Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-04-02
AT McOALLs FERRY IN 1915.

How They Got up ihe Long Arch Of the
Great Bridge.
coph of a letter from, Theodore Burr. to Reuben
Fed, bridge builder Waterford, Nsw York
HARRISBURG, Feb. 26th, 1915.
DEAR SIR l can now inform you with
a considerable degree Of satisfaction that
have at length succeeded in getting up the
long arch at McCall's ferry. This arch Is
without doubt tho greatest in the world.
Its length between the abutment and pier
is $50 feet inches; the cord limo Of the
arch 3G7 feet; the width Of main part OF
the bridge is 50 feet the wings Of their
piers are II feet inches on each side
which makes base OF J5 feet Inches. At
the abutment the wings spread II feet
each, which makes . base Of 66 feet, the
altitude or rise of the arch is 81 feet. The
arch is double and the two segments are
combined by king posts feet in length
between the shoulders, and are united to
the arch by lock work !; between the king
posts are tIuss-braces aud counteracting-
braces. The arch stands firm and remark
able easy, without the least struggling in
any part of the work.
twill be difficult to convey to you by
description the process by which We
fiuallv succeeded in surmOunting the al
most unconIuerable difficulties opposed
not only by nature but all the elements
combined to its erection.
In the first place, we raised it on floats
lying in the water, ranged along the shore
nearly quarter Of a mile below the abut
ment. These floats were placed at proper
distances with their ends to the shore and
on each of them were raised two bents or
frames varying in height to correspond
with the curve of the arch. This made 16
bents on which tho grand enormous struc-
ture was raised amidst tremendous storms
and tempests accompanied with floods
and whirls and the bursting of waters.
Tho scene at times was truly terrific !;
frequently on the darkest nights we
were under the necessity of going between
the floats, and from one to the other on
small timbers, over depth Of one hun
dred feet water, in order either to shorten
or lengthen out the ropes by which they
were fastened, and to brace off or haul in
this floats, as the water rose or fell. 1t
took 81 800 worth of ropes to stay the
works against the floods aud storms that
We often had to contend with aud you
must understand that storms of wind are
much more frequent and tremendous at
this place than almost any other, owing
to the great height Of the mountains
which closely border the river Oh each
side.
From the time we commenced till We
got the arch on the floats was ten weeks
during the whole Of which time the water
was never stationary, but continually
either rising or falling at one time it
Was 20 feet above common low water
mark but in general it rose and fell from
10 to IL feet.
You will now observe that the arch stood
lengthways up and down the river, along
shore OF u huge and uneven projections
of rocks, which kept it always in jeopardy
in consequence of the rising and fallin.,
of tho water as l have before observed.
Although on Wednesday, the 7th day OF
December, we had the whole in readiness
to move up to the abutment, and ON the
same day the anchor ice began to run Il
little. The next (Which was the the day
VIC had decided upon to move the arch t.
it's place. the ice ran in still greater guam
titles, aud about one o'clock il
stopped for the space of half a mile
and began to crown tho floats. 1t contin
ued to move for more than one hundred
miles above, where the river is from one
| and a-half to two miles wide, whereas at
this place you will observe it is only Six
hundred and nine feet in high water and
in low water the river runs in the space Ol
three hundred and forty eight feet. In this
state it has been sounded by Drs. Preston,
Marshal! and Bailey, gentlemen interested
in the bridge. and ascertained to be one
hundred and fifty feet in depth and it will
| perhaps not be improper to observe here
that taking view Of the great extent o.
the country through which the Susquc
hanna runs, the number Of the streams
great and almost innunerable smaller thai
empty into it in its course, there il in all
probability running in the space Of thres
hundred and rty-eight feet, and under
the lower arch at least fifteen times the
quantity Of water that passes under the
Union bridge at Waterford.
The ice continued to run during the 9th
10th aud 11th, and pressed so hard agains,
| the floats, that it raised up the outer enc
of some one foot, others three feet. Some
less and some none at all, so that the scat
folding began to stand in all directiOnc, tht
braces breaking and bursting out the
spikes and bolts, and the arch careenin4
heavy towards the shore, touching only
here and there upon the timber which
supported it ; but as yet it sustained nt
injury. The only chance Of saving it now
depended on the ice either becoming
strong enough to support it Or gradually
melting away so as to 90 Off easy without
tearing the whole with it. l determined
upon trying it on the ice, and ON the 12t!
we fixed our capstans on the ice and fas
tened ropes to it and to the arch to sus.
tain it from falling, also put some braces
between it and the rocks on the shore.
From this time until Christmas We
could do but little in consequence of a
thaw which took all the ice out Of the
river except about half a mile that first
stopped, which VIC also expected would
go, but did not. Soon after the weather
became severe and hove in 4 mountain
Of ice upon us, the average height of
which, for mile above and below us was
ten feet above tho surface of the
water, and the shores. It did not, how
ever, affect our works SO much as might be
expected.-TheO outer ends of the float had
settled down about a foot by the thaw,
but this hove them up something worse
than they were at first. At the same
time the whole body OF ice moved down
from 25 to 30 feet which bore so hard
against the rocks that it broke and mashed
more than half of them to pieces still
the arch remained unhurt and the scaffoId
ing stood beyond expectation. On the
29th we commenced levelling the ice in Or
der to take scaHolding and arch off the
hoate ON to it had eighteen men en-
pIoyed at that business and presume that
on an average they were in up to their
arms forty times each in one day. But it
will be necessary to explain to you the ma
ture of the ice here. 1t is made up of