The daily gazette., 1883-05-25
NEPRINrEp FRoM YEsrERpAy
rnE GREAT nRrpeE.
The Magnificent Triumph of Engineering
skill and Genius.

NNAAmEuCCnb
skill and Genius.
NEW YORK, May 24.-To-day the great |
bridge that Joins New York and Brooklyn |
will be open to the public, and hundreds of
thousands Of people will join In the attend
ant ceremonies. A brief history Of the grand
structure is as follows:
The original plans and estimates were
drawn by John A. Roebling, who had been
appointed engineer May %, 1857. In 1859
these plans were approved by committee
of the Chamber of ommerc and com
mission of engineers under the Presidency OF
General John Newton, and an act was
passed by Congress authorizing the con
struction of the bridge. While fixing the
location of the Brooklyn tower Mr.. Roeb-
ling received the injury which proved fatal
to him on Jhe 22d of July.
On the 2d Of January, 1870, work
was finally begun on the Brookly lyn
side. With the general prin-
ciples of bridge-builcing most news
paper readers are acquainted. The line
drawn between the two termini struck the
Brooklyn shore near the north slip OF Full
ton ferry, and making little down stream,
reached the New York side at the foot Of
Roosevelt street. the two points as the
water line being ,595h feet apart.
The Brooklyn caisson was los feet by lO2,
the New York caisson being feet longer.
Each was solid mass of Southern pitch
pine % feet thick In timbers 10 inches
SQUARE. Two hundred and fifty tons of
b0its and angle-irons held these
timberR together and every joint
aud seam was filed with pitch, The
sides of this, box were feet thick at
their junction with its massive top, tapering
down to an iron-shod edge of eight inches.
Piles having been driven in three sides Of
the selected site, the caisson was towed and
hauled into the inclosure from tae open 81 e
and the masens were set at work loading II
with courses of granite set in hydraulic
cement until the weight mad forced the Gals
son down to the oozy bottom of the river,
whenit was adjusted firm and true.
A stream of compressed air was driven
down into the interior, which was lined
with boiler iron, forcing the water out
beneath the sharp iron edge.
On the I'd of May, 1870, the Brooklyn
caisson was towed into its berth; on the 10th
of July the water was driven out aud, not
withstanding delay of some weeks caused
by a fire in the caisson, on the 11th of
March, 1871, 1t was anchored 4515 feet be-
meath the river with its charge of concrete.
In October 1871, the New York caisson
was placed in its berth; in May, 1872, it had
found resting-place rs feet below high
water mark In the Brooklyn caisson were
5253 cubic yards of timber and iron and
5669 cubic feet of concrete. The New York
cAisson weighed 900 tons, and its concrete
filling 5000. These anchored immovably,
there was nothing to do but to pile up block
upon block of granite until the roofing
course had been laid 27S feet up in the air.
THE GREAT TOWERS.
At high water line the towers were 140
feet by SO and at the roof course 1855 by So.
The Brooklyn tower contained SS,214 cubic
yards of masonry and weighed about 9S ,OOL
tons, the New York tower 46,345 cubic
yards, with a weight Of 10000 tons. The
material employed was blue limestone from
Kingston, faced with granite. At an in
terval of $50 feet from each tower was con.
structed an anchorage-a great mass O
masonry l29 feet by 1l9 ut the base and III
by 10+ at the top, SO feet in front and S5 be
hind. To this mass, which weighed 10000
tons, the ends OF the cables were to be tied
THE WIRE CABLES.
A tiny steel wire, an eighth of an inch
thick, bears the vast weight of the bridge
spun in lengths of 200 miles, each wire was
carried from anchorage to anchorage 27S
Times, passing at each end bound a soit
block OF iron, just as when one holds skeiI
OF wool to wind it off the threads pas
around his hands. When one OF thes,
skeins had been laid in position it wat
clamped into cylindrical form and tightly
tied with wire at intervals of fifteen inches
Nineteen skeins or strands similarly tied anC
bound, one in the middle, with six sur
rounding it, and twelve Others outside o
them, made up cable, and upon four o
these cables the bridge was hung
Each single wire in the cable is $685.
feet long; it is of galvanized steel, coated
with oil; the 5 ,434 wires In each cable make
a solid cylinder 1554 inches in diameter,
weighing $40 tons and capable of support
ing a weight of II 200 tons
The ceremonies commence at IL As O'Clock
this afternoon and will last about two hours