Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-01-26

Nntulh AdhC OEClA- AAC NlG " III WI
Stone to examine it, and Mr.. Stone
told him that shortening that cord
was a mistake" and ordered him to
lengthen it again; this was done by
putting
PLATES OF WROUGHT IRON
between the ends of the beams; the
cord was again replaced, and the
bridge again settled to about the
same place as before; he was called
to Mr.. Stones office soon after this,
and Mr.. Stone said to him-"Cong-
don,
THAT BRIDGE DON'T QUITE SUIT ME"
Congdon replied Stone, if you
will allow me, will give you my
opinion of that bridge;" he expressed
a willingness to hear what Congdon
had to say, and then continued,
''when we were examining the
bride few weeks ago, noticed that
some of the braces were bent, and |
thought that if they were changed
so that their webs should be in a YER
teal instead of horizontal posi-
tion, it would add very much to the
strength, without increasing the
weight of the BRIDGE" he told wit
ness to make this change and to
ADD MORE BRACES
to the weaker panels; this was done,
and the bridge put in position for
the third time, where it remained,
with Gambler of about two and
half inches; he understood that Mr..
Tomlinson made the drawings of the
bridge according to Mr.. Stones de-
sign.
Cross examined: Does not know
whether the mistake in the length
of the upper cord beams was made
by Mr.. Tomlinson, or at the rolling
mill; he don't know as Mr.. Tomlin-
son was responsible in any way for
the defect in the angle-blocks-for
their springing out of shape; when
the main braces were changed from
having their webs in horizontal to
having them in vertical position, it
became necessary to alter the angle
blocks little; this change was ac-
complished with chisels and files;
portions of the lugs-placed there
to hold the braces 20 their position
on the blocks were Clipped away
by this process; some of the braces
still had support from these lugs;
the others were only held iii position
by their firm bearing on the angle
blocks, and their attachment at the
center to other braces; he thinks it
would have been better to have had
lugs on all the angle blocks to sup
port each of the braces, but wishes
it to be understood that he is not ex-
perienced in bridge building, and
does not consider his opinion on
such matters as worth much; he
thinks that the welding of pieces to
the beams of the upper cord did not
have any tendency to weaken it; he
was not aware of any defect in the
bridge when completed and ready
for use; it is his opinion that Mr..
Stone
INTENDED TO BUILD
a strong, durable bridge, without re-
gard to expense; he considered all
of the iron used in the bridge to be
of good quality; the bridge was test
ed when it was finished, by running
three locomotives oyer it together;
he was present and witnessed this
test; it bore the strain very well; he
has no recollection that Mr. Tomlin-
son ever spoke to him of strengthen
ing the main braces; he don't know
whether he was discharged or resign
ed his position of his own accord;
he supposed at the time that he was
discharged; he thinks that the
bridge was safe one for a single
track, but that when
THE SECOND TRACK
was laid across it, there should have
been another truss added; he don't
recollect that he ever told any officer
of the company that he considered
the bridge unsafe for double track;
he never, at any time during its con-
struction, received any orders from
Mr.. Collins concerning it; he
thought that Mr.. Stone intended to
have a strong bridge, but that he
wanted it built according to his own
ideas and his own judgment.
Engineer Folsons's Testimony.
On Saturday morning Messrs.
Converse and Haines, of the Legis-
lative subcommittee, called on MIR.
G. d. Folsom, who went down on
the locomotive "Columbia," at his
residence on Lake street, Cleveland.
He testified that he first noticed
THE BRIDGE GIVING WAY
when about two-thirds across. 1t
began to swing towards the south,
but recoiled and went to the north.
The witness further said that
'Fwhen the cords on the south side
let go, those on the north, by a very
sudden action, drew the bridge in
that direction. When l experienced
the first sensation of the bridge Civ
ing away l was applying the air
brake very lightly. The engine
struck the west abutment, and l
think for moment was held by the
forward engine, while the iron ex-
press propped underneath me, mean
while the tender swung against the
wall; my engine then dropped down
straight and turned over backwards. |
it was storming very badly, and it
was hard to tell Just where we were;
as we approached the bridge l shut
off steam, and as we went onto the |
bridge the fireman oiled the valves, |
and had finished before noticed the |
sinking; l felt my engine striking
something solid just before she fell, |
and then she went down tender fore
most; with my right hand | seized |
the trottle ratchet and with the left
the air brake cock, and hung there
till my engine struck below. l heard
no breaking sound until l heard two
distinct crashes behind, which | sup
posed was the bridge and train strik-
ing below, before l fell. l don't
think my engine could have made
more than one revolution after / felt
the sinking sensation until she struck
the abutment. The Socrates the