Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-03-26

| ance OF US ability to sustain any and all
loads that might be putupon It, ipr all or
dinafy or Extraordinary traffic the road
might have. The bridge wac OF the Howe
truss plan, plan that combines the most
perfect and direct methods OF application
Of the power which material may, possess,
| There seems to have been no pains spared
to make the bridge a perfect success. |
made an estimate OF the strains aud com
pressions upon the different, members Of
| the structure, from measurements furnish
ed me by Chas. Hilton, Esq, beiOre men-
| toned, and those measurements we're ap.
proximately erided by subsequent measure
ment Of the drawings, rs furnished by the
Coroners inquiry at Ashtabula. IN my
estimate for strains and compressions,
found that there was ability in the bridge
to sustain four or five times the load that
was on it ut the time of the accident.
From all the testimony given by conpe-
tent engineers whose judgments are emi
nently worthy OF consideration and respect,
there appears no evidence that there was q
deficiency Of material. nor a failure in the
application Of its power. The whole work
seemed to have been designed and executed
with the view 10 perhanence aud safety.
"What, then, was the cause Of the acci-
dentT' 81
This question may with much reason be
asked.
At the time this bridge was built the sci
ence Of bridge building was in its infancy.
IL has scarcely reached a youthful stage at
the present time We had made but little
progress in the study and knowledge Of the
elemental forces. Wind, factor which
was but little Understood at that time, and
whose variable forces are but slightly un-
HnrafffH kV a Na At tho M NO tpN
considered to the extent OF providing
against its power. When we take into
consideration the shape Of the valley Of
the Ashtabula creek frum the bridge to the
lake, together with the velocity Of the
wind at the time, we find by the concen-
trution of two currents OF wind at The point
OF contact with the bridge that the force
applied lateraly to the bridge exceeded 49,
! 900 pounds. That combined with the up
per current Of wind from the northwest.
! striking the train at an angle OF fourty-five
degrees, at a velocity CT sixty miles an
hour, plus the speed Of the train. fifteen
miles, equal 10 Sc enty-five miles per hour,
or a resistance of twenty-three pounds to
/ the square foot. This twenty-three square
miles per square foot to be overcome by
traction upon the rails, there does not seem
to be much mystery as to the cause of the
accident. There was pressure upon the
bridge at that time that no human fore
sight could have ioretold
| "0hp says the skeptic, "If il was the
wind, why didn't it blow down beforeP
| will only say in answer: When we see
The sturdy oak that has witbstnod the wind
and stoams Of a thousand winters sudden
! " Frustrated to the earth, we ask why II
/ did not blow down before? Simply be-
cause Il tornado had not previously crossed
1 is track.
II we need more evidence of the destruc-
tive force of the wind, have but to call
/ attention to the destruction OF the Omaha
bridge, the destruction of the village of
Wallingford, and Of the Tay bridge,
might enumerate many more, but ! think
sufficient has been written upon the sub
ject. ---.--..
I hope the time will soon come when ao-
cidents--unavoidq cease to bo
charged TO n mercenary account when hon
est error will cease to be crime, and man
will cease 10 be accountable for that which
he does not know.
] have the honor to be, with great re-
| spect, your mcsi 0bedlent servant
/ BUDLoNG a. MORTON, @. L.
Concerning General Morton, whose letter
Is given above, the Buffalo Comm. Adrer-
tiser Of Dee. ~, 1873, in connection with
4 some allusions to the examination then go.
ing on, said;
j ''General Morton. who was called as an
Eexpert, is "a native Of Buffalo, and is now a
resident Of New Haven. Conn. He is nov
a gentleman OF wide reputation, and has
had an interesting career. He graduated
NJ the Government Military Schools al
Heidelberg, Germany and on returning to
this country engaged In engineering.
While connected with the Typographical
Corps on the PaciieIhe made the aeqhain-
tanee Of Sir Edmond English, Chief Of tho
Bureau OF Engineering Of Great Britain,
and Sir Edmond selected him as the most
suitable person to take charge Of the Cove
ernmental survey OF the lntbr-OceRnie
Railway, in Honduras. Subsequently he
was appointed 10 an important railway p0-
sition in England He turned his atten-
tim some years since TO the study OF the
I'wind and its forees and in recognition OF
his services in that direction he was elect
ed an honorary member Of the Royal So
eiety; also presented by order of the War
Minister with medal as an aqlSnowledg-
ment Of his valuable services and improv-
ed method Of investigating wind forces.
He left our army IN 1855 with the rank Of
Mejor-General Of Volunteers
I.l ~ 1T r. ~
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