The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-12-19
TIE BOSS vIADUCc,


Spt'n'ild Piece Of Railroad Engineer
ing and Construction, "''
The building OF magnificent and
Unparalleled railway viaduct on the. n rr"
coal road Of the Erie railway is attracting
great attention. The Rdiluuy Gu:tttt de-
sscrlbes the work with Illustrations. The
line, proceeding southwardly from Alton
station, which is situated OH the top Of tho
Allegheny mountains, 200 feet above tide
level, encounters the deep and wide valley
OF kinzna creek, about three miles south Of
Alton, necessitaiing q crossing On an iron
vladuct 2,O53 feet long and sol feet birh
above the bottom ofS,lle valley. ! Alter
crossing It the line passes BY M asccndinr
grade Of 40 feet per mile, continuing for
two miles, to the topof the Allegheny noun.
talns, ut Toward Hi, attainingan elevation
Of e,l00 feet above tide level, from which
point the line follows the course OF the
mountain crest partly with undulating
grades oil twelve feet per mile, partly level
Tor II distance OF four miles, and thence de.
scends into the valley OF the Clarion, with
a maximum grade Of fifty.eisht feet per
mile and other lighter grades 10 Il point
near Johusonsburg, on the Philadelphia 4
Erie Railroad Several SURVEYS were made.
one with the view oil avoiding the yiaduct
by detour OF dozen miles, but the grad.
tents were too heavy for practical Work,
and the same; objection obtained against
another survey, whose object was to- cross
the creek by.a bridge Mt The lower level,
The great yiaduct across the kinzua bnvino
deem determined upon during March, 1851
proposals wercinvitcd for thestructure from
the principal 4iron.bridge builders in the
country. These werereceivedand considered
during the month Of May following, and
The general plans and proposals submitted
ny Messrs. Clarke, Reeves ,e~Co,.. of the
fh,rnlville Bridge works, were approved
and accepted. No expense has been spa rcd
10 make this, whilst it is the largest work
OF the kind in the world, also one Of tLe
strongest and Safest It consists OF twenty
lowers, each composed Of four wrought
IRON lhenlx columns. These towers are
OF uniform dimensions ut the top, being
10 feet in width. and IS! feet long. nm nj
the nishest point Of structure they are los
icet In width and IS! etlong at the bot
tom. They are erected upon square piers
Of cut stone laid in Genet, placed one under
each column. The spaces between these iron
towers arc bridged with q lattice
order trrusses OF great strength, each of
81 feet span. They arcboltcd through oval
holesto the tops. of the piers upon which
they rest; the manner in which they are
thus secured allows Tor variation Of tenn.
p.erature which will not exceed $50 degrees
Fahrenheit. The Phoenix columns COM
posing the towers rest at their bases on
movable plates, allowing for expansion
and contraction OF one inch trunsyerseIv
and O'3S inch longitudinally, and are 50
fastened by proper anchor bolts extend
ING deep into the masonry as to recure
thema and the whole structure against wind
pressure. 1t was necessary to do this, in
asmuch as the yiaduc, is exposed 10 Tie
severe winds which prevail in the Allesl,e-
MES during the winter season.