Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1880-01-05
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terrible accidents have occurred. In the
way Of bridges breaking down or falling.
causing the wreoking OF railroad trains
and moro or less loss Of life. The Ash.
tabula disaster. where Q small iron
bridge over . creek fell in midwin'er
beneath . passing train Of cars. killing
many Of the passengers. q large number
also burning to death from the cars tax.
ing DIRE after falling. is still frssh in the
minds OF rs all. Some twenty. FIVE years
ago occurred the great Norwalk disaster.
where large portion Of . train
went down through draw left
open in the bridge. and over
sixty passengers lost their lives.
Many other accidents Of q similar M.
ture have occurred. but none approach.
ing in horrible magnitude to that which
transpired q few days ago at the bridge
crossing the Firth Of Tsy In Scotland.
No accident has ever occurred Of similar
horror and magnitude in this country.
A ponderous bridge, costing nearly two
millions Of dollars. falls beneath the fury
Of . not very strong or unusual storm,
and . passing train falls through to the
water and quickssnds. . distance Of
sighty.ssvsn feet. or only three feet
further than from the top Of Grown
Point bridge to the bed Of the ravine
below. Nearly or quito n hundred
people lost their lives by this disaster,
and. strange to say. not q Of the pas
sengsrs or employees on the train escaped
to tell the story. All were lost. OF
this famous and fatal bridge and the
locality where Il Is situated, the follow
ing Ii Q good descriptive account:
The scene Of the recent terrible railroad
disaster In Scotland 10 the widest tidal river
ever spanned by Q bridge. II has . deer
and rapid current. and Its bottom 10 com'
posed OF dangerous quickssnds. Furious
gales sweep down Il with almost irresisti'
bio force, being concentrated by the out.
lines Of the shores. The construction Of
the immense bridge over II was In further.
auce Of certain local purposes and 70 save
to the North British Railway Company, In
tolls and ferriage. the sum Of fi3,0O0 An.
nually. A moro unpromising locality, oil
equal distance, for such . structure could
scarcely have been selected. The contract
for the construction Of the bridge was
originally taken at f2l7 900, with three
years time stipulated, but was subse-
quently transferred. and tho work COM
pleted In the whole time Of six years. at q
total cost Of Q sum equal to 81. $50 600.
When completed. the bridge was regarded
- Q triumph Of engineering skill; but, ~
events have proved, II was merely Alright
full death-trsp. How such an enormous
weight Of metal pressing on t~reacheroua
quicksands could safely remain In position
90 long 10 Q mystery. The starting point
across the Firth Ia at the town Of wormit
and the landing place at tho west end oil
Dundee. the course being due north for
three-iourths Of the distance, at which
point Q curve 10 described to the shore.
The length Of the bridge 10 10000 feet
nearly two miles; Ito hight above high
water at the highest point 10 eighty
eight feet, and the number OF it,
spans. eighty : five. The piers are
| variously constructed, most Of them being
| built on iron cylinders hlled with brick
| and concrete. The southern end OF the
structure, ct wormit. 10 70 feet above the
level Of high water. and a. tho land is low
At the northern end . slightly arched out.
line became necessary. Il was at the
southern end that the doomed train Q
tored. The greatest depth Of high water
on the route is IS feet; the rise and fall OF
the tide from IL to II feet. and the force
Of the current four miles per hour. An
Act Of Parliament authorizing the con-
struotion Of the bridge was passed In 1870.
The first train crossed in September. 1877.
and on the 27th Of February. 1878. 43S
tons Of locomotives steamed across at one
time, and the structure was pronounced
safe and perfect amid the plaudiu OF an
immense multitude. While the bridge
was still incompletsd two Of the largest
spans fell during . violent tempest. In
is construction there were used $500 tons
| Of cast iron. 62si tons Of mallcablo iron,
| 30, COO cubic feet Of timber, 5000 tons oil
cement. 1850, 900 brick and 1900 cubic
ieet Of dressed ashlar. At Dundee the
| bridge connects with . tunnel 1880 feet
long, having an opsn cutting 1920 feet In
length in addition. The work ~ . whole
IL immense and costly. but many predic.
tons Of disaster were made before and
! during its construction. What action the
British authorities will finally take con.
corning 10 remains TO DO seen. The most
extensive repairs will scarcely restore II 10
the confidence Of the British travelling
public.