the workmen. but the
[ stretching will be an interesting sigh
. as being the first act of the final sectio
of the work. Three Years from the dl
on which that occurs, if all goes wei
the bridge will be ready for the crowd
Y ing travel which will thenceforwar
possess 1t.
: The cost of this magnificent bond ,
1 union between the two great cite
= which are possibly destined. through il
C. influence. to become ultimately on,
t was originally estimated to he eleve
: and il half millions, including the valu
Z of the land to he condemned for the al
= breaches. Up to the first of this yea
: however, very nearly six millions la