Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-03
PREPARING FOR THE CABLE
Building A Power House at the Foot
of Seventh Street.

Of Seventh Street
NEW MACHINE SHOPS AND DRUM HOUSE
LAYING rHf cABLE-PRorosRp CHANGE ON
PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE.
Down where the arsenal grounds prematurely
abbreviate AZ street and where the small boy
drops baited hook into the mahogany-tinted
tide from the western extremity Of south p
street there is noisy endeavor aud reduction
OF chaos into order. The time for the saving
OF wood has come and the voice of the brick
layer loudly vociferating mort" is heard in
the land But . little while ago and
the Washington and Georgetown railroad com
panys stables and car house covered the
greater portion of that square which is bounded
oy U and Z and ~ and Water streets. The
Dig buildings were razed and now their places
are occupied by excavations and dwarf walls,
while bricklayers and hodcarriers, ell hard at
work, make the scene q lively one. bringing
the great building site are huge piles Of
brick and ether building material. while the
greater portion Of the sidewalk on the Ak street
front Is occupied by lumber and toiiing car
penters. This work is preliminary to changing
the motive power Of the road from horse to
cable. The work is being pushed forward as
evenly as possible, and as a consequence every
thing Is being done but nothing finished. On
the Al street front start has been made with
the walls, the first course OF brown stone hav-
ing been laid The three fronts will be Of
selected handmade brick set in red mortar and
trimmed with Hummelstown brown stone.
THE SHOPS AND POWER HOUSE.
In the southeast corner of the great double
building will be the machine shop. To the west
is the partially constructed tension pit,"
which is l36 feet long. In this pit will be the
huge drum, heavily weighted, which will at all
times keep the cable taut. In front and to
the south are the foundations Of the
engine room, where there will soon be
Two $50 horse power engines busily engaged in
supplying the 9TH streets line with motive power
From the engine room back TO AZ street there
will be no upper floor. Immediately beneath
the office, where there are now but three stone
walls, the ''splicer" will have his headquarters
An automatic tester will ring an alarm bell
whenever there is a loose strand on the cable,
and to make the inspection more secure
the "splicer'' or one Of his assistants viii sit
Immediately alongside of the cable aud watch
patiently for inequalities or weaknesses. Out
beneath the center of Water street will be q
huge well, and on the excavation of this a
number Of men are employed 1t will be sunk
tide and win be the source from which the
boilers wall be supplied The street will not
cave in at this place. because the well is to be
heavily arched over.
THE OFFICES.
The offices will occupy the southern half of
the Watershed front and these will include
apartments for officials and employees, with all
the necessary lavatorles, &c. tower will
decorate the corner at Water and p streets.
The car house will have the northern half of the
main front and will extend back to A. street.
1t will have two floors and its capacity will be
l20 cars as against 49 cars in the old one. The
lower floor is to be concerted, and" said
President Hurt to STAR reporter this morn
ing. VIII be as nice as parlor." A big gang
OF men is at work on this portion Of the struct-
ure. Before the close Of this week the con-
struction force, already large, will be increased
to the greatest number that can possibly be
worked
BREAKINa STONE FOB THE CONDUIT.
Near the waters edge and just opposite the
temporary stables is stone crusher which il
turning out the small limestone to be used in
setting the conduit. The neyer-ending chain
OF buckets rattles and reyolves in a cloud of
the finest and most intensely penetrative dust
Material is accommodating rapidly and the work
on the road Will soon be under way.
A trouble between Contractor Collins and
the stone masons has ceased to trouble. The
union stone masons quit work when the non
work last week. Brick has taken the place of
stone and today the bricklayers were SO
numerous that they were in each others way
while working.
AT WORK ON THE ROAD.
Mr.. Sexton, of Kansas City, the contractor
who will lay the cable road, has a crowd Of men
busy in his yard at It'll and streets north
west. Altogether he has with him
about 20 employees, many of them foremen.
These he brought from Kansas City and they
will act as instructors TO the four hundred
others who will be given employment as soon
the actual work of track-laying commences.
1--WE are delayed Just now, said MIR. Sexton
to STAR reporter, because of the non arrival
of necessary material The work calls for
special tools and those / have ordered have
been on the road between Kansas City and here
for more than fifteen days, but they will prob
ably get here before the rails do"
do you expect to do much this month";"
asked the reporter.
Il hope to have half mile Of track down be-
fore October l." said Mr.. Sexton. land during
October l want to add a mile and half to
that"
On the street side Of the yard five ssyokes,
and the tracks have been set up on a frame so
that interested but ignorant persons may see
just how the thing looks when it is in place.
quantity of material has been scattered
along It'll street.
PROPOSED CHANGE ON THE AVENUE
People who live along the Navy Yard and
Georgetown and Fourteenth street lines of the
Washington and Georgetown railway will
doubtless be pleased to hear that they
will be provided with rapid tran
sit as soon as the 7th street cable
has been completed. Talking of that matter
to STAR reporter this morning President Hurt
said. Il do not know just what motor will be
used on the other portions of our road
they may be electric or they may be
something else-but can assure you that SO
soon as We have the 7th street cable working
we will modernize the avenue and
14th street lines We intend to stay right to
the front"