The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-06-07
THE WORK.


the severe winter of 1861. During that winter
the East River ferry-boats came to grief
Brook iyn businessmen embarking on Fulton
ferry-boat found themselves, after an hours
III Che sss q Hssss ToG dsy
impossible. Some boats, in beating against
ioe-cakes ina strong current,were driven dowL
around Governors Island and then to Staten
t5a ntainsd hv certain bus
ness interests were such that a vigorous de
mand was made for q bridge. Soon after meL
1pa was formed with fdhes Capital @ Of s
900. The charter was afterward amended sc
that the enterprise should be managed ex
enfps cost Wa@ kngsey a u Bsookyn Ok
Sdge es es as he as %
gineer to draw plans and make estimates
for suspension-blidge, and when the time
leader of the enterprise, May %, 1861, Johr A
Roebling was appointed Engineer. In Septem
Der of the same year he made his report OF sur
veys, plans and estimates. Work was com
menced on the site of the foundation of the
Brooklyn tower January 8. 1870. Engineer
MorR Begun In the s of lss While at
work on the location OF the Bre9klyn tower
| an incoming ferryboat collided with some
timbers which crushed his foot, and he died o,
lock-jaw about two weeks later. His son
Washington A. Roebling, was called upon to
take up and complete his fathers great work
| He, was equal to the emergency. Although
| falling a victim to the "caissQn disease " in
December, 1871, he supervised the work from
health and never will.
The construction of this gigantic cobweb fo1
travel has furnished an episode of engineer
ing the magnitude of which few appreciate
| The towers are 276ss feet in height. The
| cables are anchored inland at distance of 93u
| anchoragcs are triumphs of stonc-masonry
1l9 by l32 feet at the base and rising to an ele,
Weighing about eO,OOO tons each. they are oi
| course capable of resisting an enormous strain
| from the cables. stranger viewing the tow
it possible to obtain proper foundation for
such structures so near the water p
The is e es Ike os The
cd above water in the open :air and then
sunk to its bed deep down in the sand OIL
was accomplished by the diving-bell and the
air force-pump. The style of diving-ben used
| is called caisson. 1t resembles nothing SO
| mulch as ai Inverted chest 1t must be lined
| with boiler-iron, scanned air=ttght, with means
| of ingress and egress fer men and materials
difficulties have been surmounted and a per
| feet foundation laid where the waves will
| wash their mighty bases for ages. The foun
dation is laid eighty feet below the surface OF
| the river and the granite masonry is true to O
hairs breadth. The cables sweep grace
fully over the top Of the towers 2ts 2 feet in
sustain, is an immense steel framework con
sisting of two systems of girders at right
| unSlGS 10 eacn Olner. Inc maln glrQGTs, sup
ihrty-three inches deep, placed sever
feet six inches apart. TO these art
the foaT Gables Parallel rGRa ad ong
| tudinal trusses, with braces or stays, give the
combination strength in every direction. A
The weight of the central span of the entir!
suspended structure is 6,i40 tons. 1t is esti
creased by cars, vehicles and passengers NOR
than $50 tons, giving total maximum weigh
sso tons of this is enc Td weghs a
by the susDensory stays of stt ell wire ropes di
verging frJm the tops of the towers to point
fbs aons saTs
tend out from the towers 400 feet. They form
important auxiiaries to the cables. The cen
trail avenue of the bridge is to be used as
footway. Its width is nineteen feet, and 1t
elevated above the avenues on the sides SOM
ten feet. The side avenues are occupied b;
cars moving from end to end by meaps OF al
endless wire rope operated by stationary en-
gine.
The cables suspended from the great tvwer
each cable there gre 300 wires, the l Who'll
fashioncd like sRcins Of yarn or thread Fac
cable contains nineteen of these strands OF =
wires each, and each skein is continuou
first man to cross from tower to tower was Z
+. Harrington, the Master Mechanic of the CT
tcrprisc, who made the trip August p: lS't
Then the detail of the work went on, each da
adding to the number of wires from tower \
tower, until finally Il light foot bridge was ru
across. and all who desired could walk fror
one anchorage to the other over the tops o
the towers and across the river. Then tn
cradles, ten in number. were got in position
so that the men engagcd in the cablc-makin
could regulate the wires, 81 matter Of no smt
difficulty, since the atmospheric effects OF tn
sun and wind were such that frequently III
cables varied as much as halt foot i'll hcigi
in the course of q day. The dctloctions were
however. all overcome. and the lust wire wi;
run across October Ii. lS.S.
SOME STATISTICS.
Construction commenced January 8, 1870:
Bridge completed 1888.
Length of river span 1855 feet inches.
Length of both land spans, $3.50 feet each
1850 feet.
Length of Brooklyn approach, 81 feet.
. Length of New York approach, ,562 feet
Total length of bridge, $3.50 feet.
Width of bridge, So feet.
Number of cables, 4.
Diameter of each cable, 15l4 inches.
First wire run out May %, 1877.
, Length of wire in four cables, exclusive {
wrapping wire, 14,36l miles.
Length of each single wire in cables, 3,5
l Weight of four cables, exclusive of wrappir
: wire, 3,5sSA tons
. Depth Of tower foundation below his
e Depth Of tower foundation below hie
/ watcr, New York. is feet.
n Total height of towers above high waite
e Clear height of bridge in center of riv
t span above high water, at 80 degrees Fahre
: heit, 135 feet.
i Height of towers above high water, 1l9 fe
3 inches.
: Grade of roadway. 81 feet in 100 feet.
Height of towers above roadway, l59 feet.
n According to the estimate at first made q
bridge with the land required would cost 81
;; 10000. Its actual cost when completed W
i be about S15, 0O
@ THE LRIDGE TOLLS.
n Cen
n One horse or horse and man................
= One horse and vehicle. ce......-............-.-..
IL Two horses and vehicle. Observation-Disclosures.
IL root paSSellSers-
, Twohorse trucks or wagons.
Cattle, each ...,.---.-..-........-.---.
- Sheep and hogs, each.
y The Brooklyn bridge is the longest suspe
8 sion bridge in the world. The Victoria III
+. bridge over the St. Lawrence River, which
!. 9.431 feet long; Maiutenon Aqueduct, stor
! 1887; Parkesburg, w. Va. iron bridge 10
:, St. Charles NO., iron bridge, o,5bi, and